We are proud to announce the HBCU Storytellers documentary film series 400 Years Later…’free-ish acceptance into an array of accredited film festivals including Pan African Film Festival, Harlem International Film Festival, DocuWest Documentary Film Festival, International Black Film Festival, 9th Annual Social Justice Film Festival, Milwakee Film Festival that all went virtual this year in response to Covid. We encourage you to show your support by joining the virtual screenings of our documentary in the up coming festivals including 2020 Virginia Film Festival, Black Harvest Film Festival, and more to come!

​Parker continues to help bring diverse storytelling to audiences everywhere in his latest endeavor at the Hip Hop Film Festival.  Showtime tells the fascinating story of two young men who are subway dancers in New York.  Shawn Antoine II wrote and directed the film, and Parker served as the Executive Producer.  Antoine, a 22-year old writer/director/producer from Harlem, New York is a former student at the Nate Parker Foundation.

​The Hip Hop Film Festival provides a platform for content creators who were born in the Hip Hop Generation, that is, after 1960. The festival theme for 2019 is “Stories From the Culture.”

​Wiley College students can now earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film and Theater in the newly accredited program at the Nate Parker School of Film and Drama. Students will be trained in all technical aspects of filmmaking including screenwriting, cinematography, producing, acting and directing, coupled with the history of film and its broad cultural influence. 

​Wiley, a historically black college in East Texas once served as the backdrop of the 2007 film The Great Debaters, which starred Parker and was directed by Denzel Washington. In addition, Parker is a trustee of the school and launched the Nate Parker Summer Film Institute back at Wiley in 2016. 

​This new degree, rolling out in 2021, is another exciting step towards Parker’s goal of helping young, diverse storytellers develop the skills, contacts and opportunities necessary to be successful in the film industry.

​LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Nate Parker Foundation (NPF), which is dedicated to empowering young black filmmakers, today celebrated two student films “Black Bones” and “Showtime,” which were featured this weekend at the Pan African Film Festival Los Angeles (PAFF-LA), which is largest black film festival in the world.

Nate Parker, NPF founder and CEO said, “This is a proud moment for our organization. I’m humbled that our students are seeing so much success and others are celebrating their work. It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to help foster diversity behind the camera and to see this happen brings so much joy to our foundation’s faculty and student family.”  

​Shemar Yanick Jonas, NPF student and “Black Bones” co-director said, “I always had a big passion for directing, but NPF gave me the tools to understand angles and different shots that helped me co-create this film. I’m forever grateful. Black Bones is a story that in some way assists in healing and finishing the unfinished business of our ancestors.” 

​Shawn Antoine II, NPF student and “Showtime” director said, “Showtime takes viewers into the unforgiving world of a New York City subway dancer. As a Harlem native and daily train commuter, I was always mesmerized as kids would strut onto the train and shout “Showtime.” For many of my friends, dancing in the subway was their way of not falling victim to the rampant crime in our neighborhood. Manifesting this project was certainly a process, but fortunately I was able to call upon two of my instructors from the Nate Parker Film Institute.

​NPF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to empower young black storytellers, proudly helped to facilitate the production of two films featured at the PAFF, which was held from Thursday, February 7, 2019 to Monday, February 18, 2019. This year, the PAFF, which is an Academy Award qualifying festival, featured two NPF films. One of the films, “Black Bones,” was codirected by several 2018 Summer Institute students including Shemar Jones, Brianna Clay, India Johnson, Melissa Rocca, Adrian Woodard and Garret Stiell. 

​“Black Bones,” which was presented at the Cinemark at Baldwin Hills, details the story of children who are mysteriously confronted with horrible unknown truths from their family’s past while playing a game of “domino bones.” “Black Bones” was filmed during the NPF summer program at Wiley College, a four-year, historically black college/university (HBCU) in East Texas. NPF founder, Nate Parker, was introduced to the college as a young actor in “The Great Debaters” alongside Forest Whitaker and Denzel Washington, who served as mentors to him. 

In addition to “Black Bones,” 22-year old NPF student Shawn Antoine II’s film “Showtime” was added as an official selection of the PAFF.  The film tells the dynamic story of Darius, a Harlem, New York street dancer or “litefeet” dancer. In addition to the PAFF, “Showtime” was named an official selection for 7 other film festivals across the country. Antoine is a public relations major and double minor in film media and Africana studies at the University of Rhode Island. 

About NPF:  
The Nate Parker Foundation (NPF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to empower young black storytellers to change culture through film. NPF breaks barriers in the film industry by disrupting established avenues towards film production and fostering diversity behind the camera. For more information about NPF, or news inquiries please email info@nateparkerfoundation.org.

​This Fall, NPF partnered with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek Michigan announce the launch HBCU Storytellers, a project aimed at training HBCU students in documentary film production. This new two-year project and $399,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation opens up a critical pathway to engage talented youth in the NPF mission.

​HBCU Storytellers will employ and train interns from six HBCUs (Virginia State University, Hampton University, Virginia Union University, Norfolk State University, Virginia University of Lynchburg, and Wiley College). The aim for the initiative is to create stories that foster healing, build empathy, and lead to real world solutions, an extension of the NPF’s commitment in activism through cinematic arts, and belief in grassroots leadership and storytelling as a vehicle for social change. The HBCU program participants will create a series of documentary films highlighting specific themes related to the history and legacy of African descendant people in America. HBCU Storytellers will work directly with local communities by providing a platform for memories, dialogues, and community engagement to build stronger intergenerational and interracial relationships. Under the direction of the NPF staff and local, partnering stakeholders, students will identify pertinent issues related to their local black communities. The selected interns will gain formal training in filmmaking, and access to a rich network of mentors. Ultimately, the participant-produced works will help bring forth some of the dynamic hidden stories that lie in their local communities and give a voice to the unheard.