On Wednesday 16th, The 12th Annual NBCUniversal Short Film Festival hosted an invite only afterparty at Eventi Hotel with filmmakers, judges and network executives in attendance.
Check out our exclusive interviews of the night:
Jandiz Cardoso, Director of Diversity Initiatives
Q: Did you always know you wanted to work in diversity?
A: There’s a very small community of diverse female casting directors in America and in the world. I was a casting director for 13 years in New York. I was about to accept a job at a very high profile cable series and I was asked if I would like to lead pipeline programs and talent scout for diversity for actors that NBC and it was a very easy yes.
Q: Why do you believe having a diverse narrative is important?
A: Being affiliated with a broadcast media corporation comes a lot of responsibility. This world is changing and we want to be on the right side of history. We want to make sure that right now as we are reaching the vastest market in America that we’re showing true Americans who live here in this country, who are citizens fulfilling their dreams, contributing to the economy and we are not settling for one story- if it’s women, writers with disabilities, veterans in the military, members of the LGBTQ community or minorities- we need to break this ground now as and do our country justice by telling the right narratives.
Karen Horne, Senior Vice President of Programming Talent Development & Inclusion
Q: How and why was the festival created?
A: A woman named Damona Resnick Hoffman who was in this position prior to me wanted to find new filmmakers and we’ve grown this festival as you see. Beyond that NBC has always been at the forefront of trying to find and develop new voices. We’ve always been a champion of giving a platform for those voices.
Q: What type of guidance would you give someone starting off in the industry and looking to become a network executive?
A: Begin at the beginning. Begin at the start line. Don’t try to say you’re going to be an executive when you first start. I first started as a receptionist and then I was an assistant for almost 10 years before I got my first break as an executive. Be willing to run the marathon before winning the race.
Allen Maldonado, actor in “Black-ish”
Q: How did you get involved in the Festival?
A: They reached out to me after they saw an article in Essence about my app that’s coming out October 3rd. It’s the first short film mobile app where we are curating short films from around the world and providing visibility to a wider audience. Most short films last 12 to 15 months in the festival circuit and that’s it. A lot of times when you go to these festivals you are preaching to the choir-your friends, family, and people in the production are in the film industry. The average consumer never has an opportunity to even see these films because they don’t even know they exist. I wanted to be able to create a platform to be able to showcase these short films in a digestible way for the average consumer to watch, broadening the audience by adding more visibility into these short films and that’s why I created EveryBody Digital.
Q: How long did it take you to come up with this idea for a mobile app?
A: We’ve been developing for two years. The idea came from heartbreak, as I consider this like FUBU-for us by us. I’m a short filmmaker and I’m making a short film app. I had a short film called “One Decision Away” that had a great run. It won 4 or 5 awards and got accepted into tons of festivals. After all that blood, sweat and tears and love I had for this film, I looked around and no one really saw it. No one had the opportunity to enjoy it as well. It was heartbreaking and I was like how do I get this to the masses and do it in a way that isn’t Youtube and feels cheap in the bargain basket. That’s when I developed this idea to put short films on a platform and also create an industry for short films.
Victor Turpin, NBCU Short Film Festival judge and actor in “Shades of Blue”
Q: You’re a judge for the festival, did you get a chance to watch all the films?
A: Not yet because I’m going to watch only what gets narrowed down to the finalist’s selection and judge those.
Q: How did you get chosen as a judge?
A: I just started working with NBC in “Shades of Blue”. They invited me because I am new talent and I feel honored.
Q: How do you prepare for your role?
A: My approach in acting is based in reality and based on experiences that I’ve had. I’m actually from Colombia and am playing a Colombian guy. I lived during the time when the drug cartel was heavy back when I was a kid. This guy that I’m playing is the son of a drug lord, so it helps tremendously with my role.
