CALEB SLAIN CHRONICLES BLACK TEEN’S EVOLUTION
Directed by Caleb Slain of L.A.-based production house Superdoom, this short titled enough charts 10 years of optimism and unrest as lived by Nathan Nzanga, a Seattle-based Black youth who’s become a local icon as an advocate for racial justice.
The project’s backstory is an inspiring example of a community–with the grassroots Prodigy Camp at the forefront–taking action to amplify one of its own with: 100% volunteer cast and crew, $300K+ worth of film equipment donated, and 100+ GoFundMe supporters. Set amidst the Seattle protests, the film shows Nzanga as he becomes a strong voice emerging in part from the tumultuous events of 2020.
Prodigy Camp is an intensive mentoring workshop founded by Rick Stevenson for promising young filmmakers and songwriters. Held just outside Seattle, the camp has Stevenson and other professionals helping aspiring artists explore and develop storytelling through film and song.
The enough short opens with Nzanga watching footage of himself through the years, going back a decade. Stevenson had begun interviewing Nzanga years before he attended the camp as part of the 5000 Days Project: a video journaling initiative helping participants capture who they are at specific moments along their journey growing up. Using interviews captured over this lengthy span, enough is a hip-hop film that explores Nzanga’s evolution from quirky kid born to Congolese immigrants, to an idealistic teen artist, to a frustrated young man struggling to overcome pain and cynicism.
Slain himself was mentored four years ago at Prodigy Camp. Following last year’s tragic death of George Floyd, Stevenson sent Slain a preview of the powerful music Nzanga created in response, and buoyed the idea of crafting a film to match the gravity of his words. Slain responded with an initial concept that became a treatment, and the rest is history.
ANA DOUBLES UP ON DIVERSE SUPPLIERS
The number of companies on the ANA’s list of “Certified Diverse Suppliers for Marketing and Advertising” has more than doubled since it was established in July. Now totaling 212 entries–including agencies and media, production, promotion, and research companies–the list was spurred on by an ANA study which revealed that a large majority (75 %) of ANA members have strategic plans in place to hire diverse suppliers for their overall organizations, but only 40% have such strategies specifically for marketing and ad services.
ANA CEO Bob Liodice affirmed that “supplier diversity provides opportunities for business expansion, drives competition, and promotes innovation as diverse vendors can offer new products, services, and solutions.”
The complete list is available here.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE…
Global creative collective Thinkingbox has hired Scott Hiers and Tim Blount as creative directors, adding to its L.A. team. Joining from Stink Studios L.A. where he served as creative director, Blount brings client experience ranging from WeTransfer to Strava, Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube (TV & Music) in multiple disciplines, including experiential, digital, and content. Previously, he was creative director at R/GA and CP+B. Coming from TBWAChiatDay, where he was design director, Hiers will serve as a leader in experiential, digital, and content production with his global brand experience for varied clients….
