Writer-Director Mateen Kemit’s disturbing short film
“Silence,” about the gritty, supernatural world inside a dysfunctional Bronx family seen through the prism of a troubled teen, won the Fox Searchlab Contest at Urban-American Filmmakers competition top honor during their weekend long program of seminars and networking events held this past weekend.
Through the organization’s partnership with Fox Searchlight’s Searchlab program, one filmmaker of color was selected from over fifty applicants nationwide. Kemit will work with Fox Searchlab to create a digital short with a goal towards helping him become a major theatrical filmmaking talent. In addition, he’ll receive a first look deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Other awards handed out over the weekend were a $2,500 Filmmaker’s Grant, sponsored by Eastman Kodak, which went to writer-director Natasha Gray, for her screenplay, “Faded Path,” and the $750 Producer’s Grant, sponsored by Entertainment Partner’s Movie Magic division, which went to
Patrice Williams for “Kiss the Son,” a film she is developing.
