You landed the project. The deadlines and budget are set. It’s time to crew up! When timelines are tight, we often turn to our usual team to take a project to the finish line. There’s a lot of value in already established relationships where you speak the same creative language and have built trust over the years. We get it.
But you’re a Tongal creator. You set convention aside in pursuit of your own creative instincts and have the hustle to back it up. Like Tongal, you share in our vision of a more open industry, where access to opportunity isn’t dictated by who you know, where you live, or what you look like. Thankfully, the convergence of technology and creativity that makes a platform like ours possible also makes it possible for communities within our industry to access, identify, and hire untapped talent through some incredible online directories and professional organizations.
Making a concerted effort to create opportunities for new voices is an important step towards making our industry more reflective of the actual pool of talent that exists, and towards telling inclusive stories that are reflective of the global population. And we all have a part to play and the power to affect change, whether we’re hiring 1 crewmember or 100.
When it’s time to crew up for your next project, we recommend starting with these helpful directories:
Asian American Documentary Network Crew Database
For doc filmmakers, this is your go-to resource for connecting with Asian American crewmembers. The database is searchable by area of expertise, location, and languages spoken to help you find the right person for every documentary job.
This non-profit platform, launched in 2018, seeks to normalize the presence of Black filmmakers in creative roles in the advertising industry. Black directors, cinematographers, and editors populate this complimentary directory so all creative industries can more easily source Black talent. It includes a combination of well-known names like Ava Duvernay and fresh talent like Tongal creator Marcus J. Thomas.
This resource came to be in the wake of our nation’s renewed focus on racial awareness and has quickly swelled into a robust, searchable database of Black filmmakers. Black in Film aims to amplify the visibility of Black filmmakers, specifically those in behind-the-camera crew positions. Anyone can add their information to this database.
Brown Girls Doc Mafia
This diverse network of filmmakers and industry stakeholders is on a mission to bolster the creative and professional success of women and non-binary people of color working in the documentary industry, and to challenge the often marginalizing norms of the documentary field.
Cast and Crew of Color.org is an online professional network developed by and for people of color who work in film, television, and digital media. In addition to browsing their database, members also enjoy the ability to post job and funding opportunities, share news and events, and connect with creators through their forums.
One part community, one part talent directory, and one part editorial magazine, Free The Work offers a holistic approach to hiring underrepresented talent by offering membership to emerging and professional creators and the businesses that want to work with them.
As actionable as its name, this wide-ranging directory covers every creative job/niche imaginable, from filmmaking to motion design to lettering and type design.
Statistics show that Latinos and Latinas are one of the most underrepresented groups in front of and behind the camera. But it’s not for a lack of Latinx talent in the industry, clearly showcased by the wide array of Latinx directors in this database who have the experience and are ready to direct.
The Melacast is another relatively new platform that not only serves as a space to connect actors, directors, and crew of color with opportunities, but also aims to provide all creators with the talent and resources needed to tell culturally rich and diverse stories in film.
sporas, a play on diasporas, is a collective of cinematographers and film technicians dedicated to supporting and providing opportunities to film workers of color with a focus on changing hiring practices within the industry. Apart from maintaining a directory of talented filmmakers, sporas is also working on developing an open-access archive related to POC film history and programming workshops and panels for its community members.
Women In Media seeks to promote gender balance in the film and entertainment industries through networking, professional development, and advocacy for women who work above and below the line and the people who love to collaborate with them. Their database includes women all over the world and spans every department from Accounting to Writing.
Have other resources you’d like to share with the Tongal community? Tell us about them in the comments, or better yet, pitch to write about your experience for our blog!
Hey, Kayden. It does indeed look like that link broke sometime after this article was posted. I've swapped it with the resource you provided. Thanks for shouting this out.
