Situation: 8:46 Films was created to honor the legacy of George Floyd and reclaim the last 8-minutes and 46-seconds of his life with stories of joy and love told by Black storytellers and film makers.

Brief: Provide a platform for up and coming Black film makers to express stories that show the full spectrum of the Black experience, tying into Procter & Gamble’s “Widen the Screen” initiative.

Objectives: Curate, develop and support new Black directors and writers through a program that helps bring their creative visions to the screen. Leverage those stories to expand the discussion of racial inequality.

8:46 Films was envisioned as a creative platform to honor the legacy of George Floyd through an ongoing film series that enables new Black film makers an opportunity to demonstrate their craft and bring their visions to life. Four original films that tell stories of love and joy through the lens of Black voices expand the view of the Black experience. We partnered with Tribeca Studios to reach out to up and coming film makers. We received a large number of treatment proposals and narrowed it down to four stand-out ideas. We worked with the young directors to help them tell their stories and built the 8:46 platform in partnership with P&G to bring it to consumers through special programming.

Develop a series of narrative films that leverages P&G’s Widen the Screen program, an expansive content creation, talent development and partnership platform that celebrates creativity and enables Black creators to share the full richness of the Black experience. Partner with Tribeca Studios to reach out to rising Black film makers, curate, develop and produce four original films in 8-minutes and 46 seconds.

Implementation: Four original films were produced by up and coming Black directors including Camrus Johnson, Marshall Tyler, Gibrey Allen and Zoey Martinson. Each film tells moving stories of love told in different formats.

Timeline: 8:46 was developed over a 6-month period and produced in time to air during Tribeca Studio’s Juneteenth film festival, June 12th 2021.

Placement: 8:46 films debuted in two showings at the Tribeca Film Festival in June of 2021. The films were then aired as a special show with Gayle King that aired in August on CBS and in September on BET Networks. The films are now airing across United Airlines in-flight program.

Scale – 8:46 Films was developed as an ongoing platform to introduce new stories told by Black film makers. It launched with four original films.

8:46 Films debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival before a sell-out audience. It also was developed into a special report headlined by Gayle King that aired before millions on CBS and BET. The 8:46 Film series was an NAACP Image awards finalist, and one of the films in the series, “She Dreams at Sunrise” was also an NAACP Image awards finalist and is being featured a numerous film festivals in 2022. The program has successfully helped accelerate the careers of our first four directors.