Kim Fields is the new host of BET's Lens on Talent.

We spoke to veteran actress, Kim Fields, on Monday, about her experience working in the world of entertainment, along with her new gig hosting BET.com’s and Centric’s Lens on Talent: A Johnson & Johnson Filmmakers Challenge, the  short film showcase for emerging African American filmmakers competing to win a chance to air their film on BET or Centric. The new season of Lens on Talent premiered Sunday, Sept. 12 and will run on Sunday’s this Fall.  Lens is not BET’s only foray into the world of filmmaking this month. The network is also the presenting sponsor of the 2010 Urban World Film Festival, which starts today and runs through Sept. 19. The Festival will screen 71 features, documentaries, and short films that are relevant to a multicultural community.

In part 1 of our interview with Fields, she expounded upon her work as a director on House of Payne and Meet the Browns at Tyler Perry Studios. In part 2, she talks about the importance of supporting new filmmakers and providing outlets for their artistic expression.

Shannon Lanier contributed to the production of this article.

BlackEnterprise.com: Why do you think it’s so important to have an outlet as a filmmaker?
Kim Fields: There are so many stories to tell and so many different ways to tell wonderful stories. The idea of supporting filmmakers and new filmmakers–and that does not necessarily mean young filmmakers–is making sure you give the filmmaker the opportunity to tell his or her story and that they feel supported, either by connecting to other filmmakers, film festival outlets, or financially being able to help them create budget for their projects. There are so many outlets right now, especially for the digital media platforms that exist. You have to be able to have content that’s of really strong quality.  Nobody wants to see something on an old 1982 video camera that is very poor quality.  Yes, we’ve got all of these amazing outlets but we want to make sure that we’re providing people interested in filmmaking with tools to create quality content.

Where can people go to apply for Lens on Talent?  What do they win?
This project started out as the short film showcase and then moved to a competition that Johnson & Johnson supported. Of course,  Bet.com/Lens On Talent gives them all of the information on how to submit for next season. They can find me on Twitter (@lensontalent) and Facebook and get connected to the competition as well.  Even if it’s not through this competition, this is still a great showcase of work; to be able to say, ‘My film aired on BET or Centric or BET.com.’ It’s just a way to get the groundswell going about who you are as a filmmaker or what your project is.

What will they win?
Up to $100,000. That money is basically for them to create another short film that will air on BET and Centric.  They also win access to directors, producers, agents, and top industry executives, for advice on talent for their film and access to people in the industry from the film festival side. That is still such a strong and viable way to get out there and get a film out there. Nowadays, you have established filmmakers who are utilizing the film festival circuit as a way to create that critical buzz. (For example, the new Ben Affleck film won at Sundance and at other film festivals.)

For more information about black filmmakers read:

UBR Morning Post: Film Fest Co-Founder Stephanie Rance

5 Rules for Making Money in Hollywood

Action!

Stephanie and Floyd Rance have created a forum to expose black filmmaking talent.

This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Contributor Angelique Westerfield speaks with Stephanie Tavares-Rance who, along with business partner and husband Floyd A. B. Rance, created the Run & Shoot Filmworks Martha’s Vineyard African-American (MVAA) Film Festival, one of the fastest growing independent film festivals in the country. In addition to the film festival, Run & Shoot Filmworks Inc., the Rances’ New York-based production company, is credited with creating work for clients including HBO, Martell Cognac, Reebock, NBC Sports and Footlocker.

The 8th annual MVAA Film Festival took place on August 11-14, 2010, at Vineyard Haven in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and recognized both veteran and first-time filmmakers from Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago and New York. With Macy’s as presenting sponsor, the festival awarded top prizes to four films: The Roe Effect, Joy Road, Good Intentions and Race. Other sponsors of the 2010 festival include Saatchi & Saatchi, HBO, SagIndie, Disney, The Bay State Banner (medias sponsor), Mansion House (host hotel), Disney Home Video, Edgartown National Bank, ARRI/CSC (a motion picture rental equipment company), Universal Pictures, CNN and Merrill Lynch.

In her UNR interview with Westerfield, Tavares-Rance shares how she and her husband are working to create fertile ground for new talent and opening doors for aspiring filmmakers. “The quality and number of films we receive each year is confirmation that our festival is not only vital,” Tavares-Rance explains, “but it also plays a key role in getting mainstream Hollywood to recognize the untapped talent and possibilities within the African-American film community.”

