A wonderful short film that I programmed as curator of the New Voices in Black Cinema Festival in Brooklyn, NY last month, has been announced as the winner of the first-ever “Color TV” competition – a collaboration between EBONY.com and streaming platform kweliTV.

The short film, “Rigamo,” from director Che Grayson, follows 6-year-old Kera Moore who discovers that she has the power to bring people back to life with her tears, in the midst of family loss and tragedy; however her gift comes with a price.

The 12-minute film’s winnings includes a streaming deal with kweliTV and a profile on EBONY.com.

“The Color TV contest is part of an overarching EBONY.com #fastforward initiative to push for an increase in the number of Black people in front of, and behind, the camera,” says JPC’s Kyles.  “We’re proud to be partnering on this effort with kweliTV, which currently highlights the best digital content in the Diaspora.”

“It was exhilarating to see entries flooding in from all over the globe,” adds kweliTV’s Spencer.  “We look forward to evaluating the next wave of creativity and talent. Working with an iconic brand like EBONY to bring awareness and exposure to these content creators is truly rewarding.”

The Color TV short film competitions debuted in mid-January. Selections were judged by Kyra Kyles, Vice President and Head of Digital Editorial for Johnson Publishing Company; DeShuna Spencer, founder of kweliTV; and Chan Smith, JPC’s multimedia producer and resident filmmaker.

Content creators of color should know that submissions are now open for the next installment of the contest.  Submissions must be between 8 minutes and 20 minutes in length and be sci-fi themed.  You have until 12 a.m. CST on June 3 to enter your short film. Visit www.ebony.com/colortv to read the complete rules and submit.

Head over to kweliTV where new subscribers can sign up for a free 30-day trial, where you will eventually be able to watch Grayson’s winning “Rigamo” in full.