SEPTEMBER 2022

BY ELIJAH MCKINNON
Co-Founder & Executive Director

& STRATEGIC VISIONING COMMITTEE
Christine Davilla
Makiah Green
Chase Joynt
Kat Evasco
Karim Ahmad

executive summary

OTV | Open Television is a non-profit streaming platform and media incubator for intersectional storytelling, with artists and their creative visions at the center. Since launching in 2015 as a research project housed at Northwestern University, OTV has transformed the way the film and television industry supports independent artists and communities marginalized by their race, gender, sexuality, class, disability or nationality. Through intentional artist development and holistic community development, the award-winning organization provides a network of care to identify, activate and mobilize the next generation of storytellers. In addition to serving as a streaming home (#OTVapp) for hundreds of intersectional pilots, series, short films and video art, OTV presents an annual fellowship (#OTVFellows), hosts an educational workshop series (#OTVStudyHall), and mounts an internationally recognized film competition (#BraveFutures).

mission

Open Television (OTV) is a non-profit streaming platform and media incubator for intersectional storytelling, with artists and their creative visions at the center. OTV’s mission is to transform the way film, television and entertainment industries support independent artists and communities marginalized by their race, gender, sexuality, class, disability or nationality. Through intentional artist development and holistic community development the award-winning organization provides a network of care to identify, activate and mobilize the next generation of storytellers.

vision

Cultivating the next generation of intersectional storytellers to dream, create and thrive on their own terms.

snapline

Short:
Open Television is a platform for intersectional media & storytelling.

Expanded:

Open Television is an Emmy-nominated streaming platform and media incubator for intersectional storytelling, with artists and their creative visions at the center.

tagline

Organizational:
The Future of Storytelling is Intersectional

Promotional:
Tap Into a New Wave

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:

We provide a space for different communities to come together to experience culture, have critical conversations about identity, and meet people across social networks. We build collective power through coalitions, public activations and screenings & exhibitions that are united by intersectionality. In addition to cultivating a hub for nuanced experiences to be shared, we are developing audiences that celebrate a diverse range of artistic vitality.

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT:

We prioritize helping storytellers develop intersectional media from development to release. Our primary function is support. We offer project consultation, development programs and digital distribution opportunities to support the amplification of intersectional storytelling. In addition to providing a wealth of industry-related resources we also help artists establish a plan and trajectory for their careers and works.

theory of change

OTV is slowly developing a world where media is a tool for building empathy over division. We are committed to a practice that is rooted in artist development and community engagement. Brick-by-brick, our organization is laying the necessary foundation to identify, activate and mobilize the next generation of storytellers who are unafraid to embrace cultural difference and empowered to navigate complex systems to ensure their stories are told authentically.

We achieve this through a unique pipeline designed to identify, engage and activate a diverse range of filmmakers, storytellers and creatives that are interested in:

creating, producing and exhibiting original series, pilots, short films and video art
developing a sustainable career trajectory through mentorship, consultation and educational resources and/or,
cultivating access to potential projects, initiatives, and relationships that lead to securing equitable job opportunities.

Reforming the Current Media Landscape

Our theory of change is rooted in reforming our current media landscape and building a new one that is rooted in collective power. Each day our world is becoming more and more diverse. Many of us are taught to think about representation with what we see, but more important are the writers, directors, producers and executives who shape what we see through various forms of media. OTV provides a much-needed 360 approach for diverse storytellers where there is none. Media shapes culture, whether through legacy media like television or new forms like social media. By addressing the ways our current media ecosystem has contributed to harmful systems of oppression and extreme marginalization, we are awarded the opportunity to build a new foundation that creates possibility models rooted in celebration over exploitation.

Building Collective Power Amongst Intersectional Storytellers:

In recent years, representation has improved in some areas but is lacking in others. We have to change our media environment to change our culture, but doing so requires addressing the root causes, mainly the over-representation of normative identities (white, cisgender, straight, middle/upper class, able-bodied, etc.) and points of view among the creators of most media that finds its way onto our screens and into our hearts. Over the years our artists have achieved numerous accolades, secured several development deals and landed career-enhancing opportunities from their stories and talents that were nourished through our vision to cultivate the next generation of intersectional storytellers.

OTV provides a much-needed 360 approach for diverse storytellers where there is none (many people from the communities that we serve cannot afford or are discriminated against in film/art schools). Studies from UCLA, USC Annenberg, the Writers Guild, Write Inclusion, Pillars Fund, GLAAD, Color of Change and more have shown a range of barriers to achieve equity in media. It is very difficult for women, people of color, disabled artists, and many others to achieve sustainable employment as writers, directors, and producers. These barriers to telling their stories on national or global platforms persist even when storytellers gain employment. Studies show harassment and discrimination is rife at all levels. The inability of historically marginalized people to ascend into leadership not only affects employment conditions but also the stories we see, which tend to be simplified or harmful. As media stocks fall, history suggests recent gains in representation will erode, making OTV all the more important as a platform for these storytellers.

