ARTIST CV
SABAAH FOLAYAN (b. Los Angeles, CA)
email: sabaah@folayan.pictures
website: www.sabaah.is
Columbia University, B.A. Biology, 2013
DOCUMENTARY
womxnhood an intersectional chronology of the creation of feminine identity in America (development)
Look at Me:XXXTENTACION a music documentary examining youth internet culture, mental health and masculitiny (115m hulu, 2022)
Good Trouble Activism in the wake of Parkland shootings. (20m, Paramount Network, 2018)
Whose Streets? The Ferguson uprising told by the people who lived it. ( 90m Magnolia Pictures 2017)
The Girl Project Girl’s education series: Kaylee from Kansas (7m, Glamour Magazine 2016)
SCRIPTED TV
Betty Young female skateboarders take on dating and survival in NYC (Comedy Series, HBO 2020)
MUSIC VIDEO
Down For It, Idman (vevo 2021)
Look at What I’m Doing to You, Idman (VEVO June 2022)
TEACHING
NextDoc YouthFX Documentary Fellowship, Masterclass, Fall 2019
Johns Hopkins University, Associate Professor, Social Impact Documentary, Fall 2020
Camden International Film Festival, Lead Mentor, Points North Fellowship, Fall 2021
Firelight Media Interim Director, Documentary Lab, Spring 2022
FILM FESTIVALS
Look at Me
SXSW 2022 (premiere)
Atlanta 2022
Miami 2022
Whose Streets?
Encounters South Africa 2018
Paris Hip Hop 2018
Addis International 2018
Martinique International 2018
Sundance 2017 (premiere)
IDFA 2017
True/False 2017
Full Frame 2017
Sheffield 2017
Big Sky 2017
Doc10 2017
Blackstar 2017 (Audience and Jury Award Winner)
PRESS (selected)
“‘Look At Me: XXXTentacion’ Takes Considered Look At Life, Legacy Of Late Hip Hop Star — SXSW” Matthew Carey, Deadline 2022
“‘Look at Me: XXXTentacion’ Review: Mental Illness, Domestic Violence and Overnight Stardom Mark a Rapper’s Very Short Story” Chris Willman,Variety 2022
“We Asked Four Documentarians: How Does Film Shape the Fight for Racial Justice” Salamisha Tillet, New York Times 2020
“Writers-Producers Kyle Long, Taylor Elmore, Sabaah Folayan & Alison McDonald Sign With TFC Management” Nellie Andriva, Deadline 2021
“Whose Streets? Trailer” The Hollywood Reporter, 2018
“30 under 30,” Forbes Magazine 2017
“Sabaah Folayan: You Don't Need Permission to Become an Activist” Tang, Estelle, Elle Mag 2017
“The Best Movies of 2017,” Brody, Richard, The New Yorker, 2017
“Searing film gives a voice to the people of Ferguson” Hoffman, Jordan, The Guardian, 2017
“Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis on ‘Whose Streets?’ RogerEbert.com, 2017
“How one Activist came to learn the question, ‘Whose Streets?’ Tre’Vell Anderson, LA Times 2017
'‘Magnolia Buys Sundance Documentary ‘Whose Streets?’” Variety, 2017
“Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis on ‘Whose Streets?’ RogerEbert.com, 2017
“25 New Faces of Independent Film,” Filmmaker Magazine 2016
SPEAKING
Penn State Speakers Forum Keynote, State College, PA 2023
Haas Institute Kerner Report Conference Oakland, CA 2018
Sundance Film Festival Ford Foundation Panel, Park City, UT 2018
Eyes on the Prize 40th Anniversary Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn, NY 2017
Google Talk, New York, NY 2017
Harvard University Boston, MA 2017
Paris Hip Hop Festival Paris, FR 2017
Democracy Alliance, Washington D.C. 2015
Good Pitch New York, NY 2015
Ms. Foundation Conference New York, NY 2016
Camden International Film Festival Camden, Maine 2015
ESSAYS
When Perspective Unseats Objectivity, Sundance Institute 2016
Pain, Bodies, and Emotional Truths, Walker Art Center, 2017
Movement to Market: On the Making and Selling of Whose Streets?, Talkhouse 2017
HONORS
Critic’s Choice Award Nominee Whose Streets? 2017
NAACP Award Nominee Whose Streets? 2017
Gotham Award Nominee Whose Streets? 2017
Camden Points North Fellow 2015
Sundance Institute DFP Fellow 2015-2017
MacArthur Foundation Grantee 2016
Ford Foundation Grantee 2015-2017
BlackStar Film Festival, Winner, Best Documentary/Audience Award Whose Streets? 2017
Cinereach Fellow 2018
Peabody Award Nominee, Whose Streets? 2018
NONPROFIT & TEACHING
Firelight Media Documentary Lab - Jan 2022- July 2023 Interim Director - Provide creative and professional support for 1st and 2nd time filmmakers, and help oversee the evaluation and development of the documentary lab program during a period of organizational growth.
Johns Hopkins University -Fall 2021 Associate Professor - Taught a seminar on Social Impact Documentary which included production basics, and theoretical approach to film as social intervention for the university’s pilot film program.
The Urban Justice Center: Mental Health Project - 2015-2016 mental health advocate Acted as a guide for families and patients experiencing hospitalization, incarceration, or homelessness due to mental illness, helping them access services and resources.
The Osborne Association 2013-2014 Strategic Initiatives Specialist - Conducted an organization wide assessment geared toward creating a Trauma Informed work space.