DEBUT Films: Shorts Schedule
Sponsored by
boon
Details
Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
5:00PM – 9:00PM
RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.
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5:00PM
Welcome Speeches
5:13PM
Blue
Dayna Lynn North
BLUE — is a layered romantic dramedy about possibly finding love, maybe losing love, and definitely finding yourself, in an era ruled by devices and emojis. When a heart-on-her-sleeve woman (Imani Cheadle) has a surprise reunion with an old friend, the ensuing roller-coaster culminates in a chance encounter with the love of her life.
5:41PM
The Making of a Matriarch
Vanessa Cruz
This “love letter to grandma” is voiced by a third-generation Dominican-American filmmaker as she uncovers her family heritage by examining the life of her grandmother who immigrated to the U.S in the 1960s.
6:09PM
Ariel Danziger
Despierto
In Mexico City, Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez explore their connection as a passage to different dimensions.
Opening up the infinite possibilities of dream states through the lens of real couples, director Ariel Danziger captures Mexican actors Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez in a parallel world for short film Despierto. An intimate portrait, told from a different dimension, Despierto journeys deep into Dani and Sasha’s relationship as they marvel at the dreams accessed through their connection, contemplating the profound forces that bring them together in the present.
Letter to Rosie
LETTER TO ROSIE captures an intimate portrait about survival, self worth, self love, and overcoming all of life’s obstacles. Matt’s tormented past sexual and physical abusive life finds its way into this visually depiction. Matt’s last letter he wrote to his deceased mother. Narrated by MATT SANCHEZ. Who at the young age now of 21 has lived through more pain and suffering than most young men. But this story isn’t about MATT The VICTIM it’s about MATT the survivor. Our story is told to help heal others. To inspire, to trigger something within.
6:39PM
Ruby Rose Collins
All the Love I Can Handle
all the love i could handle is a re-imagining of the filmmaker’s mother’s young diary, unraveling the raw complexities of motherhood, artistic ambition, and the enduring sacrifices women have to make as mothers and artists. Based on the true family story of pioneer filmmaker Kathleen Collins (Losing Ground, 1982).
7:11PM
Gaps
Jenn Shaw
GAPS follows the story of Sydney Bailey, a 12-year-old struggling with her self-esteem and obsessing over her two gapped front teeth.
Showing the highs and lows of a Black adolescent navigating loving herself – which is no easy challenge in a world of beauty standards stacked against her. Sydney views her unique smile as a barrier to beauty and seeks out a dangerous method to change her grin. Only through turning to the Black women in her life, does she begin to shift her perspective to accept her gap as a gorgeous trait that’s been passed down through family generations. Through self-acceptance, Sydney begins to love her gap, for it makes her smile real.
7:21PM
Keur Simbara
Sea Armstrong
Keur Simbara is a portrait of women leaders in a small village in the Thies region of Senegal. It explores the way that they have supported one another and their village through generations of care practices and organizing as they confront water scarcity while highlighting dreams for the future of their village.
7:53PM
Bygones
Angel McCoughtry
Bygones is a powerful short film that explores the evolving relationship between a young basketball player, Charissa, and her unexpected mentor, JJ, a former coach with a complicated past. As JJ helps Charissa regain her confidence on and off the court, their bond deepensuntil a painful secret from JJ’s history surfaces, one that’s tied directly to Charissa’s own family.
Lucinda Martinez
Lucinda
Martinez
Martinez
boon
Lucinda Martinez is a brand builder, culture shaper, and strategic marketer with more than 25 years of experience leading global media and entertainment brands, including HBO, HBO Latino, Netflix, and Comedy Central. She is known for pioneering multicultural marketing and launching award-winning campaigns for titles such as Game of Thrones, Insecure, The Wire, and The Defiant Ones. Over the course of her career, she has overseen portfolios generating more than $37 billion in revenue and managed marketing budgets up to $300 million.
She currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer at HarbourView Equity Partners, where she shapes the narrative around intellectual property as a cultural and financial asset, leading brand and marketing strategy across a portfolio that includes Mucho Mas Media, MACRO, and Usher’s 2024 concert film Rendezvous in Paris. In 2022, she founded The CultureShaker, a strategic marketing firm focused on audience-first, culturally aligned campaigns, which now operates as HarbourView’s first operating partner under its Create Platform.
