November 2011 Filmmaker of the Month - Anthony Anderson

Born and raised in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, DC, Anthony Anderson has come a long way from the kid that would put on talent shows in the common areas for his neighbors and family in the 2400 block of Stanton Road SE formerly known as Ambassador Square. Always having a love for entertainment, Anthony entered all of the talent shows at Savoy Elementary School where he would either sing or dance. It wasn’t until Junior High School that Anthony developed a love for acting and writing. After his high school years, Anthony was approached by talent representative Barbara Love of K.I. Talent Agency and she sent him on his first audition for the independent film Misunderstandings. After that experience, he appeared in other projects including the DMX music video for the hit song Get It on the Floor, Head of State, directed by Chris Rock, and HBO’s The Wire.

It was during this period that Anthony realized that it was time to take the next step in his career. The result became the development of his own production company, Southeast Boy Productions and his first feature film project that he wrote and produced titled The Ties That Bind. It wasn’t long after when Anthony decided to create another show using the homegrown talent of Washington DC. That project would become ANACOSTIA, an edgy online soap opera set in the nation’s capital where Anthony serves as the writer and executive producer and stars as one of the lead characters.

Called "wildly addictive" by Daytimeconfidential.com, ANACOSTIA – The Series is a 10 episode dramatic web series that follows the lives of the residents of Anacostia, a small residential community in Washington DC as they navigate through love, betrayal, deception, sex and murder.

Since its debut in 2009, ANACOSTIA has developed a loyal fan following—the show has been downloaded in more than 96 Countries, won several industry awards, and has attracted veteran stars such as two-time Emmy Award winner Martha Byrne formerly of the daytime drama As The World Turns. Byrne will appear in multiple episodes of the upcoming third season. In September 2011, Anthony Anderson was awarded the African American Filmmaker of The Year by the Historical Black Press, an honor shared with Tyler Perry.

ANACOSTIA has an ensemble cast of brilliant talent who all relish the opportunity to portray such diverse and interesting characters. Included in this great cast are Tamieka Chavis, Kena Hodges, Wil Lash, Anthony Anderson, Chante’ Bowser, Pasha Diallo, Rabon Hutcherson II, Darnell Lamont Walker, Marion Akpan and Christopher Bair.

ANACOSTIA Season 3 will debut on November 11, 2011. Previous seasons of ANACOSTIA can be viewed at www.vimeo.com/anacostia.

Visit our Previously Featured Filmmakers to see more Filmmakers of the Month.