Hollywood’s bright, brilliant, and bold gathered at The Preserve LA on Thursday (July 30) for Summernight, celebrating the Epigraph Creator Fellowship, which provides emerging filmmakers access to resources and cutting-edge AI technology for filmmaking tools.
The event spotlighted the inaugural fellowship, a collaboration between MACRO Foundation and Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) Cultural Leadership Fund that gave seven filmmakers mentorship and access to AI tools from OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Gamma, Promise Studios, Descript, Coactive, and Curious Refuge.
Summernight attendees (including Nemesis star Matthew Law) clinked glasses, popped into a pop-up tattoo booth, and hit an Electric Slide between viewing final projects from each of the fellows.
“Where AI and all innovation [are] going, talent, creatives — particularly talent of color — [are] at the epicenter,” said Judene Small, partner on the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund.
“We need to be in every single one of the rooms,” added Stacey Walker King, MACRO’s Chief Brand Officer. “What the foundation has set out to do is to make that a reality — to make sure that we have the education, the access, and the opportunity.
The fellowship launched during Oscar weekend in March, when Bianca Lambert, Chazitear Martin, John Burr, Justice Whitaker, Nick Barili, Sulayman Tahir, and Tedra Wilson were named its inaugural fellows. All seven were on hand to debut their work at Summernight, which marked the program’s conclusion after months of virtual sessions and in-person gatherings.
The rising filmmakers, whose work has previously featured at the Tribeca Film Festival and the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and on streaming platforms like Netflix, Paramount and Amazon Prime Video, learned to use AI to develop proof-of-concept trailers, pitch decks and other materials for projects they hope to bring to life.
“Al has the potential to fundamentally reshape the entertainment industry by giving independent creators the ability to bring ambitious stories to life without waiting for a traditional Hollywood greenlight,” said Barili, whose Conejito Azul tells a tale of how a courageous boy and his magical bunny lead an uprising against a xenophobic government. “Rather than replacing creativity, these tools can amplify it.”
As for Tedra “TT the Artist” Wilson, her project, The Magic Needle, tells the story of an unfulfilled fashion designer who is pulled into an alternate reality where she embarks on an adventure that has epic stakes.
“The biggest takeaway for me was realizing that AI is most powerful when it is guided by a clear human vision,” said Wilson, an award-winning director and RIAA platinum-certified recording artist. Her work blends music, fashion, and tech. “Emerging technology is here to stay, and I’m especially interested in how Black creators can use it to build opportunities in industries where we have historically been underfunded and underrepresented.”
The Epigraph Creator Fellowship represents MACRO’s broader effort to ensure creators from underrepresented communities help define, shape, and consult on how AI is used across the entertainment industry.
“When you are given access,” Small added at the event, “you also have to break down the barriers to access.”