The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTD) is pleased to honor Sowande Tichawonna, award-winning, independent filmmaker, actor and founder of DC-based production company Race Man Tell-A-Pictures, as the September 2014 Filmmaker of the Month.
Sowande started his career as a production assistant for the PBS series In Other Words with Ossie and Ruby, produced by the late, acclaimed actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. His credits include serving as executive producer and director of photography for the documentary Straight Up Go-Go (1992), which received critical acclaim and garnered an impressive second-place Nielsen rating in the DC market during its television debut. He also served as writer/producer/director of the short film Talkin’ Shop (2000), for which he won the 2000 Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist. The Mayor’s Arts Award is the highest honor the city of Washington confers on artists.
Sowande won the 2010 Larry Neal Writer’s Award for his screenplay, The New “N” Word. He also produced, directed and edited the short film of the same name, starring Erik Todd Dellums, Rain Pryor and James “JJ” Johnson. The short film received a 2011 Best Diaspora Short Film nomination from the Africa Movie Academy Awards. Recently, he released The New “N” Word as a web series on YouTube.
As an actor, Sowande’s TV credits include a starring role in the Investigation Discovery series, Who the (BLEEP) Did I Marry? He also has appeared in the hit Netflix series, House of Cards, and the HBO series, Veep. His movie credits include Too Saved and Nocturnal Agony.
As a member of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (now defunct), based in New York City, Sowande co-founded the AIVF-DC Salon, serving as its chair from 1994 to 2000. The salon hosted monthly workshops and screenings that covered all aspects of the film and TV industry.
Currently, Sowande is in development on the TV sitcom CAPCO, set in Washington, his hometown. He is also co-producer with Darnley Hodge Jr. of the upcoming documentary series, The American LOWS.
Sowande currently resides in Ward 5 of the District of Columbia.
MPTD launched the Filmmaker of the Month initiative to feature a District-based filmmaker who exemplifies the vast amount of talent and creativity based here in the nation’s capital.
The Filmmaker of the Month initiative is part of MPTD’s mission to elevate the national and international profile of the city’s most talented filmmakers. Previous filmmakers honored include documentary filmmaker Theresa Bucci, Orange Juice and Bishop’s Garden web series creator Otessa Ghadar, award-winning writer and director of Vivian Aimee Dixon, and redfitz productions founder Nick Fitzhugh.
You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Sowande and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.