OTV intervenes by supporting storytellers in making and marketing their stories. Our artists enter the industry with their own intellectual property and the experience of being a boss. We have found this means they more quickly ascend in production hierarchies (many OTV alums are already executive producers of major films and series), which empowers them to tell their stories authentically.

At the same time, social media algorithms routinely erase or sensationalize our stories, as numerous academic studies have shown. OTV intervenes by serving as a curated online home that also guarantees deep local audience development.

In the short term, OTV is laying, brick-by-brick, the necessary foundation to support a generation of storytellers who are unafraid to embrace cultural difference and empowered to navigate complex systems to ensure their stories are told authentically.

In long term, OTV is slowly correcting the decades of inequality in media, where people of color, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ communities, in particular, are so often unable to profit from their labor because they enter systems unaware of its complexity and without demonstrating they deserve contractual and creative ownership (i.e. professionally and independently produced work).

OTV’s dual culture change strategy helps us reform the structural inequalities in the current entertainment industry by providing 360-degree support for diverse creators whose communities have historically been excluded from media. Through cohort cultivation and intentional prioritization, we offer support for development, production, distribution, exhibition, marketing, and career enhancement. Most organizations only focus on 1-3 of these aspects of an artist's career, which often leads them towards making ill-informed decisions about their career without centering the holistic cultivation of artistic practice. After splintering their focus, many artists will spend valuable time applying to numerous opportunities in order to launch their careers; after years of rejection, many artists give up. The ecosystem we are building at OTV thrives on a circle model that allows artists to chart their own trajectories without fear of failure, scarcity, and isolation.

We are leading where Hollywood tends to follow. Most of the stories that we consume have been shaped by corporations who do not come from our communities, limiting the depth of our humanity. As we struggle to build equality, we are cultivating an alternative ecosystem. Since our inception, we have amassed an extensive amount of knowledge about the artists we serve and the communities we entertain. As an intersectional streaming platform and media incubator committed to accurate representation, authentic storytelling and accessible engagement, it is imperative that our programs are reflective of the moments that relate to our social, political and cultural climate and that is impossible to do without inviting our community to the table.

As more intersectional storytellers from around the globe find themselves interested in entering the film/TV industry OTV is quickly becoming one of the only platforms in the nation dedicated to artistic integrity and full-service career cultivation. We achieve this through our pipeline which is strategically designed to engage a diverse range of media-makers through annual fellowships, educational courses, alternative distribution, one-on-one mentorship, project consultation and so much more. Adapting cohort models commonly found in academia, each year we usher in a new cycle of storytellers that are bound together by their commitment to create work that amplifies the lived experiences of their audiences. We achieve this through the intentional, compelling and bold investment in individual creators that are working with their communities to build portals toward shared liberation. Through this model we are providing a continuum of care that has incredibly powerful ripple effects to truly repair an industry that has been centered in harm.

strategic vision

Commitment to Intersectional Storytelling

OTV intervenes by bringing diverse arts and audiences together to amplify original stories and offers a platform for their distribution. OTV is not only a site for intersectional media and a platform on which to develop those stories, but also a community dedicated to presenting and archiving the independent filmmaking and storytelling canon. Spotlighting the people and organizations that create and support OTV productions is just one part of the work. What is learned from OTV’s mission, vision and values in parallel with this experimental work also continues to manifest through the larger media industry, largely from scholars, artists, activists, and critics about media and the role OTV artists are playing in shaping it. The current market leaves an incredible opportunity for OTV to become the first independent channel focused on intersectionality.

Since 2015, the platform has quickly grown into a robust non-profit incubator, marrying research with art and community development run by a team who is of the communities OTV seeks to represent. An interdisciplinary roster of artists, mostly Black, Asian and Latinx, queer, non-binary and female, are advised and supported through each phase of a creative project as well as how to strategize and prepare as they conceive of their careers in the long term. OTV’s artist development pipeline identifies, activates and mobilizes intersectional storytellers that are primed to bring independent digital series, pilots, short films and video art. This ultimately helps creators build community across disciplines, cultivate career opportunities and develop global audiences for their work.

As the broader media landscape slowly begins to respond to the inequities and harmful systems that have become the industry standard, OTV remains grounded in openness. Our commitment to inclusive media and storytelling is integral to our practice as we cultivate a pipeline to sustainable careers in an industry that has not been the most open to different identities, the ways of telling stories and engaging communities locally and globally. OTV is co-created by artists and communities that are hungry for a new model.

Commitment to Sustaining Artist Development Pipeline

Project Consultation: We empower artists to develop their own career trajectories, using the resources, programs and relationships that we have cultivated over the years as a tool. At our core, we develop independent media from the ground up which means we must remain open and accessible. To achieve this, OTV Artists that identify as intersectional and reside within our geographical landscapes are prioritized for project consultation in the following offerings:

One-on-One Mentorship: project consultation and development meetings hosted with OTV’s Head of Artist Development + Production (available on first-come-first-served lottery system)
Resource Database: access to grants, fellowships, labs, film festivals and other film-related initiatives that help them manifest their artistic pursuits.
Personal Introductions: when appropriate and aligned we will make intentional introductions between artists and individuals, collectives, and organizations that are available to support.

