You’ll Never Walk Alone: In Unique Outfest Initiative, Concord Gives LGBTQIA+ Filmmakers Of Color Permission To Use Hit Songs

deadline.com:

Concord is reaching into its huge library of music recordings for a first-of-its-kind initiative with Outfest to support up-and-coming LGBTQIA+ filmmakers of color.

Over the weekend, the festival premiered three short films selected for the initiative — each of them making creative use of a song from the Concord IP holdings, which include more than a million recordings and music compositions.

Skate, a short written and directed by Zoë Hodge that’s set in a roller skating rink, incorporated Sylvester’s disco anthem “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).” Avivar, a drama that revolves around the patriarch of a Latino family and his queer son, drew inspiration from “Tres Días de Carnaval” by Latin music icons Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco.

Miles Lopez directed, while Jonathan De La Torre wrote and stars in the film. Artificial, meanwhile – a sci fi romance written and directed by Chanelle Tyson – drew upon Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical Carousel, a soaring version of the song recorded by opera star Renée Fleming. “Concord pre-identified 3 songs from their vast library of music IP that felt like exciting launchpads for short films, ran a pitch competition and selected these 3 films as winners,” the privately held company explained. “Concord then financed the production of the films and provided development and production support throughout the process.