FEATURED PRESS

An Every Day Celebration of Black Culture & Resilience

2.27.2023 — LISC StoriesEconomic Development

Ugenia Stokes was born in Dallas, Texas, and pursued a career in the entertainment industry from a young age. She is the Founder and CEO of FWIN Productions, a production and development company that gives a voice to underrepresented communities in a predominantly white industry – both in front of and behind the lens. Ugenia unapologetically honors Black culture and authenticity every day and builds on her ancestors’ legacy of the fight for racial equity. 

FWIN Productions is driven by community and inspires conversations through storytelling. They tell the untold stories of African Americans, women, and LGBTQIA+ communities through scripted narratives, documentaries, and animations. Their documentary, FREE TO BE, highlights four LGBTQIA+  individuals and their intersectional fight for equity and justice. They completed a 27-film festival run and a Los Angeles tour promoting the impact of trans visibility and the ballroom community on mainstream culture.

“Our resilience and daily existence in the world is a radical act, so Black History Month is a special moment to celebrate and honor our ancestors. It is a time for the world to recognize Black excellence and how we have and continue to blaze trails and revolutionize and shape culture worldwide,” said Ugenia. 

Ugenia was named a growth capital recipient of LISC LA’s Asset Building for Communities of Color (ABC) program. The funds she received helped her purchase new equipment to grow the business and create new sources of revenue. With the support of ABC, FWIN Productions has become the first Black woman-owned production company in Los Angeles. With in-house film equipment, they rent cameras, lenses, lighting, and gear to other studios and production companies. 

The ABC program creates pathways for upward mobility for diverse small businesses by providing them with tools and resources to accelerate growth and wealth creation. Small businesses face longstanding barriers to traditional loans and capital, and ABC is closing the racial wealth gap through investments in business owners who serve low-to-moderate income communities in Los Angeles County.

The ABC program is made possible with generous support from Wells Fargo. Learn more at https://www.lisc.org/los-angeles/abc-fund. 

FREE TO BE (DEADLINE)

The Film Life Foundation’s inaugural Social Justice Now Film Festival (SJNFF) unveiled its robust program. From shorts to documentaries to narrative features, the SJNFF program includes an impressive lineup of timely, relevant, informative and empowering films. The non-competitive showcase highlights the themes of social justice, and explore issues of racial injustice, implicit bias, Black identity and human rights.

FREE TO BE TOUR – Los Angeles

FREE TO BE has been taking Pride Month and Los Angeles by storm!

We are proud to share our impact so far from the film screening tour of our short documentary FREE TO BE during LA PRIDE.

Free to Be is an award-winning documentary that follows four individuals that identify with the LGBTQIA+ community in their push for social justice and racial equality. Advocating for Black Lives Matter, they showcase the cultural impact the Black LGBTQIA+ community has brought to the mainstream media while being underhandedly forgotten. Featuring Laganja Estranja, Gracie Cartier, Daebrian O'Berry, and Ash Danielsen.

Directed and Produced by Ugenia Stokes in association with FWIN Productions.

Across our events, we engaged with over 350 attendees and reached an audience of over 1.1M total subscribers with our partners.