How Lena Waithe Stays Winning
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Lena Waithe speaks onstage at Indeed's Rising Voices Season 4 Premiere at Spring Studios on June 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Indeed)
Lena Waithe wants to know something.
“Why do you want to help?” asks the award-winning writer-producer-performer of the audience gathered at the 2024 TriBeCa Film Festival. “Lending a helping hand and being impactful is not easy. It’s long hours. It’s investing actual money. That’s what folks really need." Waithe is speaking on what it truly takes to support filmmakers in America, and—according to the symphony of finger snaps that follow—the people agree with Waithe.
And so is corporate America.
Since becoming the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Masters of None) in 2017; the first openly queer Black woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2018; and a string of hit TV shows and films—including BET's Boomerang and Twenties, Showtime’s The Chi, Queen & Slim; the Sundance Jury Prize-winning A Thousand and One)— blue-chip brands, from AT&T to Gucci have queued up to align their products and services with Waithe’s brand of Black Millennial excellence. Typically, one’s success is mainly a consequence of personal ambition, but in Waithe’s case, her continued prosperity also derives from her unwavering commitment to ensuring the success of others.
Her work is rooted in creating work for others.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: (L-R) LaFawn Davis, Chris Hyams, Rishi Rajani, and Lena Waithe speak onstage at Indeed's Rising Voices Season 4 Premiere at Spring Studios on June 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Indeed)
Sharing the same commitment, Indeed, the #1 global hiring platform, connected with Waithe in 2021 and, in collaboration with her production company Hillman Grad and 271 Films, created Rising Voices—a program that aims to “discover, invest in, and amplify stories” created by ten filmmakers of color, each of whom are given $100,000 to make a film short exemplifying their view of the meaning of work. It was a success.
Fast forward to today, and Waithe, along with Hillman Grad CEO Rishi Rajani, are premiering the fourth season of the program—and Indeed’s and Waithe’s merging of missions is working, as evidenced by heartfelt testimonies of the filmmakers. "It’s a very tough time in our industry right now, so not only to have the support but also the investment is a game changer and godsend,” said Virginia native Omar S. Kamara, whose film, Bitter Leaf, stresses a theme familiar to him.
"I packed up everything and moved across the country to Los Angeles, and as I was trying to make stories my sister called me. She said, ‘I know you are working to achieve your dream, please don’t forget that we need you as well.’ I did not realize that I was not fully present for them. This film is about me grappling with that. It takes a lot of sacrifice to go after filmmaking I wanted to make this film as a reminder and metaphor to not get caught up in the ambitions and drive for success.”
Like Kimara, most of the stories from the chosen filmmakers were inspired by their own life experiences. Anndi Jinelle Liggett’s Tender Thoughts stars Denée Benton of the hit HBO series The Gilded Age and is a "fantasy about a Black woman searching for a sense of self while working as a corporate cog in the machine," says Ligget. "I think we can all relate to the idea of dimming our light to fit into spaces that we may not feel we belong in. As a filmmaker and as a person, I try to see the magic in the mundane."
And there is nothing ordinary about any of the filmmakers selected, which is why several alums are already working on several film and TV productions—including The Chi, the series centered around contemporary Black life in Waithe’s native Chicago. “We don't just do it because they were on Rising Voices, we really believe that they have the ability to come in and be a part of that world,” Waithe tells me earlier in the afternoon, when I sat down with her, Rajani, and other members of the Hillman Grad executive team backstage before the show. "They’re also being hired by other people that have nothing to do with Hillman Grad.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Omar S. Kamara, Manuel Del Valle, Anndi Jinelle Liggett, Kevin Luu, Kelly Luu, Jean Liu, Kelly Yu, Mercedes Arturo, Robin Takao D'Oench, Wes Goodrich, and Winter Dunn attend Indeed's Rising Voices Season 4 Premiere at Spring Studios on June 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Indeed)
This success is no surprise to Rajani, who previously worked at UTA and 20th Century Fox and now manages Hillman Grad’s ever-swelling slate of content. "We knew this program needed to exist. Our industry lacks consistency and follow-up. But Rising Voices alumni have shown up year after year. That represents true community building, and a program that is functioning at a very high level want to keep coming back to and being part of it. Our partners at Indeed and 271 Films and our home team have all shown up year after year," Rajani says, referring to folks such as Justin Riley, SVP of Operations & Business Development at Hillman Grad.
"I’ve learned the impact of giving back in a real way through this program," says Riley, an Emmy-Award-winning former producer of Red Table Talk. "You don’t always know what the seed will grow into. There are hundreds of people impacted in a very real way by this program—genuine filmmakers, but the crew and the producers who go beyond their specific short films and show up on other projects collaborate—and elaborate incredibly."
One of those seeds was Wes Goodrich, whose short film Meal Ticket follows a young manager who has to make a career-altering decision involving his artist on the opening night of their first major tour. Goodrich has made such hard choices on the road to Rising Voices.
"I almost dropped out of film school three times, and I did not think that I was good enough, or that there was space for me in this industry—so being trusted with this size budget was amazing and I deeply appreciate it," Goodrich shared with the audience while introducing his suspenseful short. "When I was 11 years old my stepdad showed me Spike Lee's Malcolm X. It wasn't the first movie I watched, but it sure felt like it. I think every movie that I have made since then is about a person finding their purpose."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Manuel Del Valle, Jean Liu, Chris Hyams, Doménica Castro, Constanza Castro, Omar S. Kamara, Kevin Luu, Kelly Luu, Rishi Rajani, Wes Goodrich, Winter Dunn, Kelly Yu, Robin Takao D'Oench, Lena Waithe, Mercedes Arturo, Justin Riley, LaFawn Davis, Travis Ing and Anndi Jinelle Liggett attend Indeed’s Rising Voices Season 4 Premiere at Spring Studios on June 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Indeed)
Lena Waithe’s journey has been purpose-filled—evidenced by her closing words before the show started. “If you want to create lasting impact, understand that it’s going to feel like a burden, but it's one that you carry with pride and dignity,” she says to the serene, standing-room-only crowd. They are silent as if waiting with bated breath for Waithe to wrap with a one-two punch of inspiration. And she doesn’t disappoint. “If I walk into these rooms by myself, I am just walking. But, when I'm carrying others with me, I’m getting stronger with every step.” Ashe.
For more information, please visit https://risingvoicesfilms.com
