About IMAS
Indie Media Arts South is a regional collective working to support and uplift independent filmmakers and arts organizations across the greater South.
Our Mission
We are Indie Media Arts South, a subgroup of the National Indie Media Arts Field Group, created by The National Endowment for the Arts and Sundance Institute to continue the collaborative spirit and work of field meetings and other collaborations of leaders of independent media arts organizations across the United States.
IMAS currently has over 70 members representing arts organizations, film festivals, and filmmakers across the South. Equity and sustainability for independent storytellers and the broader independent film and media arts field are together our collective focus. This is a space for collaborative thought and connective tissues across the film and media arts field.
We embark in regular field-building meetings that serve as a peer networking forum for continuous knowledge exchange between local, regional, and national stakeholders about filmmaker-friendly policies, best practices, and strategies supporting independent artists and filmmakers across the United States. Alongside our broader field discussions, we provide platforms for members to network, connect, and collaborate.
This field group is free and open to all who are committed to independent film and media arts. The level of participation in the group is completely determined by the individual. Please share with others to help us ensure this invitation reaches a wide range of organizations, artists, and collectives--of all sizes and shapes.
Our Current Goals
Work toward a collaborative database of digital learning opportunities and grants for filmmakers
Advocate for grantors and national incubators to operate more inclusively. To educate and push against extractive storytelling in our region
Improve data specific to the south, both for organizations and filmmakers
Create opportunities for Southern filmmakers, grow audiences, and amplify Southern programming while growing the volume and quality of southern work.
We Need You!
Join the Indie Media Arts South Organizing Committee! This core group is working to provide sustainability and momentum for IMAS. To learn more about this collective leadership team and how you can get more involved, email imartssouth@gmail.com.
Currently seeking members to represent Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Virginia, and West Virginia.
IMAS Central Organizing Committee Members
Clarivel Ruiz (we/us/you) - IMAS Coordinator (NY)
Dana Plasse - IMAS Newsletter Manager (ID)
Asad Muhammad - Vice President of Impact and Engagement Strategy, POV (NC)
Curtis Cesar John - Executive Director, The Luminal Theater + co-founder: BLK Docs (SC)
Jessica Chriesman - Filmmaker + Director of Education & Outreach at Sidewalk Film Center & Cinema (AL)
Jordan Young (he/him) - Media Artist + Director of Media Arts, South Arts (GA)
Ouida Washington - Producer, Washington-Koen Media + Lecturer, Visual Culture, Spelman College (GA)
Rahi Hasan (they/them) - Independent Filmmaker + Impact Strategist + Co-founder of Undocumented Filmmakers Collective (NC)
Shara Lange - Independent Filmmaker + Associate Professor & Radio/TV/Film Program Head, East Tennessee State University (TN)
Former IMAS Central Organizing Committee Members
Melanie Addington - Oxford Film Festival/Mississippi Film Alliance (MS)
Dan Brawley - Cucalorus Film Foundation (NC)
Chloe Cook - Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema (AL)
Lauren Waring Douglas - Independent Filmmaker + Producer (SC)
Tom Hansell - Independent Filmmaker + Professor of Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University (NC)
Holly Herrick - Austin Film Society (TX)
Teresa Hollingsworth - Southern Circuit Tour/South Arts (GA)
Tommy Nichols - Charlotte Black Film Festival & Collective (NC)
Elaine McMillion Sheldon - Independent Filmmaker + Professor of cinema, UTK School of Art (TN)
Melissa Simpson - Film Impact Georgia (GA)
Sarah Stauder - Aurora Picture Show (TX)
Amada Torruella - Independent Filmmaker + Film Curator (SC + National)
Chloe Walters Wallace - Firelight Media (LA)
Fallon Young - New Orleans Film Society (LA)
