Jamil O’Quinn ’21 MFA is set to graduate this May but before he does, he is giving back to the SFTV community in a big way. No stranger to making things happen, O’Quinn’s film “Percy & Ceasar” was selected for the 2020 Reel Black Men Film Festival, he worked on the 72nd Emmy Awards, and he won the inaugural Pope St. Francis Social Justice Screenplay Award for “Street Sweep” at the 2020 SFTV Awards. And that was just during a pandemic.
For his latest endeavor, O’Quinn is bringing Black voices in the entertainment industry to LMU. The series is being produced by O’Quinn in partnership with SFTV Graduate Programs. “The ‘Black’ in Business series is geared to showcase a range of high-level industry professionals of color who are eager to impart to us how they broke through the gates and established their careers,” said O’Quinn. “I want these events to reassure my colleagues, all SFTV and LMU students, that there are great resources coming to us now and after we graduate.”
‘Black’ in Business Event Series
Friday, January 22, 2021 12pm – 1pm
Guest: Jaia Thomas, Founder of Diverse Representation
Moderator: Elena Muslar, Associate Director, Creative Professions and Strategic Initiatives at LMU
Join Jaia Thomas, founder of Diverse Representation, and moderator Elena Muslar to learn more about Diverse Representation‘s extensive resources and their newly launched Black Executive Pipeline fellowship (application deadline January 31) sponsored by Color of Change.
Friday, February 26, 2021 12-1pm
Guest: Rob Williams, SVP of Theatrical Motion Pictures, Development, and Production at JuVee Productions
Moderators: Charles Swanson, Professor of Film and TV Production at LMU and Jamil O’Quinn, ’21 MFA Writing for the Screen
Join Rob Williams for a discussion on the script to screen process, what stories grab his interest as a development executive, and the responsibility storytellers have in our broader society.
Friday, March 12, 2021 3-4pm
Guest: Natasha Foster-Owens, Vice President, Production at HBO
Moderator: Eden Daniel, ’21 MFA Film and Television Production
Join Natasha Foster-Owens will discuss how she successfully navigated her career as an executive at HBO, her career advice for aspiring creative executives and those seeking to work in production, and the challenges in being “Black” in business.
Top image (R:L) Jaia Thomas, Rob Williams, Natasha Foster-Owens
