Race Man Tell-A-Pictures

	SOWANDE TICHAWONNA, Executive Producer/Director, an independent filmmaker from Washington, D.C., earned his B.A. in broadcast production from Howard University in 1985. After graduation, he worked as a production assistant for the PBS series In Other Words with Ossie and Ruby, produced by acclaimed actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. In 1986, he collaborated with fellow Howard alumni Fred Brown Jr. and Shuaib Mitchell Kedar to form Progressive Productions, a television production company. He produced and directed Jest for Laughs, a local comedy show. He also was executive producer and director of photography for the documentary Straight Up Go-Go, which received critical acclaim and garnered an impressive second place in the Nielsen ratings for its time slot during its 1992 television debut in the D.C. market. In 1994, Tichawonna co-founded the AIVF-DC salon of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers based in New York. The salon hosts monthly workshops and screenings that cover all aspects of the film and television industry. He served as chair of the organization from 1994-2000. Tichawonna wrote, produced and directed the short film Talkin’ Shop. The film is about David, a journalist, who returns to his hometown, Washington, DC, and visits the entertainment center of his old neighborhood — the barbershop. The brothers in this shop will make you laugh and think with their sharp wit and in-depth social commentary from a Black perspective. Talkin’ Shop, which was shot in one day, marks his debut as a film director. Also, Tichawonna won the Mayor’s Arts Award 2000 for Outstanding Emerging Artist. The Mayor’s Arts Awards are the highest honor the city of Washington, DC confers on artists. In addition, Tichawonna completed the screenplay, A Matter of Principle, soon to be a feature film which he will produce and direct.
	DEREK ALLEN, Producer/Director of Photography, is a graduate of Howard University ’s School of Communications. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Derek has spent the last 19 years building a career in the field of media production As a Director of Photography, Mr. Allen has contributed to numerous independent films, commercials, television shows, documentaries, corporate, and industrial projects. Recent projects that Derek has lent his talent to are; In Conversations with Michelle Obama (NAACP Image award Winner); Facing the Mortgage Crisis (TV One Mini-Series); Fulfilling The Mission, an eleven part “training documentary” for new American Red Cross volunteers; In a Perfect World, a documentary that asks young people from various walks of life the question, what would make a perfect world; and the TV One television series, Singletary Says. Derek Allen has developed extensive knowledge and experience with many of the latest digital technologies for film and video production and post production as well DVD and web development. As every project is unique, Derek believes that it is important to be aware of all the tools available to best choose the right one for the job.
	LIZABETH WAGGER, Producer, is a Vice President for North American Precis Syndicate, a news distribution service. She started her career as a filmmaker of corporate training films at American States Insurance. Between 1995 and 2002, Wagger was co-director of the Washington DC Film Society. Wagger co-produced Sowande Tichawonna's short film, Talkin' Shop, in 2000. Wagger received her MA in Cinema from Northwestern University and her BA in Communications from the University of Virginia.
	M. MICHELLE AKARAS, Producer/Actor, makes her debut as a film producer for The New "N" Word. Michelle is a member of the actor's conservatory at The Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.