Black Public Media set to hit $2 million in funding through PitchBLACK

Black Public Media (BPM) is on track to surpass $2 million in funding this year for film and immersive projects through its annual PitchBLACK Forum.

About PitchBLACK

PitchBLACK is the nation’s largest pitch competition for independent filmmakers and creative technologists developing Black content. This year’s event takes place in HarlemHarlem on Wednesday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Forum

Advertising futurist Tameka Kee returns as moderator of the PitchBLACK Forum.

The film competition, scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon, features documentary projects from:

• Sidney Fussell and Jennifer Holness
• Karen Hayes
• Arlieta Hall and Brittany Alsot
• Chelsi Bullard and Jacqueline Olive
• Caron Creighton.

The immersive segment runs from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., with presentations from:

• Anatola Araba
• Aya
• Steven Christian
• Rasheed Peters
• Jeremey Kamal
• Joel Mack

Their projects incorporate artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, 3D animation or gaming.

PitchBLACK Awards

Lillian Benson (Photo Credit: Wm. Stetz)

Winners of this year’s production and distribution awards will be announced at the PitchBLACK Awards on Thursday, May 1, at 7 p.m.

During the ceremony, history‑making film editor Lillian E. Benson, ACE, will receive the prestigious BPM Trailblazer Award. Benson is known for her Emmy®‑nominated work on:

• Eyes on the Prize II
• Showtime’s Soul Food
• NBC’s Chicago Med and OWN’s Greenleaf.

Hosted by comedian Jamie Roberts, the awards program will include a conversation with Benson moderated by NPR host Brittany Luse.

This year’s BPM Trailblazer Film Retrospective will feature a curated collection of Benson’s edited works, available to stream for free on blackpublicmedia.org from April 28 through May 12.

Titles include

• Beyond the Steps
• Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise;
• New World, New Forms;
• The Taste of Dirt
• Two parts Eyes on the Prize II: The Promised Land (Part 10) and Keys to the Kingdom (Part 13).

About Black Public Media

BPM is a national nonprofit that funds film and immersive media, supports emerging creators and produces and distributes original content.

Since 2015, BPM has awarded more than $1.8 million to 23 film and immersive projects through PitchBLACK. With more than $225,000 in funding planned for this year, the organization will surpass $2 million in total awards since the program’s launch. This year’s competition moves to The Apollo Stages at the Victoria in Harlem, where BPM is based.

“We are happy to host PitchBLACK in the creative and cultural mecca of Harlem this year,” said Leslie Fields‑Cruz, executive director of BPM. “PitchBLACK always offers a wonderful array of projects presenting unique mixes of entertainment, ingenuity and craftsmanship. We look forward to what this year’s creatives have in store for audiences.”

For more information visit https://blackpublicmedia.org/pitch-black/pitchblack-2025/