He helped create on of the largest record companies to date and now Russell Simmons is hoping to be a huge success with the launch of his newest venture, Def Filmmakers. Creating the company with his partner Stan Lathan, the idea behind the company is to help new directors (aptly titled Def Filmmakers), gain direct access to the audiences their films are trying to reach. Instead of holding a film festival in a particular city, the Def Filmmakers will be touring in the same way that Def Poets and the Def Comedians did.
The festival tour will feature four films from new directors and stop in ten different cities across the country. “I have long maintained that there is just as much filmmaking talent in neighborhoods like Harlem as there is in Hollywood. The studios have not opened the door for these filmmakers yet,” says Russell Simmons. “This Festival tour allows us to overcome some of those obstacles and celebrate these filmmakers and their films directly with audiences across the country”.
The tour will begin in February 2004 and stop in New York, Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles. There will also be a showcase for local talent who have short films that way new directors may be selected. “We see the touring festival as not only an opportunity for filmmakers, but also for urban film audiences who have been deprived of a steady flow of quality films,” says Stan Lathan.
To submit your film send it to Simmons Lathan Media Group / New Def Filmmaker Tour, PO Box 1906, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Please include: 1. A cover letter saying what kind of film is being entered: i.e., short, feature, documentary, music video, interviews 2. Total running time 3. Year of completion 4. Original Shooting format: 35mm, 16mm, DV, Mini-DV, High Def 5.Brief Synopsis 6. VHS Copy 7. Director’s Biography 8. Any press materials 9.List of festivals already screened at. www.simmonslathan.com
