This is an all-purpose application to qualify for BPM's emerging-tech programs and funding. BPMplus is the department that supports creative technology makers and projects. BPMplus offers in-kind and financial support for immersive and experimental tech productions. We welcome applications for tech projects that are in the R&D phase, pre-production, or production that focus on the experience of being part of the Black diaspora. Completed projects are not eligible. 

Applicants do not need to have previous emerging-tech, interactive, or immersive production experience. First-time emerging-tech makers are welcome to apply, although two things will set your application apart:

1.  Having a strong, existing creative practice in an arts field, along with a body of work that demonstrates your capabilities in this field and,
2.  Having a strong emerging-tech project idea. Makers who have completed at least 1 creative technology project are strongly encouraged to apply.

BPMplus programs include:

Please read through the entire general application before you begin, and prepare any required documentation. We suggest that you have your resume, pitch deck or treatment, and budget ready. Applicants will be notified on a rolling basis between December 2024 and July 2025.

PitchBLACK Bootcamp (February 2025)

• PitchBLACK Bootcamp in upstate New York is a weekend-long pitch-training and professional development program. Over four days, you will have the chance to network with other creatives, participate in workshops on pitching techniques and story development, as well as practice your pitch to peer filmmakers, technologists, and artists, BPM staff, and external experts.   
• If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, submit your application by Sunday, December 22, 2024, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Invitations for PitchBLACK Bootcamp will start being offered in December 2024. The Bootcamp takes place in February just outside New York City. Lodging, airport transfers, and group meals are paid for by Black Public Media.
• Invitations to PitchBlack Bootcamp 2025 are extended at the sole discretion of Black Public Media, with or without an application being submitted via Submittable.  

PitchBLACK Forum: Immersive (April 2025) 

• PitchBLACK Forum: Immersive is a juried competition. 
• PitchBLACK does not fund tech startups or apps. 
• PitchBLACK participants retain 100 percent of their intellectual property when competing in or winning this event. Black Public Media does not take an ownership stake. 
• Participants may be emerging, mid-career or veterans in their film, art, or technology practice. Possessing either a body of work that demonstrates your capabilities in at least one creative or arts field OR at least 1 completed creative-technology project are strongly encouraged.
• Projects that are already in production are allowed.
• Projects that are already completed do not qualify.
• The immersive competition is open to applicants outside the United States. Filmmakers and artists who live in Brazil, Canada, and Tanzania, for example, have participated.
• Both narrative and nonfiction projects are welcome.
• Travel to New York is required to participate in this pitch competition, and written permission is required from Black Public Media to miss the in-person event in April 2025. Accepted artists should plan to be in New York in April 2025 for at least 4 days to attend rehearsals, tech checks, the pitch competition, and the awards ceremony. Black Public Media will cover some travel expenses within the continental U.S., on a case-by-case basis.
• Additional details about the competition will be provided to candidates who are invited to interview for a pitching slot or invited to compete.   
• If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please submit your application by Sunday, December  22, 2024, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Selections for PitchBLACK Forum: Immersive begin in mid December 2024. 
• Invitations to PitchBlack Forum: Immersive 2025 are extended at the sole discretion of Black Public Media, with or without an application being submitted via Submittable.  

BPMplus Fellowships

• Provides ongoing support from a Black Public Media producer and/or adviser for your production. Production meetings typically run 9 to 24 months. 
• The in-kind BPMplus Fellowship provides a variety of non-cash support, such as access to tech equipment, studio space, and tech classes. This fellowship is available year round. Candidates are required to submit a budget, production schedule, and a project treatment or pitch deck. 
• BPMplus funding grants provide money to support R&D, pre-production, production, or post-production for creative technology productions. In order to qualify for a financial grant, candidates are required to submit a budget, production schedule, crew list or list of crew roles, project treatment or pitch deck, and, in some cases, the first draft of a script, an outline, and/or technical specs or a tech plan. 

BPMplus Immersive Workshop (flexible dates)

• Provides in-person or online tech training and site visits to virtual production facilities, which are frequently not open to the public. 
• Previous BPMplus Immersive Workshops have focused on motion capture instruction, Unity Engine, and Unreal Engine. Topics change year to year. 
• The location of these workshops changes yearly. 

BPM Residency at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts (July 2025)

• Black Public Media (BPM) and the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts co-created an artist-in-residence program for filmmakers, creative technologists, and artists who need access to emerging-tech equipment, studio time, workspace, or training.
• The BPM Residency usually runs 2 weeks long, but the duration may change in 2025. 
• The residency is in person. There is no online or hybrid option. 
• Participants may be emerging, mid-career or veterans in their film, art, or technology practice. Possessing either a body of work that demonstrates your capabilities in at least one creative or arts field OR at least 1 completed creative-technology project are strongly encouraged.
• Emerging technologies include, but are not limited to, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, real-time filmmaking, and 3D printing. Candidates may also choose to focus on more mature technologies, such as projection mapping, multichannel video, VFX, or animation.
• Applicants must be engaged in creating work about the African American or global Black experience. 
• In the past, Black Public Media and the Carson Center were able to cover both travel and lodging for residency participants. We hope to be able to provide full coverage in 2025 as well, but it will depend on the program’s funding. 

Please read through the entire general application before you begin, and prepare any required documentation. We suggest that you have your resume, pitch deck or treatment, and budget ready. Applicants will be notified on a rolling basis between December 2024 and July 2025.

AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange has delighted audiences for over 15 years. Its stories are as beautiful as they are poignantly told. Black Public Media (BPM) is committed to bringing to the American public dynamic stories that celebrate the art, culture, history and creativity of people of African descent from the US and around the world.

We are looking for strong stories that will capture the breadth and scope of the diversity of the Black experiences. Programs can be about music, art, human rights, sports, politics, health, or anything in between.  Programs should be accessible to a broad audience, have the potential for a national broadcast, and can be used for effective outreach and engagement activities to reach audiences beyond the public television broadcast. Completed programs must be able to meet PBS technical and editorial standards. We seek documentary and narrative broadcast or feature length programs only. Submissions are accepted year-round.
 

For programs selected for AfroPop, Black Public Media provides competitive licensing rates for broadcast and/or digital platform distribution.

AfroPoP is produced in partnership with WORLD Channel for broadcast and/or digital release.

AfroPoP Digital Shorts is Black Public Media’s series of short films (nonfiction and narrative) shedding light on a variety of topics from the Black perspective. The Digital Shorts are premieres on the BPM YouTube channel every third Monday of every other month and is available to stream on demand.

We are looking for strong stories that will capture the breadth and scope of the diversity of the Black experiences. Programs can be about music, art, human rights, sports, politics, health or anything in between.  Programs should be accessible to a broad audience and can be used for effective outreach and engagement activities to reach audiences beyond the public television broadcast. We seek documentary, narrative and animated short programs. Submissions are accepted year-round.
 

For programs selected for AfroPop, Black Public Media provides competitive licensing rates for digital platform distribution.