Tull Family Theater welcomes 2 Black female filmmakers to new residency program

Two Black female filmmakers will be able to bring their film to life about an under-recognized Black inventor thanks to a new program launched by the Tull Family Theater.

The theater’s Artists in Residency Program is a 12-month program that focuses on supporting artists “whose work has been interrupted by the pandemic,” according to a press release. The program launched in late March and will run until at least March 2022.

The theater will host Nadine M. Patterson, the writer and director of the film “The Unknown Tales of Lewis & Mary Latimer,” and Martha Richards Conley, the producer.

“We wanted to start out with more experienced filmmakers because this is our first residency,” said Carolina Thor, executive director of the Tull Family Theater. “This was another reason the partnership with Nadine and Martha was so fitting for the first program.”

Thor said the pair chose to work on a docudrama about Lewis Latimer, a Black inventor who successfully developed a lightbulb filament in the 1800s.

“They really wanted to bring him to the surface so people knew the story and the contributions of this Black scientist,” Thor said.

Conley said it is an honor to be chosen for the residency especially before the film has been shot.

“I am just very thankful to them wanting to work with us and believing in our project,” she said.

Patterson is an award-winning independent writer/producer/director. She first worked with The Tull Family Theater when it opened in 2017. Patterson’s experience includes a cinematic haiku called “We Are Free Because of Harriet Tubman,” which had its world premiere at The Tull Family Theater in 2019 and is a part of the “Anna Russell Jones: The Art of Design” exhibition at the African American Museum in Philadelphia through Sept. 12.

Conley was the first Black female graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1971, and the first Black woman admitted to practice law in Allegheny County. She is also a longtime visitor of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, which she discussed in an introduction to “Just Mercy,” a film about wrongful convictions, at the Tull theater in 2020.

A $100,000 grant from the Arts | Equity| Reimagined Fund helped jump-start the project, something Patterson says will help the pair focus more on their project.

“We have a solid foundation to begin our project, and it takes that kind of financial worry off the table,” she said.

Thor said that both artists will receive a stipend and access to resources and facilities to help advance the film and work with the theater’s youth programs through collaborations with companies in STEM fields.

Patterson sees the collaboration as a way to help the youth see themselves in the film industry.

“It is important to engage with local youth who are often at a disadvantage and who may not be exposed to artists like us in film and television,” Patterson said.

Conley also sees the program as an opportunity to make connections.

“Carolina and Karen at the Tull are very insightful partners in this,” she said, “and it’s not just the encouragement along with the financial support but also just in terms of us connecting with the community.”