Black women in film, entertainment honored at media to be honored 'Untold Stories' event

theGRIO REPORT - Final preparations are underway for a star-studded luncheon, at Atlanta's downtown Marriett Marquis, celebrating outstanding achievements of black women in film, television and the entertainment industries...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Final preparations are underway for a star-studded luncheon, at Atlanta’s downtown Marriott Marquis, celebrating outstanding achievements of black women in film, television and the entertainment industries.

The annual Untold Stories Luncheon, organized by the Black Women Film Network, honors the work of women of color in the front of and behind the camera. The ticketed event, which takes place on Friday, March 9, also helps fund scholarships for students actively pursuing a career in the industry.

This year’s A-list recipients are actresses Tasha Smith of Why Did I Get Married? and other films, Wendy Raquel Robinson of The Steve Harvey Show and The Game, as well as television executive Traci Blackwell, philanthropist Judy Mauldin and 135th Street Agency managing partner Saptosa Foster.

The luncheon will be hosted by Tyler Perry’s longtime executive vice president, Roger Bobb, who has recently set up his own company, Bobbcat Films, and WXIA-TV news anchor Karyn Greer.

“The event is in keeping with our mission to honor women in the film and entertainment space. We are also supporting students who are passionately pursuing their careers in film and new media,” says Alicia J. Scarborough, executive director of Black Women Film Network, a nationwide non-profit organization with headquarters in Atlanta.

“When I started the Black Women Film Preservation Project, now Black Women Film Network,15 years ago, it was to increase the number of women in film, broadcast and related areas,” says founder Sheryl Riley Gripper, the former vice president of community affairs at WXIA-TV, an NBC affiliate in Atlanta.

“I believe the Black Women Film Network has reached that goal. Now, we want to train women through educational programs and technical training to be major stakeholders in Georgia’s growing film industry,” she adds.

“The annual Untold Stories Luncheon marks one of Atlanta’s culturally exhilarating events to showcase the major players and their contributions to film and the mass media arts,” says Scarborough.

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