GIVING YOURSELF THE GREENLIGHT: FUNDRAISING, CONTRACTS & MARKETING PANEL

DIRECTOR | DEKALB ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSION DECIDE DEKALB | DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Shelbia Jackson is the founding Director of DeKalb County’s TV/Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office also known as the DeKalb Entertainment Commission tasked with the implementation of the DeKalb Entertainment Strategic Plan. Over the last five years, she has secured and managed cumulative budget of $1.9M, worked with over 500 production companies on over 800 production projects in film, music, and digital entertainment to process over 1.6K film permit applications that generated over $2M direct film permit revenue.  She has hosted or participated in over 1K cumulative meetings, presentations, events, panels, and conferences over last the six years.  Under her leadership her office has had a direct positive impact on DeKalb’s creative economy estimated by the Atlanta Region Commission to reach $1.377B economic output by 2023.

Shelbia has helped establish a unified consistent film administration process across the 13 cities and unincorporated areas of DeKalb to successfully establish DeKalb as the premier location for entertainment and film production.  A few of these critically acclaimed projects include Bad Boys 3, Raising Dion, The Passage, MacGyver, Doom Patrol, P-Valley, Green Leaf, Black Lightning, Love Craft Country, Ozark, Star Girl, Dynasty, Legacies, Will Trent, The Piano Lesson, Stranger Things, Venom, and Black Widow.

Under her leadership, DEC has established strong strategic partnerships with local, regional, and global organizations such as the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office, the Association of Film Commissioners International, Atlanta Film Society, the ten entertainment organizations that comprise the DeKalb Entertainment Commission, as well as other county, regional and state partners including DeKalb’s 12 entertainment stages. This also includes participating in public speaking and marketing events that promote DeKalb County as a “camera-ready” community.

FOUNDER | KIAHCAN PRODUCTIONS |
FILMMAKER | ACTOR

Kiah was recently named the winner of the Tribeca - AT&T Untold Stories Program where she and her team were awarded one million dollars to produce the feature film, “Color Book.”, which had its world premiere June 2024 at the Tribeca Film Festival and its international premiere at the Deauville American Film Festival in France, September 2024.

The underdog of indie filmmaking, Kiah Clingman finds purpose in uplifting the voices of the unheard and bringing awareness to ignored and misunderstood topics. She seamlessly integrates her corporate expertise with her creative flair. Adopted by Atlanta, raised in Cincinnati, Kiah is a passionate advocate for telling stories about her second home and making sure her crew and talent on screen reflects the city. In 2019, Kiah pursued storytelling full-time and has since created 3 features, 17 short films, 2 webseries and various branded & digital content. She produced the film “Black Santa”, which premiered at Tribeca 2022. She wrote and produced her SAG short, “Eavesdropping on the Elders,” which received 17 Official Selections and won "Best Film" twice, and can be seen on Revolt. Additionally, Kiah produced two feature films in 2023, “The Comeback” and “Boxed In 2”, both on Peacock.

JORDAN BROWN CASTING |
CASTING DIRECTOR | ACTOR

Jordan Brown was born and raised in Kentucky before diving into the film industry. She was the Casting Director for Beast Beast (Ornana Films - World Premiere Sundance), ONLY (World Premiere Tribeca), Summer 03, Secret Life of a Dominatrix (Tubi Original) and You’re Killing Me. She enjoys educating actors and bringing compelling talent to powerful independent films.

ACTOR | CONTRACT LAWYER

A master of the multi-hyphenate and enthusiastic bisexual, Michael Anderson brings a uniquely hybridized perspective to this panel as both a contract manager and actor. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland Michael made the move to Atlanta in 2017 to continue cultivating his acting career while earning his J.D. specializing in Intellectual Property and Data Privacy Law at Emory University School of Law. He now offers contract management & consultation services for filmmakers, actors, screenwriters and other artists to ensure compliance, decode the legalese, and mitigate risk to their artistic works. Some of his recent credits include "Devotion" performing opposite Glen Powell, an LGBTQ indie feature "U R HIM," and his work as a producer on the dramatic short "Operation Darksite" which premieres later this month in Atlanta.

ASSOCIATE CHAIR OF FILM & TELEVISION | SCAD ATLANTA