BACKDOOR FILMS was formed on May 19, 2000 sharing the day with a creative spirit who evoked the phrase, "By Any Means Necessary." With this understanding, Backdoor Films embraced the notion that when you can't get through the front door of opportunity, you have to make a way out of no way.
As an independent award-winning film and television production company, develops and produces creative content for a global market. With over 15 years of production, Backdoor Films has strategically built it's presence with a slate of award-winning short film projects. Garnering critical exposure, Backdoor Films projects have presented at premiere film festivals including Sundance, SXSW, AFI, Cannes, Toronto ABFF, Urbanworld, and numerous more. Our projects have been affiliated with Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment, Hypnotic, Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, MACRO, Fox Searchlight, NETFLIX, HBO, Appian Way, Cinemax, Showtime, BET, Sundance Channel, American Heroes Channel, The Weather Channel, A&E Channel, National Geographic Channel, Military Channel and the History Channel.
As a successful, minority and woman-owned business, Backdoor Films is uniquely poised to create diverse content that is lacking within the entertainment industry. With a new emerging American and global audiences yearning to see their experiences represented, Backdoor Films wants to create opportunities on both sides of the camera and stage. Additionally, we are committed to bringing forth a renewed vision on African narratives and the Diaspora through a social impact media production company Hyphenate Africa.
With a focus on producing projects that are artistically compelling and socially significant, in 2020 we celebrate our 20th year in the industry creating inclusive opportunities and empowered images.
ON THE HORIZON
written and directed by
Adetoro Makinde
Based on a true story set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a disillusioned Marine veteran John Keller must confront his inner demons and a racial standoff to save people trapped in his apartment building before violence erupts or worse...
"Wow. THE AMERICAN CAN is built on such a powerful core group of characters. John Keller is an extraordinarily sympathetic protagonist fighting internal wars on multiple fronts. The diverse cast offers a deep thematic look at a cross section of racism in the American South against an evocative backdrop in which people tend to show their true colors. But there's nuance here too, as in the way Keller and the black community are so nonchalant toward the impending storm, as if some of them had a choice to leave at all. Overall, the piece is highly cinematic, driven by a singular emotional core and a stylistic verisimilitude in its mixed media approach."
THE BLACK LIST
More about John Keller at www.JohnCanManKeller.com
IN THE WAKE OF MOURNING
In this experimental documentary short, Tyrese, a disabled Black youth celebrates his 21st birthday, quarantined in his college dorm. Isolated and mentally exhausted following the global protest for racial justice, he watches the documentary “I Am Not Your Negro”; pushing his thoughts into a visceral outcry and call to action.
TOMARO: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Tomaro is a fishing island just outside the metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria and is not registered on any map. With little in the way of infrastructure, the children are limited to only a primary school education, but the community wants more. This all changes, when the Baale, the traditional leader, meets a visiting teacher from New Jersey and asks her to build them a school. Despite setbacks and government bureaucracy, this short documentary shows their resilience armed with the power of knowledge.
IN THE NEWS
Western cinema boasts a rich history of characters from the criminal underground (you can count more whores and hustlers than chocolatiers or florists, certainly), but working girls and gangsters aren’t the only worthy subjects. We sometimes forget, the beauty of the everyday makes rich material too. Adetoro, incandescent and softly triumphant, carries the light of her experience with grace. Here’s her story... continue
Celebrating Women History Month 2022
The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and the New York Foundation for the Art (NYFA) have announced the selection of 89 projects, led by female-identifying creatives, that will receive finishing grants in the third round of the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre
Adetoro Makinde
Female Producer to Watch
in the indie genre
A cohort of seven (7) producers of innovative fiction and nonfiction projects (film, television, and digital media) were selected by IFP, Blackhouse, and HBO. These Fellows will participate in this year-long, collaborative program to expand the number of multicultural production companies; to increase their pipeline of content; and to support the sustainability of mid-career independent producers and the scale at which their projects and businesses operate. The first cohort of participating producers are all women, signaling all of the partner organizations’ focus on supporting female filmmakers.
The Black List And WIF Select Participants For Annual Episodic And Feature Labs
Trending on the Top List of The Black List
The Black List launched a elite online community where screenwriters make their work available to Hollywood Executives, agents, readers, distributors buyers and employers. Since its inception, it has hosted more than 55,000 screenplays with 53 Academy Awards from 262 nominations, including 4 of the last 10 Best Picture Oscars and 10 of the last 22 Best Screenplay Oscars and teleplays where recommended from its platform. Fewer than 5% of the scripts hosted on the site receive a endorsement of excellence. The American Can is one of those few.
Chiwetel Ejiofor Talks "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" and Authenticity
Women Taking Leadership in New Global Fund Backing Female Filmmakers and Their Diverse Stories
FILM FOR A CAUSE
ANGELS FOR ENDO WARRIORS
When a family member shares she's been silently suffering from pain for 20 years, you become a different kind of Angel for a cause that needs a bigger voice.
As a filmmaker, this short video is the most important project I've done to date. My sister, Victoria, has been a silent sufferer of the debilitating medical condition Endometriosis that on the inside has turned her laughter into unimaginable pain. The worst part is she isn't alone. Millions of afflicted girls and women around the world have been betrayed by the health community who ignore the real life altering affect of Endometriosis.
Watch, share and be an Angel for Endo Warriors.
Excerpt from the https://www.endowhat.com/
the question
It began as a simple Saturday morning when I volunteered to spend the day with a remarkable 13 year old boy. Born at just 23 weeks and weighing 1 pound, his head was the size of an egg. If he survived the night, the doctors said he would live in a vegetative state without the ability to see, speak or think - but he proved them wrong.
Inspired by his wisdom, I took my guerilla filmmaking to another level. Armed only with my personal Samsung S2 cellphone, I began shooting and knew I needed to share more of his story. And in the end, it was Tyrese who taught me...
"There's no such thing as a bad day. It's just that some days are more challenging than others."
life calls for attitude
While keeping steadfast to bring the story of John Keller and his heroics in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the big screen, I had the opportunity to produce a segment of this inspiring short documentary spotlighting three heroes:
A firefighter from South Africa
A coal miner from Chile
A retired Recon Marine from New Orleans
It's never too late to be a voice of change and define the legacy you will leave behind.
sunshine cinema
As an Impact Producer, I brought Participant Media and Sunshine Cinema together to showcase The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind in Southern Africa, and couldn't be more thrilled by the results. Through my Hyphenate Africa platform, I continue to champion empowering stories from, for and about Africans to inspire the world.
Sunshine Cinema with their team of Sunbox Ambassadors share films with communities across Southern Africa using solar powered cinema.
FASHION FORWARD: AN ECO JOURNEY
Fifteen years old, Alexandra spent the summer with me and wanted to explore her passion for fashion and the environment. So I decided it was time for another adventure in guerilla documentary filmmaking.
Using my a very old Samsung S2 cellphone, it came with a few technical glitches. But the story message is still clear. And that's all that matters.
"Making change happen!"