The Queen Collective

, now in its fourth year, is a program developed in partnership with Procter & Gamble, Queen Latifah, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Tribeca Studios. It accelerates gender and racial equality behind the camera by opening doors for the next generation of multicultural women directors through mentorship, production support, and distribution opportunities. Six new films will be released starting in the fall of 2022. Our filmmakers are: Imani Dennison, Luchina Fisher, Contessa Gayles, Idil Ibrahim, Vashni Korin, and Jenn Shaw.

The Queen Collective creates access and opportunity for women filmmakers of color to tell their stories. It is the signature initiative in P&G’s Widen The Screen program, which is addressing the systemic bias and inequality in advertising and media.

TACKLING BARRIERS FOR WOMEN FILMMAKERS OF COLOR

To consistently Widen the Screen by telling honest and accurate stories about women, especially Black women, we must have real diversity in all parts of the filmmaking process. But the number of women filmmakers of color remains unacceptably low.¹

Since its launch in 2019, the Queen Collective has tackled the well-known barriers for women filmmakers of color—access and opportunity.

Behind the cameras

ACCELERATING PROGRESS AND REPRESENTATION

It matters who works behind the camera. Directors are decision-makers who build crews and talent rosters. When a Black woman directs a film, there is a higher percentage of speaking characters who are Black girls/women.² Women filmmakers of color share stories that align with their experiences. These diverse stories deserve to be told.

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EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF WOMEN FILMMAKERS

Now in its fourth year, the Queen Collective is accelerating gender and racial equality by opening doors through mentorship, production support, and distribution opportunities for the next generation of multicultural women filmmakers. These voices are crucial in diversifying the film industry through their unique perspectives. This year, the program is enabling six Black female directors.

This year’s Queen Collective features six Black female directors whose unique voices and viewpoints need to be heard and seen. I’m thrilled to walk alongside them in their creative journeys and to champion the evolution of their artistry.

– Queen Latifah

MEET THE FILMMAKERS

Imani Dennison

IMANI DENNISON

Bone Black: Midwives vs. The South, the 2022 Queen Collective film, is a documentary paying homage to the stories and legacy of non-traditional birthing methods practiced in the South. Imani Dennison is an experimental documentary filmmaker and DP based in Brooklyn, NY. Imani graduated from Howard University. Her work interrogates stories of Black people in the American South and African diaspora, usually centered in folklore, fantasy, and oral histories.

WATCH OUR QUEEN COLLECTIVE FILMS.

Queen Latifah shaking hand

PROVIDE MENTORSHIP & SUPPORT PRODUCTION

Each film maker receives mentorship support from industry experts (including Queen Latifah herself) on the topics of film development, production, finance, legal, distribution, marketing, press and media training.

With the support and tools of this program, we hope every filmmaker feels better prepared to join the ranks of other Black film directors and advocate for greater inclusion in the industry.

Gain distribution

GAIN DISTRIBUTION

It’s vital that we use our reach and influence to enable these incredible stories to be heard. We are elevating and widely broadening the conversation by partnering with Black Owned and Operated distribution partners to share stories that have changed the lives of multicultural women.

OUR BRAND PARTNERS

The Queen Collective would not be possible without our brand partners.

My black is beautiful logo

My Black is Beautiful’s mission is to reinforce positive representation of Black women and Blackness – in beauty and culture. MBIB is committed to changing associations from negativity, trauma, and pain to that of positivity, love, and joy. Like the concept of Found, directed by Contessa Gayles, which is about a group of young girls at a historically Black summer camp. It's an ode to girlhood, freedom, and friendship.

Tribeca studios lineup
Tribeca logo

Tribeca Studios has a long history of supporting underrepresented storytellers with unique and diverse perspectives. Tribeca provides industry expertise and support for emerging directors from beginning to end.

For the Queen Collective, Tribeca Studios taps itsvast network of outstanding next-generation filmmakersand invites women directors of color to submit a treatment for an original short documentary that focuses on a social issue and inspires social change.

Learn more
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TAKE ACTION

We encourage you to learn more about P&G’s other efforts to fight systemic racism.

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1. Out of 1,477 directors, only 8 were Black or African American women directors. Annenberg study
2. 21.9% of all speaking characters were Black girls/women when the top leadership job was held by Black directors. only 4.4% of girls and women on screen were Black in films with directors from other racial/ethnic groups. USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Inequality in 1300 Popular Films, September 2020, pg.4