Black Public Media and MWM will host a BPMplus VR Mixer in Century City on August 8th. The event is a collaboration between MWM, the studio that produced the upcoming action-thriller, 21 Bridges, starring Chadwick Boseman, and Dan Carlin's category-defining immersive experience, War Remains (2019), and the emerging media team at BPM, a 40-year-old, film nonprofit based in Harlem.

Jake Sally, head of development at RYOT, and Dawn Thomas, VR filmmaker and founder of Koi Story Studio, will be our featured speakers. Lisa Osborne, director of emerging media for Black Public Media, will moderate the conversation. RYOT produced Gloomy Eyes (2019), A Jester's Tale (2019), and Dinner Party (2018). Dawn will discuss her career path from Wall Street to CAA to VR director to tech startup CEO.

In Our Pop-up VR Theater:

Traveling While Black (2019), a VR documentary that received a 2019 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Interactive Program. The film was directed by Roger Ross Williams, co-directed by Ayesha Nadarajah, and created by the Montreal VR studio, Felix & Paul.

Ego Tripping VR (2020), a 2-minute clip from the still-in-development, immersive adapation of Nikki Giovanni's seminal poem of the same name. Directed and coded by Dawn Thomas.

NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism (2017), an animated, sci-fi short produced by Hyphen-Labs.

Parking, VR line, etc.

Traveling While Black is 21 minutes long, and NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism is 5 minutes long. It is highly unlikely that all 40+ attendees will be able to view both films. Access to the VR screening area is first come, first served. Get there early!

This event will be filmed and photographed for marketing and social media use.

You must be 21 or over to attend.

The first 30 cars will receive parking validation. Parking is an eye-popping $37 flat fee. And Westfield Century City is next door.

Volunteers Needed

If you are interested in helping out at BPMplus events in Los Angeles, please contact Lisa. No previous VR headset experience is necessary.

About MWM

MWM is a diversified media and entertainment company, founded by Emmy Award-winning producer Gigi Pritzker in partnership with Clint Kisker, that empowers creators to produce bespoke storytelling across film, TV, immersive VR/AR, mobile gaming, digital content, and live theater. Named one of Fast Company's Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Hollywood, MWM consists of four individually branded operating divisions: MWM Studios, MWM Immersive, MWM Live and MWM Universe.

About Black Public Media

Funded by Corporation for Public Broadcasting, New York State Council on the Arts, MacArthur Foundation, and others, Black Public Media supports Black filmmakers and content about the Black diaspora. In an effort to increase the amount of Black creatives working in VR, AR, and AI--storytelling mediums in which Black talent is vastly underrepresented--BPM launched the BPM+ mixers in New York City in June 2018 and Pop-up VR Theaters at Essence Fest in July 2018. To date, BPM has hosted 11 Pop-up VR Theaters and six VR Mixers.

Follow #BPMplus for updates on our emerging tech events and classes.