The 9th annual MVAA Film Festival is scheduled for August 10-13, 2011. Film submissions opened September 7, 2010. Interested parties can download submission forms at MVAAFF.com.

Click here for more coverage of blacks in the film industry at BlackEnterprise.com.

Author and business expert Wallace shares success principles

Also on this week’s edition of The Urban Business Roundtable, our Executive Producer TaQuoya Kennedy speaks with accomplished enterpreneur, author, business consultant and internationally known speaker Robert L. Wallace, founder of  BithGroup Technologies Inc., BithEnergy Inc. and Entreteach Learning Systems LLC. An expert on entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, wealth creation and urban economic development, Wallace has been regularly featured in Black Enterprise magazine and at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference. This week, Wallace takes a seat at the roundtable with Kennedy to share key principles of entrepreneurial success.

Finally, I share expert advice from Shaun Coard, Sr. VP/Business Banking Manager for Wells Fargo, on what bankers are looking for as they assess which entrepreneurs they will lend to and which they will not. To review Coard’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs seeking bank financing, read “Biz Expert Q&A: Business Start-Up Advice You Can Bank On.” Also, check out more small business resources offered by Wells Fargo’s African American Business Services.

If you want to share feedback, have a question you want answered or have a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, send me an e-mail to urbanbusinessroundtable@wvon.com or to me at edmonda@blackenterprise.com, Twitter or Facebook.

Alfred Edmond Jr.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each Wednesday for The UBR Morning Post, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.

Kim Fields is the host of Lens on Talent on BET and Centric. (Photo source: Al-Karim Powell- Darensberg)

Actress, director, producer, author, wife, and mother Kim Fields is a veteran in the entertainment industry at the young age of 41. After decades of playing characters in front of the camera, Fields has taken to working her magic behind the camera. Now she is adding something new to her repertoire: host. Fields will appear every Sunday evening on BET’s and Centric’s Lens on Talent: A Johnson & Johnson Filmmakers Challenge, a one-hour, short film showcase on emerging African American filmmakers competing to win an opportunity to produce a short film that will air on BET and Centric. Here, in this exclusive interview with BlackEnterprise.com, Fields talks about her life then and now working in the entertainment world.

BlackEnterprise.com: Lots of people know you from your characters on Living Single and Facts of Life.  However, your career expands far beyond that. Tell us, what is Kim Fields up to now?
Kim Fields: God is good in that I’m still working and in the entertainment industry. I’ve been directing quite a bit, and working on House of Payne and Meet the Browns at Tyler Perry Studios. I’m the producer of a new show that is slightly different from the Tyler Perry brand.  I also direct a show called Let’s Stay Together, a BET original scripted show.  Now I’m hosting a filmmaker show called Lens on Talent.

What have some of the influential moments in your career been, and how have they affected and influenced what you’re doing now?
The most influential moment in my career was the first moment I was introduced to this whole world of entertainment.  I was five or six. My Mother was on tour with Pearl Bailey in Hello Dolly.  I can remember being backstage and seeing costumes on racks, make up, the crew–all that went into putting on a show.  Ms. Bailey would talk to lil’ ol’ me from the stage.  I remember thinking, ‘I like this world.  I like this environment.’  I was never a performer as a little girl, however it resonates in a five or six-year-old’s mind.  It was a defining moment for me.  Every day I’ve been working–whether Facts of Life, Living Single, TV movies, independent films–any day on set helps to redefine who I am as an actor, filmmaker, story teller.

What advice can you give other entrepreneurs?
Understand that when you have disappointing moments–‘cause you’ll have them–don’t let them swallow you up.  Part of the entrepreneur spirit is that spirit to triumph.  Sometimes that may get squelched to the littlest flicker as opposed to the big, bright, burning torch that you usually feel. [One minute you feel] on top of the world–[the next] you get slammed with disappointing deals that don’t happen or somebody betrays you. [There are] so many different elements when you’re dealing with finances and contracts, so many things can be excruciatingly painful and very difficult.  Even in the creative world that I’m in.  Honestly, you can’t let it swallow you up.  I say that from experience because I let something swallow me up. I let all that [negativity] fuel me to where it affected my health, affected me emotionally, and it took me a long time to climb back.

