‘Selah and the Spades’ producer Lauren McBride joins SFFILM as Director of Artist Development

McBride is a filmmaker and consultant with background in tech; joins the SFFILM Makers team to lead Filmmaker Grant and Residency Programs

SFFILM announced today a major addition to the organization’s leadership roster, with film producer, consultant, and operations specialist Lauren McBride joining as Director of Artist Development, effective September 8. McBride will lead the team facilitating SFFILM’s robust slate of programs directly supporting independent filmmakers through grants, fellowships, residencies, and creative consultations under the banner of SFFILM Makers.
 
“We are thrilled to have Lauren McBride usher in SFFILM’s next chapter in artist development,” said SFFILM Executive Director Anne Lai. “Lauren’s tremendous creative instincts, empathy, and strategic vision make her perfectly suited to forge a strong path for the critical work of championing emerging storytellers both regionally and from around the world.”
 
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to tackle this new challenge and work more closely with the SFFILM Makers team,” said McBride. “I’ve had the great pleasure of consulting with SFFILM on several projects, and am inspired by the work they do to support filmmakers as they develop their work and navigate their careers. I look forward to helping guide the organization’s work to support emerging talent both in the Bay Area and around the world, and ensure that we are making space and creating opportunities for these brilliant, diverse artists to share their stories.”

Lauren McBride is an independent film producer, consultant, and operations specialist based in Oakland, CA who has built a career at the intersection of technology and entertainment. Her career started in consulting and operations management, which led to a role as a Program Manager at Google. During her career at Google, her work spanned key product areas, including YouTube Originals, where she supported the development of original content for YouTube.
 
A regular consultant for filmmakers on the development of their projects, McBride was also a 2017 Sundance Creative Producing Lab Fellow and a 2018 Film Independent Producing Lab Fellow. She produced Tayarisha Poe’s feature film Selah and the Spades, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released this summer by Amazon Studios. She is also producing an episodic series based on the film that is currently in development at Amazon.
 
SFFILM Makers, SFFILM’s artist development program, provides significant strategic and creative resources to independent filmmakers through grants, fellowships, residencies, and individual consultations. Since 2009, over $7.5 million has been disbursed to more than 200 feature projects. SFFILM’s suite of grants include the SFFILM Rainin Grant, the SFFILM Westridge Grant, and several programs in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which together provide the most nonprofit funding for narrative features in the United States; and the Documentary Film Fund, a partnership with the Jenerosity Foundation. 
 
Notable narrative films and filmmakers that have received support from SFFILM Makers include Rainin Grant recipients Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss Juneteenth, Fernando Frias’ I’m No Longer Here, Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Nia DaCosta’s Little Woods, Nijla Mu’min’s Jinn, and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station. Supported documentary features include Documentary Film Fund recipients Assia Boundaoui’s The Feeling of Being Watched, Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s Honeyland, Liza Mandelup’s Jawline, Luke Lorentzen’s Midnight Family, and RaMell Ross’ Hale County This Morning, This Evening.