Blavity Inc. Announces Shadow and Act’s Annual RISING Awards 2021 Honoree List

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blavity Inc., the diversified digital media company behind AfroTech, 21Ninety, Travel Noire, Shadow and Act, and Blavity News today announced the honorees of Shadow and Act’s RISING Awards 2021. This prestigious awards program includes an honors list of 32 Black RISING stars and 1 Black game changer to be recognized as up-and-coming leaders in the film and entertainment industry. Traditionally held in Los Angeles, CA, the RISING Awards honoree list is being released virtually this year due to pandemic restrictions.

Honorees are represented throughout the film and entertainment industry specialties and include actors/actresses; directors & producers; writers & showrunners; styling: hair, makeup, wardrobe; cinematographers; technical/animation; score/soundtrack; editors; power executives; publicists; studio heads; agents; managers; and legal.

“Celebrating Black creatives in the film and entertainment industry is an important step in creating equity for the Black community. The creative arts have a huge impact on our culture as stories are told and passed on from generation to generation,” said Morgan DeBaun, Founder and CEO of Blavity Inc. “Shadow and Act is the premier digital destination for Black entertainment news covering film, television, webseries, Broadway, and more. Through the RISING Awards Digital 2021, we are proud to honor the creative changemakers of our community who are paving the way for generations to come.”

GAME CHANGER AWARD
Nia DaCosta, Director - Candyman, The Marvels - SPOTLIGHT: Link to BTS Video Interview

ACTORS AND TALENT
Chante Adams - The Photograph - SPOTLIGHT: Link to BTS Video Interview
Kingsley Ben-Adir - One Night in Miami
MeKai Curtis - 'Power Book III: Raising Kana
Brandee Evans - P-Valley
O-T Fagbenle - Marvel’s Black Widow - SPOTLIGHT: Link to BTS Video Interview
Dominique Fishback - Judas and the Black Messiah
Saniyya Sidney - King Richard
Naomi Smalls - RuPaul’s Drag Race

CREATORS
Obi Arisukwu - Cartoonist & Creator of HBO Max upcoming series
Radha Blank - Director, The Forty-Year-Old Version - SPOTLIGHT: Link to BTS Video Interview
Chaz Bottoms - Animation filmmaker, Creator of Cartoon Network's Battu
Stefan Bristol - Director, See You Yesterday
Karin Gist - Showrunner, Our Find of People
Nikyatu Jusu - Director - Nanny
Shaka King - Director, Judas and the Black Messiah
Dawn Porter - Director, John Lewis: Good Trouble

BEHIND-THE-SCENES STARS
Matiki Anoff - Head makeup designer
Brian B Badie - Hair Stylist
Shabier Kirchner - Cinematographer
Lola Okanlawon - Makeup artist
Marteena Oliphant - Publicist at VH1
Brandon Porter - Editor at NOMAD
Ade Samuel - Stylist - SPOTLIGHT: Link to BTS Video Interview
Zadrian Smith - Stylist

EXECUTIVES
Kalia Booker - VP of Programming - Drama, HBO
Ada Chiaghana - Development VP at Higher Ground
Tara Duncan - President, Hulu and Disney’s Onyx Collective
Layne Eskridge - Founder, POV Entertainment SPOTLIGHT: Link to BTS Video Interview
Felicia Joseph - SVP & Head of Casting at MRC
Kelci Parker - Comedy Exec at Hulu
Michael Quigley - EVP, Content Acquisitions for TNT, TBS, truTV, HBO and HBO Max
Taylor K. Shaw - Founder/CEO, Black Women Animate

Shadow and Act is a platform dedicated to the celebration of cinema, television, and web content of Africa and its global diaspora. With daily news, interviews, in-depth investigations into the audiovisual industry, and more, Shadow and Act promotes content created by and about people of African descent throughout the world.

For more information about Shadow and Act’s RISING Awards Digital 2021 , please visit: https://shadowandact.com/

ABOUT BLAVITY INC.
Blavity Inc. is a venture-funded technology and news media company, founded in 2014 around a simple idea: enable Black millennials to tell their own stories. Today, we are home to the largest network of platforms and lifestyle brands serving the multifaceted lives of Black millennials & gen-z through original content, video and unique experiences. The company has grown into a market leader for Black media, reaching over 100 million millennials per month through our growing brand portfolio which includes: Blavity News, 21Ninety, AfroTech, Travel Noire, Shadow & Act, and Lunchtable.

PRESS CONTACT
Carrie Bernstein
A-Game Public Relations
[email protected]

Anita Chatterjee
A-Game Public Relations
[email protected]