WELCOME TO

THE FIRST FRAME

THE FIRST FRAME is a live virtual workshop for emerging directors who are done waiting to start.
Over one weekend, we take the story in your head and turn it into a real plan to shoot it.We work on story, character, point of view, visual language, creative decks, collaboration, and what it actually takes to move a project toward production. You'll get a full case study and live Q&A, and one or two filmmakers leave with their own project workshopped live, by all of us.
No theory you'll never use. No recordings to fall behind on. Just two mornings, a small group, and the work.
The last cohort of the year.
Sat & Sun, November 7 & 8 · 9 AM–12 PM PT / 12–3 PM ET · Fall discount: $149 through October 16, then $199. The standard rate is $399.

IDIL IBRAHIM

I'm Idil Ibrahim, a writer, director and creative producer. For over a decade I've made films that elevate underrepresented stories, with work screened at Sundance, Tribeca, TIFF, and Rotterdam.I was handpicked as a director for the Queen Collective (Tribeca Studios, Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit, and P&G), co-wrote and served as a consulting producer on Apple TV+'s Little America (Humanitas nomination), and my film In Her Element premiered on BET during the NAACP Image Awards weekend. I've been honored with the Emily Rosenthal Award at the 92nd Street Y's Extraordinary Women Awards, the CHANEL Women Writers' Network grant through TIFF's Share Her Journey, and the SFFILM Rainin Grant.I built Empowered Storytelling for one reason: the filmmakers I most want in the room are too often the ones told to wait their turn.