now presenting: our 2023 #otvfellows
For the very first time in its five-year history, the 2023 OTV Fellowship program has expanded internationally and is reaching storytellers across the global filmscape.
This annual program is one of our cornerstone initiatives designed to identify and activate intersectional artistry, stories and identities that are often marginalized by market and society because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, class, disability or citizenship status.
After receiving another year of record-breaking applications from across the globe, we are excited to announce our first international cohort of artists: Khaleb Brooks (Los Angeles, CA), Robert Cunningham (Chicago, IL), Priya Jeram Patel (Cape Town, South Africa), Wil Prada (Los Angeles, CA), Jewells Santos (Chicago, IL), Roni Niu (London, England) and Danielle Young (Los Angeles, CA).
Keep up with their careers and projects via OTV’s website www.weareo.tv/fellows and across the award-winning platform’s social media channels: Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
MEET THE FELLOWS
KHALEB BROOKS
“May the Road Rise Up to Meet You”
Khaleb Brooks (he/him) is a filmmaker and visual artist centering queer narratives and African Diasporic ancestral memory in their work. Brooks has consulted on major productions such as Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, set designed for short films in the UK and won Best Trans Actor for their role as Roen in the webseries BOXX. Their latest performance film, Black Boys Can Swim has screened in film festivals across the UK and offers a montage of narratives at the intersection of blackness, local tradition and memory. Shot in Lamu, Kenya, they capture men working on dhows (traditional sail boats), children playing in water, their own experiences with almost drowning, and create characters of the sea, combining mythmaking with lived experience. By capturing the spirit of the water as both powerful and playful and engaging with historical racial inaccess to pools, Brooks begs their audience to rethink the racist stereotype “Black people can’t swim”. Over the years they have made a multitude of DIY short art films and music videos exploring identity, perception and margenalisation. Their film Who You Is!? Teacher, Brother, Sissy explores codeswitching, race, class and projections onto the black trans body. This work was featured as a part of Inferno Summit, a queer performance platform at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. Prior to working as an artist full time, Khaleb was an international development filmmaker working with the United Nations and a multitude of NGOs. Khaleb, originally from Chicago is inspired by the perseverance of black families in overcoming poverty, addiction, abuse and gang violence as well as their own experiences of being black and trans.
In May the Road Rise Up to Meet You a married woman and a transgender man navigate their desperation to love and be loved at a bus stop in London.
ROBERT CUNNINGHAM
“Laurels”
Robert T. Cunningham (he/they) is an Atlanta-born, Chicago-based actor and screenwriter whose work focuses on queering and reclaiming predominantly white and/or heteronormative spaces through a comedic lens. Film credits include MOM AND DAD and Chicago-based teen noir KNIVES AND SKIN--which have screened at major festivals such as TIFF, Berlinale, Tribeca, and the Chicago International Film Festival. Television credits include THE BIG LEAP (FOX) and SOUTH SIDE (HBO Max). They wrote and starred in the comedic web series, HOW TO L0VE, which received funding and support from Halsey’s Black Creators Funding Initiative, a Red Bull Arts Chicago Microgrant, and was a Finalist for the 2022 Yes And...Laughter Lab--it can be streamed on Open Television. Their comedic feature-length screenplay, Pigeon, was recently part of the 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab. Robert is a graduate of Northwestern University.
In Laurels, a washed up former child star uses his con artist younger cousin and a ragtag group of Chicago community college performers to help reignite his career.
JEWELLS SANTOS
“The Deflowerment of Wendy Diaz”
Jewells Santos (she/they) is a Puerto Rican filmmaker and producer based in Chicago. She graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University with a degree in playwriting. As a filmmaker, she aims to bring boundary-pushing and underrepresented people to the screen. Her work explores womanhood, body image and fatness, intimacy and sexuality, mental health, and Latinx narratives. She has directed over 15 music videos and her work has been featured at Heartland Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Midwest Film Festival and Nylon Magazine. In 2021, she wrote and produced her first feature film, "Waiting for the Light to Change" which won the grand jury prize at Slamdance Film Festival. She is a co-founder of Fatfish Films, a Chicago based film collective focused on femme and queer narratives.
In The Deflowerment of Wendy Diaz, a college student's life spirals out of control when she loses her virginity and can't remember it.
RONI NIU
“STOP”
Roni Niu (he/him) is a Taiwanese filmmaker, animator, and street dancer based in London, currently working as a Trainee with the National Film & Television School and Amazon Prime Video. He started his career while studying at University, animating for artists like Khruangbin and Knxwledge and participating in W+K London’s The Kennedys 2020 and Livity’s In Future List 2022. Roni's debut screenplay ‘Room Temperature’ was selected as a Finalist in Shore Script Short Film Fund and Quarterfinalist in HollyShorts Screenwriting Competition. He also makes films as a duo under the name Bagels, with projects that have won international awards, premiered in Rich Mix Cinema, and distributed online globally.
In STOP, a suicidal young man finds himself stuck between life and death after a failed suicide attempt and tries to find his way to death before life takes him back.
PRIYA JERAM PATEL
“Frames of: Smoke Break”
As an accomplished filmmaker and entrepreneur from South Africa, Priya Jeram Patel (she/they) has established a strong interest in the intersection between thought-provoking narratives and visual storytelling. Notably, Ms. Jeram Patel's films have received nominations from both the Shnit International Film Festival and the South African Film and Television Awards before reaching the age of 21, solidifying her presence in the filmmaking industry. Her filmmaking endeavours prioritise the provision of a platform for marginalised groups to create and collaborate.
Recently, Ms. Jeram Patel founded a media production company, 400 Seats, with the intention of amplifying the voices of local queer women of colour. Community and collaboration are integral values for Ms. Jeram Patel, and she aspires to create positive change in the world through her storytelling.
Frames of : Smoke Break is an anthology series that explores what it means to be living as a queer person in Africa. Through each episode, the series follows the personal journeys of new queer characters as they explore the intersectionality of their identity in relation to their land, community, and queerness.
WIL PRADA
“The Railroad”
Wil Prada (he/him) is a cinematographer and director. He grew up in a working-class family originally from Peru. While trying to get his Aerospace Engineering degree at UCLA, the realities of being undocumented set in. He got involved in the immigrants rights movement where he found filmmaking. Prada is actively working in the film industry as a cinematographer. He offers lighting and camera rental packages for productions, and has continued the entrepreneurial spirit of his parents. Through years of experience in movement building, the film industry, and the sciences, Prada has developed a unique lens. His work has screened at NASA, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, San Francisco MoMA, LALIFF.
In The Railroad, Leonor, an undocumented immigrant in 2050’s America, and her cell of underground scientists discover how to travel space-time from an ancient Maya codex, which creates new possibilities for her family and people.
DANIELLE YOUNG
“Apples and Apples”
DANIELLE YOUNG is a Black, agender multidisciplinary artist from Anishinaabe Aki who finds joy in collaboration and living in the moment. Danielle is excited by speculative fiction, queer narratives, and unsympathetic characters. Danielle's written work aims to help visibilize the narratives of real people not-often seen in popular media. Danielle is a 2021 recipient of the Outfest x Anthony Meindl Actors Fellowship. Most days you can find Danielle cycling the streets of Los Angeles.
In Apples and Apples, a depressed 70-year-old butch lesbian, mourning the loss of a 30-year-long relationship, attends an open mic where she meets a mysterious stranger that changes her life in more ways than one.