CAREERS TRAILBLAZERS
TRAILBLAZERS WINNIE IMARA
“WE’VE DEVELOPED so much since we started , BUT WE’RE STILL PASSIONATE ABOUT ENSURING Black women are in leading positions ON-SCREEN AND BEHIND THE SCENES”
T he film and TV industry is ripe with independent production companies, all fighting to make a name for themselves. Seven Black Women is among them. Founded by producer Winnie Imara at the tail end of 2020, the company describes itself as ‘a collective that aims to produce untold stories and create new opportunities in film, TV and theatre’. Besides pumping out projects, Seven Black Women also hosts programmes and masterclasses, with guest speakers from Channel 4, the BBC, Searchlight Pictures, the BFI and more. STRONG START “I believe I was producing way before I even knew it was called producing,” says Imara. Having organised projects with friends, she was already immersing herself in production. But through experience and observation, she “felt a sense of frustration – an urge to start something I wanted to see more of, which is Black women in leading roles both in front of and behind the screen.” Imara remembers thinking: “Why are we sitting around, waiting for someone to make something happen for us? Why can’t we make it happen ourselves?” During the early days of the pandemic, she did just that. By contacting her network with
Freelance producer Winnie Imara explains how faith and ambition led her to found Seven Black Women WORDS Katie Kasperson
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