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At Destiny City Film Festival, we recognize that inclusion is not always enough. Providing material support and opportunities for marginalized communities is vital in achieving equity.
Join us on Saturday, March 6 at 1pm (PST) for this FREE candid discussion on issues of equity, and learn how our speakers are directly involved in offering youth in underserved communities unique connections to the film industry and beyond. An audience Q&A will follow the discussion.
SPEAKERS
(Moderator) Abie Ekenezar is an actress, singer, screenwriter and producer living in Seattle, WA with an extensive background in the entertainment industry spanning over seven years. Abie came onboard with the agency Big Fish Northwest to work with the next generation of professional TV and Film professionals on Strowlers, a fantasy film project that was released by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment in 2018.
Prior to this, Abie graduated in Computers Science at Montclair State University, but that wasn’t enough. She also decided to get a Minor in Musical Theatre because of her love for the arts. She later found her passion for the film industry, being in such projects as Grimm, Man In The High Castle, Librarians, Portlandia and even Z-Nation, filmed in Spokane, WA.
She had her directorial debut in 2020 on a film dealing with our current pandemic along with the BLM protests. Abie has recently completed multiple projects with Blue Forge Films, Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, along with another of productions and recently started her own production company called BabsEk Productions that deals with diversity and inclusivity in the local community that has projects to be released in 2021.
Obadiah Freeman is an Actor from Seattle, Washington. He studied Cinema Arts and Science at Columbia College Chicago and began working in the Seattle Film and TV production industry in 2014.
Obadiah performs on stage as a company member at Seattle’s longest running Improv theater Unexpected Productions and is represented for the screen by Topo Swope Talent in the Pacific Northwest.
Trina Griffin is a film student at Shoreline Community College, mother of four, and grandmother of nine. She has been working in the film community since 1998 in Seattle and in California. She has held positions in the film industry as an Assistant Director, Production Assistant, Grip, Production and Set Designer, Editor, Actor, Writer, Volunteer Coordinator Director and Film Screener Manger and Producer. In 2020, Trina became certified as a COVID-19 Compliance Set Supervisor and co-founded Rising Reels Film Camp – set to launch in 2021. Rising Reels Film Camp will teach BIPOC children about the techniques of and how to become a future film maker. Trina has a dream to bring a strong thriving film industry to the Seattle area.
Ben Leiataua is a Seattle-based filmmaker, producer, and actor. Ben works as a Program Manager for The Rainier Arts Center (A SEEDArts Program) a community arts space serving South Seattle artists and creatives. In 2019, Ben co-founded a production company with business partner Brett Benson, Hard Out Media, LLC www.hardoutmedia.com.
Adam C. Powers is an African American Storyteller that has started his own virtual production studio. Adam studied film and communication at an HBCU, Clark Atlanta University. He attended the Seattle Film Institute, Afterwards he spent time in the legal cannabis industry, helping to build start-up businesses in the green industry. He became the 1st legal Budtender and helped open up the 1st legal cannabis store in WA state Cannabis City on July 14, 2014. In 2016, he started a nonprofit organization called Key Tech Labs, where the mission is to bring emerging technologies to underprivileged areas to help create self-sustainable communities. In 2020, Adam followed his dream of owning his own film production studio. Adam started Key Studios, a mixed reality storytelling studio that focuses on telling unique stories in unique ways. By utilizing the latest technology, Adam has created a minority owned independent virtual production company that has already created augmented reality (AR) children’s books, virtual reality (VR) experiences, comic books and is currently working on developing animated and live-action films to pitch to Netflix.