The other thing I would say, too, in terms of advice is you’re never too old to try something.  You know what I mean?  It’s people who say ‘Aw, I’m in my 40s, 50s–I don’t want to start over.  I’ve been doing this …’  It’s never too late to try something. It’s better to try than be bitter because you didn’t try.

Check back next week for Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Kim Fields.

Shannon Lanier contributed to the production of this article.

But getting your film accepted into a festival is one thing. Plotting out every detail of your strategy before the festival will help you come across as a professional and will better position you to take advantage of all that a film festival experience has to offer.

For feature film directors and producers, film festivals are excellent opportunities to get your film in front of acquisitions executives from studios, television networks, or direct-to-video entities who have the power to license the film for distribution. With the abundance of film festivals and around the world, it is crucial for filmmakers to carefully assess the merits and attributes of various festivals before applying.

“Do your homework to find out what distributors attended the festival in the past and what films sold there,” advises New York director Pete Chatmon, whose feature film debut Premium screened at a number of festivals across the country, including ABFF and the Miami International Film Festival. Chatmon’s film generated buzz on the festival circuit and eventually landed a distribution deal with Sherman Oaks, CA-based Codeblack Entertainment, resulting in a limited 2007 release in theaters and a television debut on Showtime.

Filmmakers, who are commonly more at ease in their artistic mode, must quickly adjust to the business culture of entertainment. Chatmon underscores the importance of having basic promotional elements in place such as a Website, business cards, and postcards. He also urges filmmakers to use creative ways to draw attention to their film. “It’s important that you let people know that this particular film stands out,” Chatmon says.

Getting people to actually show up to see your movie is also a challenge, particularly if you’re a first-time filmmaker who doesn’t have the brand recognition or a bankable cast. “Come up with a list of 100 people you want to invite to your screening and send them complimentary tickets,” says Tanya Kersey, founder and executive director of the Hollywood Black Film Festival. She also recommends getting a copy of the Hollywood Creative Directory, which lists studio and production company executives, to come up with the list. Follow up with a phone call after sending public relations materials to executives, she adds.

Kersey also encourages filmmakers to budget for a publicist and a reception. “You want to keep people engaged,” says Kersey, who suggests filmmakers place a sign-in book at the door of the theater to keep track of attendees. “You can then do proper follow-up,” she adds.

Understanding the specific content needs of the attending companies will help you assess how your film fits those needs. “It’s important to know whether your film is one for theatrical distribution or more appropriate for television or for direct-to-video,” says Valerie Meraz, senior director of content acquisitions at Showtime. “Know where your film will work best,” she stresses. If your film has black family or faith-based elements, you would definitely want to invite executives from Lionsgate–which distributes Tyler Perry’s films–and Screen Gems, which last year distributed This Christmas, she adds.

And, of course, most filmmakers hope to come away from a festival with a distribution deal. But just what are those acquisitions executives considering when they evaluate your film? “The first thing I look at is the production value of the film,” says Meraz. “The film must look professional.” Meraz underscores that the film’s entertainment value and cast are also important. “It’s not necessary to have a star with a household name in the film,” Meraz stresses, “but I prefer films with at least one or two recognizable actors.”

In case you do have the good fortune of having a distributor make you an offer, come prepared to do business. Securing a sales agent to represent your film before you get to the festival is a huge asset. But like any good businessperson, it is ultimately the filmmakers’ responsibility to know what their film is worth in the marketplace. Researching industry trades, press releases from film festivals and film markets on deals and good old-fashioned networking with other filmmakers can prove crucial. Whatever your method, the consequences of not knowing your product’s worth could be grave.

Short of a sales agent, it is highly recommended that you hire an entertainment attorney before the festival who can represent you in any possible transaction. A good entertainment attorney, who has other independent filmmaker, clients would also be knowledgeable of the market.

Yet, of course, as in everything in entertainment, relationships are paramount. For newcomers or those without deep connections in the industry, organizations like the New York-based Independent Feature Project, www.ifp.org, which has offices across the country, and Film Independent, www.filmindependent.org, based in Los Angeles, provide valuable resources on everything from financing to finding a sales representative to self-distribution. IFP’s Filmmaker magazine publishes a listing of film sales representatives at www.filmmakermagazine.com.

George Alexander’s column on the business of entertainment appears weekly at BlackEnterprise.com. He is the author of Why We Make Movies (Doubleday Harlem Moon).