by Leslie-Fields Cruz When contemplating what to write for today’s Dispatch, I considered talking about the Independent Film and Media Briefing just released by the National Endowment for the Arts and available for download HERE. You should read it, and then share it with your local policymaker and funder(s). …

by Leslie Fields-Cruz When Transgender Day of Remembrance began in 1999, to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester in Alltson, Mass., it drew attention to a disturbing pattern that, sadly, has continued for more than two decades. Since January of 2022, at least 32 transgender and gender nonconforming people have…

by Leslie Fields-Cruz I love being around other creative people. This past weekend, I had the privilege of joining my colleague Eboni Johnson and our partners at the Houston Cinema Arts Society, the Austin Film Society, and PBS NOVA at our first Black Media Story Summit on Climate Justice. If…

Black storytellers are invited to BPM’s first Story Summit on Climate Justice, Nov. 12 by Leslie Fields-Cruz If you read this blog often, you know that BPM is hosting a Black Media Story Summit on Climate Justice in Houston this weekend (Sat., Nov. 12). If you are just now hearing…

by Leslie Fields-Cruz By this time next week I hope everyone who’s reading this blog post has either sent in their absentee ballot or cast their vote at their local polling place. Our news, mailboxes, emails, social media feeds, and texts have been flooded with campaign ads, donations requests and…

By Leslie Fields-Cruz Those of us who have enjoyed frequenting film festivals over the years know that Covid-19 was a seismic event for the festival scene. The pandemic forced most festivals to either cancel seasons altogether, or to modify their programming. In almost all instances, festivals have seen their in-person…

by Leslie Fields-Cruz Last weekend, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to join filmmakers Byron Hurt and Natalie Bullock Brown at the Double Exposure Film Festival, where their newest film, Hazing, was on the slate. Though Hazing includes Hurt’s personal experiences with the harmful rituals, the film also includes the accounts…

by Leslie Fields-Cruz Contemplating the future of public media is an evergreen activity among people in my position. We’re always trying to figure out what type of content public media audiences need and want, and then how best to deliver it to them. October marks the beginning of BPM’s new…

BPM Celebrates LGBT History Month with New Shorts Series on Gender Affirmation — by Leslie Fields-Cruz The National Transgender Discrimination Survey reports that Black transgender and gender nonconforming people face some of the highest levels of discrimination. From their experiences with family and the workplace, to health care systems and police interactions, as anti-Blackness and anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment combine, the adverse effects on Black…