
Atlanta… The New Hollywood | Are You Prepared for Success?
Join us LIVE for our 1st Atlanta Chapter City online event! Find out what your first steps should be when you move to ATL for filmmaking!
You decided to make the move to Atlanta to pursue the next chapter of your filmmaking career; now what? Find out everything you need to know about how to plan for success and hit the ground running once you get there.
Hosted by BMC Atlanta Chapter.
Speakers
- Brandon Lee MinorFilmmaker
Brandon Lee Minor is a writer, actor, voice actor, producer, and director and chief of operations at Solace Imagination Center of the Arts. He relocated to Atlanta the expand his career in the film industry. He’s actively involved in production Nationwide from voice actor roles like The Figure animated series or Sleep Center Hawaii commercial, to being a spokesman for Designer Fragrances Miniatures. Currently in talk with major film productions company to produce several film projects, in which, he created. Brandon has graced the stage and featured in films like Submerge: Blue Star set to be released later this year. An an action figure collectible was recently released for a character in which he portrays. The comic book is coming soon.
- Diana RhodesWriter
Diana Rhodes is an African-American playwright, screenwriter and author. She has written, directed and produced several Off-Broadway plays. Her first theatrical accomplishment occurred in June 2011. The play entitled, “Peace Be With Me,” was loosely based on her real life experience with domestic violence. In September 2013, Diana appeared on the Jeff Foxx Blog Talk Radio Show to promote her next endeavor which would be, “Troubled Little Angel”, a tribute to the life and legacy of R & B songstress Phyllis Hyman. The play debuted on August 14, 2014 at the Soho Playhouse in New York City to a sold out audience. For a short time afterward, Diana wrote and produced her own internet radio show for Streetz106.com ran by New York’s famous DJ Antoine Qua.
Diana moved to Atlanta in 2015 with the intent of writing for television. She became a member of W.I.F.T.A. (Women In Film and Television in Atlanta) She worked at People TV in Atlanta where she became a camera operator and novice television producer. While at People TV, she produced a pilot called, “Celebrity Cover Story” which aired on channel 24 in Atlanta during the summer of 2016. She continued her writing and was selected as one of the contributing playwrights in the annual production of 50In50 “Letters to Our Sons”. The original performance was slated to be at the Billie Holiday Theater in New York, but was conducted virtually due to Covid.
Seeking to further expand her knowledge of the business, Diana ventured into voice over work with ACX, podcasting and eventually teamed up with best selling author and CEO of Dream Empire Films, Joyce Licorish. Together they collaborated on the screenplay for “The Lost Locket”, a story about forbidden love during WWII.
Diana continued her writing endeavors with several short stories that have been published on the WRITEON PRESS platform and now adds the Undeniable Truth, her first fiction novel to her list of accomplishments.
- Joyce LicorishFilmmaker
Joyce Licorish is a Filmmaker, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Singer, Voiceover Artist, and Coach, 5x Amazon Bestselling Author, CEO of DreamEmpire Films (www.DreamEmpireFilms.com), and Founder of the One Race Human Race Foundation and its associated film festival. Her background in musical theater behind the scenes as a director and on the stage as a performer led her to a love of film. She has Produced/Directed, acted as 1st AD, and/or starred in over 20 projects including her most recent stint as 1st AD to Robin Givens for the Horror Feature film – Haunted Trails set for an October Release. Joyce longs to make the films her heart desires to see. Films that MOVE, TOUCH, and INSPIRE people. Films that salute diversity.
- Lisa MaydwellWriter / Director
Lisa Maydwell is a writer and director from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is a published author and award-winning filmmaker. Lisa graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in education. Lisa began writing at an early age, she says she comes from a family of writers. Ms. Maydwell has written over fifteen scripts for her company and her clients. Lisa was an elementary teacher in Decatur Township in Indianapolis, winning Teacher of the Year in 2015.
In 2019, she decided to pursue her filmmaking dreams and moved to Atlanta, Georgia to work in the industry. Lisa’s goal is to make movies that uplifting, powerful, and leaves her audience wanting more. She went to Lithuania in 2019 to attend a filmmaking camp with Summer Media Studio. Her script was selected to be produced, and her team won numerous awards including Best Film at the film festival.
As a screenwriter, Lisa has won awards for her work, and as a filmmaker she has won awards for her short film Broken Branches and Cooper’s Plantation. Both episodes are from her Trees Series. Lisa has also won awards for her screenplays Serenity Acres and 14 Storys.
Lisa is currently completing a documentary based on her book The Final Round-Round 16. The documentary includes several prominent boxers and judges. Lisa owns Maydwell Productions production company, and she works with Joyce Licorish at Dream Empire Films as a writer and editor.