The MACRO X HBCU Entertainment Summit, in partnership with SheaMoisture, Beats, Warner Bros. Pictures, The National Urban League and Live Nation, will be in-person this year for its third annual showcase on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 in Atlanta.
The microfestival will host an array of panels and programming, a pitch contest, giveaways, as well as a docuseries screening and a film screening of Warner Bros.’ King Richard. The summit will also be available to students who currently attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country via livestream on TikTok starting at 12 noon EST.
Acclaimed actors such as Aunjanue Ellis, Nicole Ari Parker and Nicco Annan as well as major film and television producer Prentice Penny are set to appear at the Summit. A bevy of entertainment industry executives are also set to be there.
The inaugural summit made its debut on the campus of Howard University in 2019 with the mission to engage and educate students on the vast careers, opportunities and paths in the realms of media and entertainment. The event is open to students and alumni from Atlanta HBCU’s – Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College and Spelman College as well as those in the Atlanta area looking to purse careers in the media.
Check out the full listing of events below:
12:00pm
Doors open. Music by DJ Jash Jay and DJ Rayymon Beats.
12:30pm
All The Way Live. Presented by Live Nation.
A moderated discussion about careers in the live music industry.
Panelists:
Jason “J” Carter, Co-founder & Chief Marketing Officer, One Venture Group and Founder, ONE Musicfest
Michael Carney, Booking, Live Nation Urban
Rahshiene Taha, Vice President, Head of Properties/IP Development, Live Nation
Shavonne L. Dargan, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Marketing, CURATeD by Live Nation
1:00pm
The Playbook: Charting Your Unique Path to Hollywood – A Virtual Panel
This virtual panel will educate viewers on the strategies, skills and mindset needed to get a foot in the door. What to do and what not to do when building a personal network, how to make a great impression and what it takes to survive and thrive in media and entertainment will all be discussed.
Moderator: Khalid Jordan, Director of Development, MACRO Television Studios
Panelists:
Jermaine Johnson, Manager, 3 Arts Entertainment
Prentice Penny, Writer/Producer/Director, Insecure, Uncorked
Salena Rochester, Vice President, Current Production & Development, NBC Universal Media, LLC
2:00pm
Damn, That’s A Job?!?: Dream Driven Careers
This roundtable discussion focuses on utilizing skills that are often undervalued and/or overlooked and turning them into incredible careers. Executives will speak on redefining what it means to be a storyteller in this business, creating one’s own lane and manifesting dreams by activating one’s unique skills, gifts and interests.
Panelists:
Arthur Lewis, Creative Director, Fine Arts and Artist Space, United Talent Agency (UTA)
Jon Gist, Vice President, 360 Marketing & Brand Strategy, BET Networks
Provi Fulp Ramphal, Costume Designer, Queens, Black Lightning
3:15pm
Screening of MACRO Presents: Watch Them Work. Powered by SheaMoisture.
This digital docuseries, follows two current HBCU students (Clark Atlanta University’s Darris Rushing and Howard University’s Rachel Motley) as they handle their books and their business while they do the seemingly impossible: run their own successful enterprises while juggling the demands of a full course load at their respective schools. In the two episodes featuring these two scholar-business owners, viewers will learn their successes, their challenges and their why in this engaging web series that will be followed by a fireside chat to discuss.
In Conversation:
Darris Rushing, Celebrity Wardrobe Stylist, Love & Hip Hop Atlanta
Rachel Motley, Graphic Designer
Simone Jordan, Global Head, Purpose & Brand Partnerships, SheaMoisture
4:15pm
In Conversation With: Nicco Annan, Actor, P-Valley
4:45pm
MACRO x Beats Film Pitch Competition
MACRO and Beats offered current students, 2020 and 2021 graduates of Atlanta’s Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College the opportunity to pitch their passion film project to top Hollywood executives. The executives will evaluate and provide constructive feedback to three finalist teams on their big idea for the next great film. One team will win the opportunity to attend the Beats Black Creators Summit later this yearas well as The 5th Annual MACRO Lodge at Sundance Film Festival in January 2022.
The Judges:
Autumn Bailey Ford, Producer, Tulsa, Black Bear
Nicole Ari Parker, Actress, Empire, Star
Stephen “Dr.” Love, Producer, They Cloned Tyrone, The Land
6:00pm
A Live Performance by Young Nudy
7:30pm
Screening of King Richard. Powered by Warner Bros. Pictures. Followed by A Virtual Post-Screening Q&A with Aunjanue Ellis.
Moderated by Stacey Walker King, Chief Brand Officer, MACRO
Regal Cinemas 18, 1380 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, GA 30363
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men) from a script by Zach Baylin. Armed with a brazen plan, Richard Williams (Will Smith, who also produced) is determined to write his daughters Venus and Serena into history. Training on Compton, California’s neglected tennis courts, the girls are shaped by their father’s unyielding commitment and their mother’s balanced perspective and keen intuition, defying the seemingly insurmountable odds and prevailing expectations laid before them. Aunjanue Ellis (If Beale Street Could Talk) stars as the girls’ mom and Richard’s wife, Oracene Williams.