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Monica Raye Simpson
Monica
Raye Simpson
Raye Simpson
boon
Monica Raye Simpson is the Executive Director of SisterSong, the southern-based national Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Monica is a proud Black Queer Feminist born and raised in rural North Carolina and is a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University, a historically black university (HBCU). For nearly 20 years, Monica has been organizing for LGBTQ liberation, civil and human rights, and sexual and reproductive justice. As a creative and cultural strategist, Monica lives by the charge set by Nina Simone that says, “It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times” and is deeply committed to using the power of cultural organizing to educate the masses and dismantle systems of oppression. Monica is also a member of the Trust Web and has been committed to dismantling poverty mindsets and organizing across class to develop pathways for personal and systemic transformation around wealth. She is certified in “Power, Innovation & Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School and has been featured on major news outlets such as MSNBC, CNN and Democracy Now. Monica has received numerous awards for her innovative leadership including – Fast Company Queer 50 awardee, STATUS List awardee, being named a New Civil Rights Leader by Essence Magazine and being named as one of TIME 100’s most influential people of 2023.
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Building While Healing: The Entrepreneur’s Mental Wellness Journey
Sponsored by
boon
Details
Date
Wed, Oct 8
Time
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Stage
Salon stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Speakers & Moderators
Regina Harris
Manager, Digital Brand Architects
Coming soon.
How to Predict the Future
Sponsored by
boon
Details
Date
Wed, Oct 8
Time
4:15PM – 5:00PM
Stage
Breakthrough stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Speakers & Moderators
What if the future isn’t random—but cyclical, predictable, and already unfolding in front of us? In this provocative keynote, Joseph Anthony draws on the Strauss-Howe generational theory to reveal the hidden rhythms of history and the pivotal role Millennials and Gen Z are destined to play as today’s Hero Generation. With powerful historical parallels and urgent modern implications, this talk challenges emerging leaders to break the cycle of power and oppression, police their own influence, and lead from a place of empathy, accountability, and long-term vision. Because the first step to changing the future… is changing ourselves.
Building an Empire Online
Sponsored by
boon
Details
Date
Wed, Oct 8
Time
2:30PM – 3:15PM
Stage
Salon stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Speakers & Moderators
Stephany Faublas
Lifestyle Creator
Simi Moonlight
Socialite, Published Model, and Stylist
Regina Harris
Manager, Digital Brand Architects
Coming soon.
The End of the Open Web? Rethinking Advertising in a Conversational World
Sponsored by
boon
Details
Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
12:15PM – 1:00PM
Stage
Impact stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Speakers & Moderators
Chief Executive Officer, Founder at XSTEREOTYPE
EVP, Head of Client Inclusivity & Impact, Digitas
As AI and conversational platforms reshape how people search, shop, and engage, the open web as we know it may be coming to an end. This panel brings together leaders in advertising, publishing, and technology to explore what this seismic shift means for the industry. From the future of programmatic models to the role of diverse data in driving authentic engagement, panelists will debate how advertising can adapt—and what true success will look like—in a conversational world.
Creator Upfronts TikTok
boon
Details
Date
Wed, Oct 8
Time
4:30PM – 5:00PM
Stage
Salon stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Pitch #1: 4:30PM - 4:40PM
TAIWO ADEWUNMI (@taiwo.ade)
UX Researcher | Storyteller | Bridge Builder
Taiwo Ade is a UX researcher by weekday, storyteller by weekend, and all-around architect of opportunity. With nearly a decade of experience at tech giants like LinkedIn, Meta, and Etsy, she’s spent her career centering user voices—creators, small businesses, and global brands—to shape products that actually work for the people who use them.
When she’s not influencing product roadmaps, Taiwo’s inspiring the next generation through real talk on career pivots, travel, and what it really takes to break into tech. Recognized as a 2025 Future Leader on the Heroes Role Model List (supported by YouTube), Taiwo is leading the charge to open doors that have been closed for too long.
What She’s Pitching at Creator Upfronts
Introducing: Fifty50 Initiative — a career bridge for overlooked talent ready to make their move into tech. From teachers to retail workers to creators, many have the skills, but not the access. Taiwo’s building a pathway to change that.
The pitch:
- A structured apprenticeship program placing pivoters into short-term, paid roles in UX Research, Product Ops, Creator Partnerships, and more.
- Wraparound support like AI-powered coaching, upskilling, and real-world portfolio building.
- Companies get de-risked hiring. Participants get a foot in the door—and a future.