Development Programs: We offer three core programs that help us identify, activate and mobilize the next generation of storytellers. These efforts are uniquely designed to develop artistic vitality by encouraging a small cohort of artists to reimagine the way stories are told and content is produced. To achieve this, OTV Artists locally, nationally and globally have access to the following programs:

OTV FELLOWS: Launched in 2019, the OTV FELLOWSHIP program identifies and activates emerging storytellers ready to create a sustainable career in the film/tv industry through stipends, mentorship and consultation.
OTV STUDY HALL: Launched in 2020, the OTV STUDY HALL is a masterclass-styled series of film/tv industry courses designed exclusively for intersectional writers, directors and producers that are hungry to expand their knowledge.
BRAVE FUTURES: Launched in 2019, the BRAVE FUTURES FILM RACE is a 48-hour intersectional film competition that challenges creatives, storytellers and filmmakers to create a film that makes their world more brave.

Digital Exhibition: We provide non-exclusive distribution to intersectional storytellers that have completed a pilot, series, short film or video art. OTV believes that distribution opportunities should be open and interdisciplinary art should be celebrated; non-exclusive distribution agreements via the OTV App encourage artists to explore the best exhibition strategy that cultivates an intentionally engaged audience. To achieve this, storytellers that have completed an intersectional media project independently and/or with the support of an OTV program are encouraged use the following resource:

OTV DISTRO - Launched in 2021, OTV DISTRO serves as the official content submission form for independent storytellers that seek exhibition for their intersectional pilot, series, short-film or video art via the OTV App.

Commitment to Advancing Community Development Pipeline:

Public Activations: We present intentionally designed awareness campaigns and impact strategies throughout the year that engage our artists and communities in social, political and cultural dialogue. Through artist and content amplification we develop carefully curated activities that allow us facilitate deeper understanding and expansive empathy.

Screenings & Exhibitions: We design opportunities for our audiences to engage and be entertained by the artists that we support. Through in-person and virtual exhibitions we provide a space for artists to have rich and nuanced conversations about the stories they are sharing with the world around them.

Coalition Building: We build relationships with individuals, collectives organizations that hold shared vision for transformation of our current media landscape. Through public activations, screenings & exhibitions we partner with our peers to build a wealth of knowledge, share resources and ultimately construct an unmovable ecosystem that can support the next generation of storytellers.

Commitment to Cultivating an Alternative Media Ecosystem

The liberatory approach to both art and community development remains central to OTV’s mission and is an integral part of what anchors the overall programmatic design. Throughout its growth, OTV has developed inroads for both established and burgeoning media-makers with inclusivity in mind making our resources available to the broadest cross-section of underrepresented creatives spanning the spectrum of skill and interest.

The OTV platform remains the central hub for content makers to present their works and offers a home for intersectional artists in need of venues that are committed to representing their stories. The OTV App ensures the work will be there for posterity to be shared, viewed, and archived. The Fellowship acts as an incubator for promising artists to develop future projects through mentorship, funding and other resources, while the Study Hall component offers access to the fundamentals that lead to content production and industry navigation. When OTV Fellows take off, they bring the wealth of their experience back to the brain trust to add value to the Study Hall series. Members of the OTV App gain access to also, a la carte Study Hall content or they can just support the work through an annual or monthly contribution–sit back and enjoy premieres and other member offerings behind the paywall. The Brave Futures film race exports the OTV model beyond Chicago, extending the welcome mat both nationally and abroad to intersectional content makers who find support, collaborators and community through their participation in the competition and engagement with digital and live events in connection with the festival.

OTV content makes room for a more nuanced and expansive range of storytelling from abstract and magical, grounded and mundane, to traumatic and horrifying–while always taking characters seriously and focusing on the complexity of their journey.

Our goal is to become an institution in our field, akin to our partner Sundance. Most film and digital media organizations dedicated to serving our communities are very new and precarious. We believe we have been highly effective and want the time to prove our model can also be sustainable while adapting to an ever-changing media and technological climate. As we approach our 10 year anniversary in 2025 we seek to deepen our financial autonomy from our current partners by creating new revenue generating models that anchor us as one of the first Black and Queer-led nonprofit legacy media platforms in the country.

OTV is building an infrastructure for artists, audiences and industry stakeholders to transform 21st century media. Most importantly, we move at the speed of trust. We trust storytellers to know their specific story and its meaning for the communities they want to engage. This is a critical point to amplifying the nuance that resides at the various intersectional identities our world holds; ultimately creating opportunities to cultivate deeper empathy. At OTV, the future of storytelling is intersectional.

introducing OTV's strategic vision (2023-2025)