In this episode Jenna Bond and Jason Caldwell share their tips and tricks for competing your screenplay and improving as a screenwriter!

Jenna Bond is a writer who is shaped by the niche and obscure lives of the fading New York City. Discovered through her weekly essays on baby adult fails and her sardonic view of American values, her screen work ranges from RUN THE WORLD (Starz) to the live special OUR SHARED FUTURE for the Smithsonian. Originally cutting her teeth at Savoy, Heart&Soul, and Honey magazines and on downtown velvet rope party lines, she became an aide in Bill Clinton’s post-presidential chief of staff office before joining his writing team—crafting his speeches, correspondence and eulogies, and undeservingly sitting on the stage of Rosa Parks’ funeral. This role sparked a career anchored along Harlem’s 125th Street working at the Apollo Theater, curating at Maysles Cinema and consulting for Chef Marcus Samuelsson. And she’s co-hosted fundraisers at the Met Museum, intermittently managed the Suzi Lori Parks Band, and produced Soho comedy shows for Village comics. Known for her book parties and spades games, Jenna is a graduate of Wellesley College and Upright Citizens Brigade. She recently elevated from bon-vivanting as an art world groupie to serving as a 2022 Visiting Critic for the Wassaic Project. She serves on the board of Harlem Stage.

Jason Caldwell is a Director of Admissions at HM, Screenwriter, Father, Husband, Son, Brother and Friend

In this clip, Jenna Bond and Jason Caldwell discuss where they find inspiration when writing their screenplays.

In this Bonus Clip, Elina Street discusses her collaboration with Erica Rose for the Lesbian Bar Project

Ever co-directed a project before? Film/TV/Theatre?

Let us know! This clip is for you!

In this Bonus Clip, Elina discusses how the Lesbian Bar Project began to take shape.

Elina Street is an Emmy-Award winning French-American director. Her storytelling focuses primarily on female and non-binary representation.She co-created and co-directed the award-winning documentary campaign, @lesbianbarproject now a docu-series for The Roku Channel, starring and executive produced by Lea DeLaria.

In this bonus clip, Elina Street shares advice on how to run a successful fundraising campaign and other ways to secure funding for your film project.

Uptown Films welcomes new Co-Host Gordon Taft, a filmmaker, screenwriter and movie buff from Yonkers.

In this episode Gregory Hernandez and Gordon discuss the 2024 election, the connection between cinema and politics, Halloween and the top films of 2024.

Elina Street is an Emmy-Award winning French-American director. Her storytelling focuses primarily on female and non-binary representation.She co-created and co-directed the award-winning documentary campaign, @lesbianbarproject now a docu-series for The Roku Channel, starring and executive produced by Lea DeLaria.

Donald Swenson (Art Director for Ro & The Stardust) explains his approach on the 2024 Oscar qualified bilingual space fantasy, about a free spirited teen and her terminally ill grandmother build a rocket ship they plan to launch into outer space.