The vision? To make Fifty50 the go-to alternative to bootcamps and degrees. The ask? Pilot partners, funding for apprenticeships, and advisory support to shape high-impact career tracks. Taiwo’s not just pitching a program. She’s designing an entire ecosystem—where overlooked talent finally gets placed, not just prepped.
ERINA ADJEI-BAFFOUR (@365Binge)
Content Creator & Strategist | Making TV & Film Make Sense
Erina Adjei-Baffour is a powerhouse at the intersection of culture and content. As the mind behind 365binge, she’s carved out a loyal following of 200K+ fans who come for the sharp TV and film takes—but stay for her wit, insight, and trend-driven storytelling. Whether it’s a new streaming drop or a forgotten cult classic, Erina knows how to bring people closer to the stories they love—and the ones they didn’t know they needed.
What She’s Pitching at Creator Upfronts
Introducing: The Next Binge on TikTok — a creator-led, TikTok-native series that reimagines how audiences discover what to watch next. In a world where everyone’s asking “what should I watch?”, Erina’s answer is simple: Open TikTok.
This 10-minute Upfront segment will unpack:
- The concept of turning TikTok into a launchpad for new shows, films, and even podcasts.
- Creative formats like skits, green screen reactions, and micro-commentaries to make it scroll-stopping.
- The unique power TikTok creators have in shaping entertainment discoveryin real time.
More than just a pitch, this is a call to action: to see TikTok not just as where culture goes viral—but where the next big binge begins.
Erina is building the bridge between creators and content ecosystems. And she’s doing it one stitch-worthy scroll at a time.
YUNG ASTROO
Visual Storyteller | Content That Sticks
YUNG ASTROO is a visual storyteller who knows how to keep you watching. Blending razor-sharp humor with crisp, cinematic visuals, his content feels fast, fresh, and effortless—while always pushing a narrative forward. With brand collaborations spanning McDonald’s, Xfinity, Dollar Shave Club, and more, YUNG ASTROO continues to grow his presence, all while building a legacy as a name you’ll know before the logo even hits the screen.
YUNG ASTROO is solving one of the most frustrating pain points in the creator economy: late payments. His vision? A paid service that bridges the gap between creators and the net-30, 60, or even 90-day wait periods they face after a campaign wraps. Here’s how it works:
- Creator lists the paid service as the recipient of funds on the campaign agreement.
- Once the campaign video is live, the service pays the creator instantly.
- The brand/agency pays the service back based on their agreed terms.
This is more than a financial tool—it’s peace of mind. Many creators aren’t full-time, and waiting months for payment can make or break their ability to create. YUNG ASTROO o knows the struggle firsthand, and he’s determined to change the system. He’s not pitching a brand. He’s pitching a lifeline.
He’s looking for a partner to bring this idea to life. No name yet—but the vision is clear, and the mission is personal.
Charlene Polite Corley
Charlene
Polite Corley
Polite Corley
boon
Charlene Polite Corley combines data and storytelling to amplify the power of historically excluded audiences from women’s sports to Rural America.
As VP, Inclusive Insights at Nielsen, Charlene is the principal researcher for Black/African American audiences on the Business Impact, Inclusion & Belonging Thought Leadership Team. Her work showcases media trends and the influence of Black culture to highlight opportunities for brands and programmers to connect through inclusion.
Charlene brings over 15 years of experience in sales, client service and market research roles to her current role. As a thought leader, she has been featured on Good Morning America, Essence, AfroTech, Cannes Lions, SXSW and more.
Charlene is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University, wife, and mom of two.
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Imani Greene
Imani
Greene
Greene
boon
Imani Greene, M.B.A. is the Founder and CEO of AAmplify MEDIA, a Washington, D.C.–based agency specializing in paid media strategy, influencer integration, and behavior change campaigns. With over 30 years of experience, she has led groundbreaking initiatives in public health, policy, advocacy, and consumer marketing.
Imani is recognized for directing some of the nation’s most visible campaigns, including the largest federal media buy in U.S. history—a $750 million effort to promote COVID-19 vaccinations. Her expertise spans every channel, from television and radio to programmatic, social, and influencer-driven activations, where she designs campaigns that move audiences to evaluate, and then reevaluate.
Widely respected for her strategic acumen and clarity of vision, Imani is a frequent speaker and trusted advisor, shaping conversations on media, culture, and impact across industries.
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