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    Director Alexandra Henry’s “Street Heroines” wins Best Documentary Award at Portland Film Fest

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1991 Views
    A scene from "Street Heroines"
    BROOKLYN, NY --

    Street Heroines, directed by Alexandra Henry (who’s repped in the ad arena by Valiant Pictures), has won the Best Documentary Award at the 2021 Portland Film Festival. This is the highest honor in the documentary category. The Portland Film Festival viewed 4,500 films in total, accepting 350 to the festival. 

    Street Heroines looks at the courage and creativity of female graffiti and street artists from around the world. From New York City, where Lady Pink and Claw $$ paved the way for female artists to use the streets as canvas, to São Paulo and Mexico City, Street Heroines gives voice to women fighting social injustice with creativity in the male-dominated subculture.

    The film is additionally part of the Official Selection lineup at the In Latino Film Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania, going on until November 7thThe film will then travel to Barcelona, Spain for an in-person presentation on Sunday, December 5, at the DART Film Festival.  

    Henry is an alum of SHOOT’s 2019 New Directors Showcase.

    Tags:Alexandra HenryPortland Film FestivalStreet Heroines



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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