Rashaad Newsome wins the 2022 Berkeley FILM Foundation grant for his forthcoming feature link documentary, Get Your 10s.

The Berkeley FILM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) grant and educational program for independent filmmakers founded by the City of Berkeley, Wareham Development, and the Saul Zaentz Company with a mission to nurture, sustain and preserve the thriving local film community while attracting the next generation of filmmakers.

Through the artistic process of interdisciplinary artist Rashaad Newsome, Get Your 10s tells the story of how the creative and cultural productions of Black and Latinx Americans who live on the margins of society traveled across national borders. Newsome’s materials are people rather than inanimate objects, and the film follows him as he collaborates with Queer practitioners from Brazil, Japan, Ukraine, and Senegal who combine vogue with their local dance forms, culminating in a monumental performance at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC. In tandem, we see the creation of Rashaad’s artificial intelligence creation, Being, who teaches decolonization workshops combining vogue, meditation, and critical pedagogy. The film investigates how historically, Black people have functioned as technology and examines how technology can serve as a form of resistance and liberation and a threat to our civil rights. As we travel through the multifaceted artistic practice of Rashaad, we discover how art, ballroom culture, and critical thinking can unleash our collective imaginations to envision a future that holds promise for all of us.

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