There has been a shift in Hollywood within the last few years, McKinnon said. There’s been more intersectional storytelling that includes the voices of people who aren’t white or male, such as “Moonlight,” released in 2016 and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the ongoing FX episodic television show “Pose.”
When artists and others from marginalized communities get to share their stories, and others like them get to see themselves reflected on the screen, that is when “we actually get our humanity,” McKinnon added.
With foundation support, McKinnon said OTV has the opportunity to support Chicago artists at every stage of their career.
Chicago is a growing hub for film, television and media, with shows including “Empire,” “Lovecraft Country” and “Euphoria.” Because of this, McKinnon said, the goal is to have the industry come to the artists instead of artists moving and trying to figure out how to get into the industry. OTV will assist by creating programming and examining how the film and television industry can better support intersectional artists.
Now that the organization has more resources, the plan is to continue to do what they’ve already been doing — except in a full-time capacity.
“We don’t want to introduce anything new,” McKinnon said. “We want to continue doing exactly what we’ve been doing for the last five years. And in my opinion, I’m a little biased, and have been slaying at it, right? We know we do what we do really well.”
OTV will use the funding to hire full-time staff and support the already existing programming at OTV, including its Fellows Program, Study Hall and Brave Future Film Race. The Fellows program is in its third year and is currently accepting applications for its next cohort.
According to McKinnon, the program is for emerging writers and directors, and it trains talented artists in the fundamentals of the project and career development, preparing them to launch careers in the industry.
The deadline to apply is March 1.
“We’ve only been able to operate at like this half-past frequency. We’ve never really been able to fully commit to it because the resources haven’t been there,” McKinnon said. “With these newfound resources, we can now support artists at a variety of stages [in their careers].”