From Hill to Hollywood and back again.
As the Grads are Back celebration got underway Wednesday, many of Florida A&M University’s alumni descendant upon the highest of the seven hills.These alumni included many television and film professionals, who came together for the inaugural “Reelback Film Summit.”
The program was put on by Seven Hillz Productions company on Wednesday. Seven Hillz Productions was founded by film producer Breion Moses, a Florida A&M alumna.
Moses says the goal of the event was to allow aspiring TV and film professionals to learn from and network with media professionals.
The program, which ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., was packed with informative panels.The panels included “The Business of Acting,” “Concept, Creation, Execution,” “How We Make Hollywood Look Good” and “Financing Your Creativity.”
FAMU alumnus, Benjamin Carlton, participated in “The Business of Acting” panel. The actor and activist stressed the importance of utilizing resources on campus and seizing the moment.
“Hollywood is oozing with black magic. It’s about time that we started making more of our content because that’s what the world wants to see,” Carlton said.
LaShannon Petit, creative director for Prpl Miami public relations firm, is glad to be back on The Hill. Petit took part in the “How We Make Hollywood Look Good” panel, and spoke about the importance of having events like this, so alumni may impart knowledge to students and help them get where they are going.
Those in attendance got to witness the soft launch of celebrity stylist Chris Gees, product line CannaCare during the “How We Make Hollywood Look Good” panel . Gees, a FAMU alumnus, has worked with well known artists like Beyonce and media mogul Oprah Winfrey.
Gees reflected on his journey since his graduation in 2004.
“Having the soft launch today on FAMU’s campus was so monumental to me because I started my cosmetology career here,” Gees said.
The product line infuses CBD with shampoo, conditioner and scalp oil, and was used by Gees on all the talent in the movie “Merry Little Christmas” starring Kelly Rowland.
As the event concluded Moses took the mic to share a few words in celebration. Moses called the event a success and looks forward to putting on the event again in the years to come. In her final words, she reminded students that there is power in working across and networking with other students.
The founder of the Seven Hillz Production company said, “Whether it was one or two in a crowd, somebody took away some information from that. I’m not huge on saying it has to be packed out. I had the right people here that needed to take away this information and they did.”
For more information and to see clips of the Reel Back film summit visit @reelbackfilmsummit on Instagram.