10 Sep Letter From the Editor: Wrapping Up the 2nd Annual Philly Beat Fellowship

BY KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR

Despite the vibrant arts scene in Philadelphia, there are few paid opportunities for arts and culture writers to develop their craft. The annual cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellowship, generously supported by Critical Minded, is a rare opportunity in the city, supporting emerging cultural critics in harnessing their skills and paying them fairly to do so. Our fellows get a chance to cover the important organizations and filmmakers that make our city unique.

This year, our cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellows Ireashia Bennett and Erick Barragán Ramírez wrote thoughtful articles promoting the diversity in our local film ecosystem. The spotlights are important because they allow us to give flowers to the organizations and artists that foster and embody the spirit of independent film and moving image. Our fellows, in consultation with the cinéSPEAK Journal team, curated the spotlights to ensure that the columns spotlighted the best of the city.

Ireashia M. Bennett is an emerging writer and graduate student at Temple’s Film and Media Arts Program, where they serve as the Co-Director of the Diamond Screen Film and Media Arts Festival. Through their filmmaking work, Bennett centers and celebrates Black queer, trans, and disabled stories and experiences. Bennett showed care and thoughtfulness as they approached each filmmaker, working to celebrate each artist as a unique and important creator.

During Bennett’s time as a fellow, they wrote the Philadelphia Artist Spotlight. The spotlight featured diverse filmmakers with half of the artists spotlighted identifying as women or femme and over three-fourths identifying as artists of color. Every person spotlighted noted that this was one of the first articles written that was about only their work. We are so proud to showcase these talented filmmakers for the first time in their careers. Some of the incredible artists spotlighted include Les Rivera, Mochi Robinson, Tshay, Kenza Bousseloub, and Katie Harkins. Check out all of the spotlighted artists here.

Erick Barragán Ramírez is an up-and-coming film critic and established lawyer originally from Mexico City. Barragán Ramírez’s passion for Latin American film can be heard through his Spanish-language radio show Cinepamina on Philatino Radio. He works with community organizations across the city including the Welcoming Center, Esperanza, and PhillyCAM. Barragán Ramírez’s dedication to supporting the work of visionary organizations and uplifting underrepresented communities shined through in his writing. 

Covering the Philadelphia Organizational Spotlight, Barragán Ramírez wrote about a diverse group of community nonprofits. Half of the organizations were women-owned or led and over 70% were owned or led by people of color. Each of the organizations written about stand out as exemplary organizations dedicated to advancing representation in film and media. A few organizations that were covered include BlackStar Projects, Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival, Lil’ Filmmakers, and Madre Tierra. Read all of the organizational spotlights here.

We are so thankful to have had Bennett and Barragán Ramírez sharing their perspectives and learning and growing with us at the cinéSPEAK Journal. Bennett and Barragán Ramírez both brought so much to their columns and expanded our coverage to spotlight new faces and voices. The insightful articles all shed light on the treasures within the Philadelphia independent film and moving image scene, which often go unrecognized.

Their work underscores the importance of initiatives like the Philly Beat Fellowship to help bring equity not only to the coverage of independent film in the city but also to ensure that emerging writers from diverse backgrounds get paid opportunities to sharpen their skills. As we move into the third year of the fellowship, we aim to rework the program to best support local emerging arts and culture writers. More details on the next cohort will be shared this winter.

*Featured Image: Image of past and present cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellows with cinéSPEAK team members.

Kristal Sotomayor is a bilingual Latinx freelance journalist, documentary filmmaker, and festival programmer based in Philadelphia. They serve as the Editor-In-Chief of the cinéSPEAK Journal and Programmer for SFFILM and Frameline.