Race Man Tell-A-Pictures

SOWANDE TICHAWONNA, 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.