Mirabel Pictures

Heaven Through the Backdoor Project description: Part myth, part documentary, Heaven Through the Backdoor is a multi-platform documentary that explores identity and spirituality through the unconventional friendship of Anna and Yo, two kindred spirits born 49 years apart. The film is a testament to the enduring power of friendship and what we learn from each other in life and after death. In 2022 production on this film was the main focus of our creative work. In September, we had the incredible opportunity to be a part of the Sundance Catalyst program. We added new partners and investors to the project and were able to close the films budget and begin to focus solely on remaining production and editorial. The project received support from Tribeca Film Institute, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Work Fund, Headlands Center for the Arts among others. In 2021 we hosted multiple in person open studio events at our studio at the Noonan building where we showed our work in progress media and sculptural installation work.

WeOwnTV / WeSurvive / Filmmaker Fellowship Project description: In 2022 we continued educational programming together with the filmmakers of the WeOwnTV Freetown Media Centre while also premiering a set of exciting projects we co-produced. The New Boats, premiered in festivals worldwide and was broadcast onARTE. The film is an investigative documentary that presents an eye-opening look at the impact of International Industrialized fishing in West African waters and it's disastrous effect on local communities. We also delivered our complete archive for WeSurvive: Stories of the Ebola Outbreak, a web-based oral history database that allows users to access a collection of video testimonials from Ebola survivors, their families, and other community members. The database is set to launch in early 2023 with our partner Emory University who will host and preserve the archive in perpetuity. A central goal of the Project is to ensure West Africans contribute directly & significantly to the historical record of this global health crisis.

Mirabel Pictures was founded by multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker Banker White and Emmy-Award winning-director Anna Fitch. Our award-winning films have been shown at film festivals and theaters worldwide; exhibited at museums and galleries; and broadcast widely on PBS, BBC, Al Jazeera, Netflix, NYTimes & others. Our work includes The Genius of Marian, Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, The Genius of Caring, Survivors, ScrapHouse, My Life Before Me & A Marriage to Remember. Mirabel Pictures projects have been supported by the MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Creative Capital, Bertha Foundation among others.In addition to art and media production, Mirabel Pictures also supports media education and professional development for working artists. In 2009, the organization co-founded and continues to support the WeOwnTV Freetown Media Center, a brick and mortar creative hub in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Our support provides a safe space to work, access to state of the art equipment, educational programming and professional development. In 2016, we expanded our reach in the West African subregion by launching The WeOwnTV Filmmaker Fellowship, a film fund and professional development program supporting the production of independent documentaries directed by West African filmmakers. We also began a collaborative producing initiative that focuses on creating opportunities for filmmakers from underrepresented communities and are partnered with both US-based and international teams on a small collection of impressive projects.