Filmmakers
Meet the visionary creators whose work we bring to life through community screenings.
Meet the visionary creators whose work we bring to life through community screenings.
Elaine Del Valle is a native New York, Puerto Rican Director, and multi-hyphenate Storyteller. Her awards include the HBO Latinx Director award, the LALIFF | LFI | Amazon-MGM works-in-progress independent feature film finishing fund, NYC's Women in Media award (NYFA) and from festivals including SXSW, Urbanworld, Catalyst Stories, Seriesfest and more.
Kahlil Joseph is a Los Angeles–based filmmaker and visual artist whose ability to craft deeply emotional, visually captivating narratives that push the boundaries of both film and fine art has solidified his position as one of the most revered auteurs today. Moving fluidly between cinema, journalism, and contemporary art, Kahlil’s practice often centres on the aesthetics of Black life and consciousness. He has directed short-form pieces for artists including Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé and Flying Lotus, alongside work for brands such as YSL and Kenzo. Artistically, Kahlil has exhibited work at the Venice Biennale, the Tate Modern and the Underground Museum, which he co-founded in Los Angeles. He is the creator of BLKNWS, a genre-defying media project that began as a two-channel video installation and evolved into his first feature-length film, ‘BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions’, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film blends archival footage, scripted scenes, and real-world interviews to explore the landscape of contemporary media and collective memory, marking a new chapter in Joseph’s ongoing experiment with form, authorship, and the future of cinematic language.
Raven Jackson is a multi-talented artist whose work encompasses poetry, photography, and filmmaking. The ways in which life mirrors nature is central to her practice, as much of her artistic output concerns life’s cyclical changes. Jackson holds an MFA from New York University’s Graduate Film Program, where she directed her award-winning thesis film Nettles. Her feature debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt chronicles the life of a woman in mid-century rural Mississippi and is currently playing in New York and Los Angeles theaters.
Abou Sangaré is a Guinean-born French actor, famous for his breakout role in The Story of Souleymane (2024), portraying an undocumented delivery worker in Paris, a role mirroring his own life as an immigrant who arrived in France seeking to help his sick mother, ultimately winning awards like the César for Best Male Revelation in 2025, after working as a car mechanic and overcoming immigration hurdles to find his path in cinema.
Director of the upcoming Death Does Therapy
Jeff A. Watkins is a dynamic media producer and entrepreneur, best known as the founder and CEO of Condreal, a global transmedia production and distribution company based in New York City, and the founder of **Overflow**, a new studio–streamer–distribution platform built to reclaim agency for underrepresented creators and audiences. With a dynamic team of producers, technologists, and cultural strategists, Overflow is designed to disrupt traditional Hollywood gatekeeping by turning community momentum into real theatrical runs and long-tail streaming opportunities for Black and Brown cinema and culturally rooted, spiritually resonant storytelling. A former Naval Officer and graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Watkins earned early prestige at Merrill Lynch, where he was recognized by *Research Magazine* as one of the firm’s most promising young talents. He launched his media career by creating and producing *My Hero*, a celebrity docu-series with Zoe Saldana featuring Idris Elba, Gina Rodriguez, and Nick Cannon. The series, acquired by Time Warner, became one of the most financially successful digital projects of its era. Watkins has since led a range of bold projects including *Restaveks*, a multi-million dollar international feature film confronting child trafficking in the Caribbean, and his directorial debut in *Small Town, Big Hope: Pelham Love*, a theatrically premiered documentary short. His recent work includes *Four Square Miles to Glory*, a celebrated basketball documentary to be narrated by Denzel Washington, the upcoming multinational animated feature *Kibwe*, and *Hallowed Grounds*, a docuseries celebrating Black communal excellence across America. A native of Mount Vernon, NY, Watkins serves on the boards of The Picture House Film Center and Mount Saint Michael Academy. Across every project—and now through Overflow—he remains committed to building creative ecosystems that inspire, elevate, and give communities lasting ownership over their stories.