Black MADE
Envisioning Life Without Police & Prisons
Creator, Director & Producer: Sarah Oberholtzer
Writers: Sarah Oberholtzer & Troy Lewis
Seed Phase: 2022—present
The Black MADE project is an Abolitionist Writers Room composed of artists, writers, filmmakers, and organizers who met weekly to imagine and create the specifics of abolitionist systems needed for a 3-part short film series set in a police/prison free community.
Over the course of the project, participants developed 3 short film treatments as well as a list of Lessons Learned for future abolitionist creatives seeking to activate a community-informed abolitionist writing process. While phase 1 of the project consisted of 2 writers creating the first drafts of the film, phase 2 opens up the script to community feedback from 5 abolitionist creatives & organizers. In the final phase, the Lead Writer will flesh out the story into scripts ready to go into production, with the intention to release the films through an impact distribution campaign.
Sarah Oberholtzer
Sarah Oberholtzer is a filmmaker, educator, and community organizer invested in telling stories that allow audiences to imagine alternative futures that support BIPOC communities. Festivals such as Trans Stellar Film Festival, Imagine This Women’s International Film Fest and The Bush Films have all featured their documentary short Reimagining Tomorrow which follows a Black queer artist and activist. The film also placed as a finalist in the Lift-Off First Time Filmmaker Sessions. They have made many works for local Chicago advocacy campaigns including their most recent piece Love Letter to Chicago’s Black Womxn made in collaboration with Defund CPD, Grassroots Collaborative, & the national Black Girl Freedom Fund. As an educator, they were nationally recognized by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs as the August 2019 Connected Educator of the Month. The city-wide PBS program Chicago Tonight also broadcasted a story highlighting their classroom and their students’ work. They received a bachelor’s degree in Radio, Television + Film from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.
Troy Lewis
Troy Lewis moved from Texas to Zambia at the age of 7, where he grew up in the capital, Lusaka. He is now a film editor based in Chicago. His work has screened at festivals such as Sundance and Outfest, and been featured on The Wrap's ShortList and PBS' AfroPop. His 2020 feature, Tahara, directed by Olivia Peace, premiered at Slamdance and is releasing in theaters, June 2022. In 2021, he edited the two-part Participant Media short film, A Revolutionary Act, exploring the family and legacy of Fred Hampton. His 2022 horror feature, All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, directed by Alex Phillips, is premiering at Fantasia Film Festival, and he is currently completing editing on the feature documentary, Daughters. With a background in creative fiction writing, his editorial work focuses on depicting unique perspectives through the textures and rhythms of daily life, evoking emotion and insight through sensory experiences.