KAZEMBE BALAGUN (he/him), Executive Director

For the past twenty years, Kazembe Balagun has been a dynamic force on the NYC’s left intelligentsia scene, bringing together diverse audiences in real time to debate, learn and form solidarity.

Kazembe was born in Harlem in 1976, the son of Benjamin and Mildred. As the youngest of three and first generation out of the south New Yorker, Kazembe’s world outlook was formed by his parents’ trade unionism, life in the Polo Grounds Housing Project (“a small southern village transplanted up North as he said”), the LA Rebellion of 1992, and the sounds of Public Enemy, X-Clan, Rage Against the Machine and Wu-Tang.

From 1996-2000 he was a member of The Student Liberation Action Movement (SLAM!) as a student at Hunter College, a broad multiracial front that sought to extend the legacy of the 1969 CUNY Student movements, fighting for a free, democratic, CUNY. 

In 2008, he came onboard as outreach coordinator for the Brecht Forum, a broadly anti-capitalist cultural space in the West Village. His interest included the intersections of Marxism, Black liberation, and LGBTQ issues, working with diverse collectives such as Theater of The Oppressed, Women on Wednesdays, Ground Floor Collective, Neues Kabarett, Music Now Series, and speakers such as Slavoj Zizek, Angela Davis, and Naomi Klein.

“Being around so many speakers, so many musicians and artists, especially in the Village taught me it really wasn’t about code-switching, it was about being polyphonic.” said Kazembe about his experiences at the Brecht Forum. “The sound of jazz really helped me develop coalition politics.”

His start in film was unintentional. A class at Manhattan Neighborhood Network to document Brecht Forum events led to a passion for editing. Eventually he joined the Red Channels Collective which programmed films out of the Brecht Forum. He continued his film work as a production fellow at Third World Newsreel.

From 2013-2022, Kazembe was a project manager at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung New York Office, He lives in Co-op City with his son Miles and cat, Leroi.

Maysles Documentary Center is a Harlem-based nonprofit organization committed to community, education, and documentary film. We use filmmaking to amplify and expand under-represented artists and narratives, while empowering young filmmakers in creative self-expression, communicating ideas, and advocating needs.

Executive Director Kazembe Balagun of Maysles Documentary Center makes a bold claim as his micro cinema center has the best popcorn of any theater in New York City!

Visit Maysles in Harlem today!

Solomon West is a dynamic professional with a Mechanical Engineering background and a multifaceted career spanning cloud infrastructure, software integration, and community health. Certified as an AWS Cloud Practitioner, Solomon is fluent in technologies like Docker, Kubernetes, React, and Jenkins, with hands-on experience in database systems and API development. His business acumen shines through in his understanding of media-tech ecosystems: he’s contributed to platforms where film studios leverage granular viewer data — including trailer views and shares — to optimize distribution strategies and secure funding. Solomon’s cross-industry experience includes engineering project management, application support, and health equity outreach, making him a rare blend of technical depth, strategic thinking, and human-centered impact.

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Interview Segment with Solomon West | Founder of TrailerScope

Solomon West is a dynamic professional with a Mechanical Engineering background and a multifaceted career spanning cloud infrastructure, software integration, and community health. Certified as an AWS Cloud Practitioner, Solomon is fluent in technologies like Docker, Kubernetes, React, and Jenkins, with hands-on experience in database systems and API development. His business acumen shines through in his understanding of media-tech ecosystems: he’s contributed to platforms where film studios leverage granular viewer data — including trailer views and shares — to optimize distribution strategies and secure funding. Solomon’s cross-industry experience includes engineering project management, application support, and health equity outreach, making him a rare blend of technical depth, strategic thinking, and human-centered impact.

Episode #51 with Kendra Monet, a filmmaker from Harlem.

