Demystifying Distribution

Avril Z. Speaks has been carving out her path as a bold, innovative content creator for years, not only as a Producer and Director but also during her days as a professor at Howard University and as a film educator through Film Independent, the Sundance Institute, and Distribution Advocates. Avril produced the award-winning film Jinn, which premiered at SXSW and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. Jinn gained distribution through MGM/Orion Classics and continues to be seen throughout the world. Avril has also produced several films including African American, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and is available on Netflix. She also produced the Black America Is… project, which premiered at the Afrikana Film Festival. Currently, Avril is an Executive Producer for Now This/Vox Media Studios, where she has directed and showrun docu-series such as Uprooted: The Untold Keith Warren Story and Keep This Between Us, available on Discovery+ and Freeform. Avril has been selected for producing labs with Film Independent, Sundance, The Gotham, Rotterdam, and Cannes, was a 2020 Sundance Momentum Fellow, and is currently a 2022 recipient of the Dear Producer Award. She is also on the Executive Committee for the newly formed Producer’s Union.

Dina Amer is an award-winning Egyptian American filmmaker. You Resemble Me is her directorial debut. She helped produce Oscar- nominated and Emmy award- winning film The Square, where the Egyptian Revolution was chronicled from the frontlines. Her work focuses on nuanced, wildly imaginative storytelling.

Sophia Fields is the Vice President of operations for Gravitas Ventures, a worldwide film distributor that connects filmmakers and producers with a global audience of over a billion people. She has over 20 years of distribution and content delivery experience with media companies in Los Angeles. During tenures at Rhino Records, Warner Music Group, RLJ Entertainment, and Showtime, Sophia helped streamline operations and oversaw deliveries for theatrical, broadcast, home entertainment, and VOD. A native of Cleveland, Sophia graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.

Alece Oxendine has dedicated her career to helping emerging independent filmmakers through her work in marketing, social media, partnerships, and strategy at Film at Lincoln Center, BAMcinématek, Rooftop Films, Athena Film Festival, Fandor, GoDigital, Inc., and Good Deed Entertainment. Her focus is educating filmmakers about digital distribution practices and navigating a difficult, yet rewarding film industry. She currently works in this capacity as the Director of Industry and Festival Outreach at Columbia University’s Film Program, where she is an esteemed alumna and serves on the Board of Directors for the Columbia Alumni Association. She is also a proud HBCU graduate of Winston-Salem State University and is committed to serving the Black community through her position on the Black Film Space Board. Alece is originally from Durham, NC and has lived in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and is glad to call New York City home again.