Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle “Andrea Meshel” Smith.
Hi Michelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been in the entertainment industry for over 20 years: first as an actress then as a producer, producing plays and a variety of programs because I felt all of the art forms were interrelated. It is my belief that all art forms can be used to tell a story and my goal is to tell provocative stories utilizing all forms of art.
After years of acting, producing plays and being unable to fulfill my responsibilities financially, as I was a single mom I decided to go back to school and pursue my law degree. Studying the law was something I had always wanted to do. During my time in law school, I realized early on that my love, passion, and purpose lied in the entertainment industry. I felt that my desire to help those without a voice could be done more easily through film. With film, you have the ability to inform the masses. Whereas, as an attorney, I could help one person at a time and most times the final verdict was out of my control. I struggled with my desire to be a part of the entertainment industry while seeing the injustice and inequalities in the industry. I would have conversations with other actors and industry professionals who shared their experiences of racism, sexism and pay inequities, they often shared how powerless they felt and were not optimistic that things would change. I too felt that I could not openly share how I felt about injustices, the inequity and in addition the images I saw on television (episodic, sit-coms, news), and be successful in the entertainment industry.
As a result I wanted to create a space where artists could share their work on injustice, inequities without feeling powerless. Without having their voices silenced, and their livelihood threatened. I decided to start a festival, now I’ve always wanted to start a film festival. Originally, I wanted to showcase black filmmakers in the African Diaspora however after researching the festival landscape I felt there were already great festivals such as the Pan African, the Hollywood Black Film Festival and the American Black Film Festival, that served to promote Black filmmakers and shared stories of African peoples in the diaspora. While these festivals served our community, they were not specific to social justice and that was where my heart and passion lied. I felt there was a need for a mainstream festival that focused on socially relevant content. There was a need to promote and support filmmakers creating content that challenged the status quo, content that moved us to care and to act. The underlying sentiment being that suffering is universal and injustice is a global issue, I decided I wanted to create an international festival that explored films and other art forms that spoke to injustice and shine a light on issues of the marginalized. I want to be a part of the change I wanted to see in our world. PTAFF was born to provide myself and other like minded individuals with the opportunity to use our artistic voices for change.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The festival has been a labor of love although quite challenging. Everyone who experiences the festival loves the content, loves the panels, the guests, and the films. Most people who are able to attend have an amazing time, we hope to be able to grow and expand the festival to a wider audience both domestically and internationally.
There are a few challenges facing the festival, the primary one being funding. We have struggled to get donations, sponsorships, volunteers and as a result some years the festival and the filmmakers we serve have not had the best of experiences. In addition due to our financial challenges we have not been able to effectively market and promote the festival in order to grow its audience and reach into the community of artivists. We look forward to alleviating these challenges by growing our PTAFF donors and supporters in order that we may bring a strong and impactful festival to more people in the future.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The name of the organization is Pembroke Taparelli Arts and Film Festival
The organization was formed on 04/01/2016 as a Non-profit Corporation under California state laws and headed by Michelle Andrea Smith.
The Pembroke Taparelli Arts Festival (PTAFF) is a celebration of Domestic and International Artists (Filmmakers, Performers, visual artists) committed to fostering global social change through the Arts. We celebrate those fearless artists who are willing to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of our times, holding themselves accountable for the change they desire to see.
PTAFF inspires conversation and promotes a better understanding of the power art wields in combating the injustices that have become a part of our daily lives.
In 2016, we successfully presented our inaugural festival attracting some prominent entertainment industry leaders on our opening night.
Over the past five years, we have attracted multi-award winning films and directors from around the globe. We’ve attracted leaders in social justice and social change to participate as panelists on our discussion on Homelessness and Gun Violence, Mass Incarceration, Religious Intolerance, Racial Injustice, Health and Environmental Injustice.
We have placed emphasis on the collaborative nature of the festival through all of our promotional material and in the working practice of the festival team;
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I believe it is very important to have a mentor. I do not have a mentor per se, however, when I decided to start this festival, I reached out to the founder of one of the most prominent Black Film Festivals and he was very gracious in his support. He provided me with important information regarding starting a festival. I am most grateful to him for his guidance. I am a believer in mentorship, while I have never had the good fortune to have a professional mentor, I have seen the benefits in the lives of my friends and colleagues. I have, however, been a mentor to others during law school and currently with the interns and others who reach out to me for guidance and support. In addition to mentorship, networking is essential to business success. I have had the good fortune of meeting people via networking events or simply by striking up a conversation with a stranger and having that individual support my efforts in business.
I was raised on the saying, “A Closed Mouth Doesn’t Get Fed” so I believe and would advise anyone starting a new business, anyone seeking a mentor, seeking help in any way professionally or personally, to ask for what you need. There is no way anyone can know what you need help with unless you ask for it. Be clear on what it is you want and ask away.
We are currently in our fifth year, we seek to shine a light on the issue of Poverty, and its impact on marginalized communities both domestically and internationally. We will have various artistic presentations as well as panels and film screenings exploring this topic.
We are now open for submissions on Film Freeway https://filmfreeway.com/
If you would like to learn more or about PTAFF or make a donation please visit the website at www.ptaff.org
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