Kendra Monet is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied Film & TV. She creates personal narratives about individuals that dare to use their voices and imaginations to discover themselves. Her student short films have been selected at numerous film festivals including an honorable mention award at the Denton Black Film Festival her coming of age short film "The Walk Home." She was a finalist at the Changing Minds Young Filmmaker Festival, and she was interviewed by Bronx News 12 about her documentary film "Pulling the Evidence That Remains", a personal narrative on mental health. Kendra is currently working in publicity at Searchlight Pictures, where she has contributed to Academy Award winning campaigns such as Questlove’s "Summer of Soul" and most recently the Academy nominated and acclaimed film: Jesse Eisenberg's "A Real Pain." At the same time, she is in post-production for her short film ATTACHED, a psychological thriller about a struggling actress whose past continues to haunt her that forces her to confront her sense of control.

https://www.thekendramonet.com/

https://vimeo.com/kendramonet

https://tisch.nyu.edu/film-tv/news/2019/ugftv-student-kendra-brown-interviewd-on-bronx-new-12.html

Chapters:

- 00:00

Intro

- 00:56

Kendra's Introduction

- 01:15

What does it mean to be an independent filmmaker?

02:22

- How did your experiences at NYU prepare you to become a filmmaker/visual storyteller?

04:27

- What was your experience like working in Searchlight Pictures, publicity, and now working in the industry?

07:18

- How has your view on being a filmmaker changed over the past three years?

11:34

- What is your inspiration in making the short film "Attached"?

15:16

- Technical approach to the film

19:55

- What is ShotDeck?

22:41

- Kendra's past with dancing

24:48

- What was it like finding the right production designer?

31:18

- What made you choose to do a backstory and how did it help production?

34:30

- How often do you rehearse prior to production?

37:04

- What was the intention behind utilizing 180 degree shutter angles?

49:26

- Ad break

50:16

- First project co-writing/producing/directing

59:36

- Did people talk about the story potentially taking place in D.C.?

01:03:49

- What was it like confronting someone who you thought wasn't doing their job well?

01:20:08

- How did you come up with the name "Attached" and how did the final script work for you?

Welcome to episode 50! We made it!

In this episode, Emelyn Stuart shares what its like to run an indie cinema in Brooklyn, NY!

Emelyn Stuart bio:Emelyn embodies all things are possible when you marry purpose, passion, serious work ethic and commitment. Producing wasn’t an obvious path for this businesswoman that doesn’t deem herself an innate “creative” but it has proven to be a great fit for an extraordinary woman that has allowed making a difference propel her to uncharted territory. With a degree in business and less than a decade in the industry, Emelyn Stuart has exemplified leadership and provided inspiration to filmmakers globally.A vast range of projects that includes a successful off-Broadway play makes Stuart different from her collaborators, but also garners her recognition internationally. Her wildly successful web series, “12 Steps to Recovery,” earned Emelyn the Best Producer award at the 2011 LAWebfest. Stuart is partly responsible for multiple award-winning feature films including The Turnaround and Title VII. Her feature film Life Is Too Short premiered to sold out audiences in New York during its debut screening and in 2017 it was awarded Best Feature Film domestically and internationally at various film festivals. In 2018, the opening of an independent movie theater in New York called Stuart Cinema & Cafe in Greenpoint Brooklyn was realized. It offers distribution deals to independent filmmakers and serves as a resource hub for artists. Stuart Cinema is now expanding to a second screening room + a second location in Brooklyn. In the meantime, Stuart can still be found speaking at conferences and film festivals around the country. In addition to speaking engagements and producing, Stuart continues to receive accolades and awards for her work in the entertainment business. Acknowledged by visionaries in the industry for her accomplishments, she has proven to not only be a name that rings bells but a revolutionary presence that makes a difference.

In this bonus clips, Gordon& Bernadette discuss films they recently watched.

In this episode, contributors, Gordon Taft & Bernadette Mahoney discuss the movies they've watched recently and current events like the inevitability of the monopolization in the Streaming Wars: Netflix, Warner Bros, HBO and Paramount back-and-forth, Saudi Arabian money going into entertainment.