Newly Funded
This celebration of Black romance novels charts the genre's cultural impact through its writers, readers, and scholars while exploring the power of love as liberation.
Producer/Director
Director and producer Leola Calzolai-Stewart is a filmmaker with 20 years of experience. Her film The American Diplomat aired on PBS’s American Experience and received NEH and Virginia Humanities funding. She is a Chicken & Egg Research Grant recipient, Black Public Media 360 Incubator+ alumna, and a Firelight Media Doc Lab Fellow.
Producer
Producer Rachell Shapiro is a filmmaker with more than 20 years of experience. She produced PBS’s The American Diplomat and has created documentary shorts for universities and nonprofits. Her film From Hell to Here, an award-winning narrative short, is distributed to Veterans Affairs centers nationwide.