Rising Star Akima A Brown of BTG Multimedia Group On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

Be solution-oriented. Filmmaking is all about problem-solving. I don’t care how much you plan, some act of God, nature, or budget will appear just as the camera is about to roll. If you are someone who knows how to solve a problem, though, you will always be in demand.

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing writer and producer, Akima A. Brown.

Akima A. Brown is a multi-passionate creative, teacher, and entrepreneur. She is an avid emergent studies enthusiast and dedicated futures strategist. Her fixation with understanding the human experience is tantamount to her life’s work; consuming anecdotal and empirical data to incite personal growth and foster corporal change.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Sure! I’m the oldest of five children, my brother and I are the only two of my mom’s. My father remarried and had an additional three. For a large chunk of my childhood, I grew up with my older cousins so I was the baby of the bunch. It was always weird because, on the one hand, I was this very doting mother hen — a sort of leader of the pack — where my siblings were concerned but then on the other, I was very much this sort of rambunctious, rabble-rouser Baby Bear.

I think that duplicity definitely helped to shape me into the storyteller I am today for sure.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Interestingly enough, I came back to this career path after finding out that I was going to be a mom. There’s something about knowing that you are going to be responsible for an entire mini-human that makes your perspective shift. I’d always been arts adjacent, but growing up in a working-class family there was this understanding that creativity was something you could do on the weekends. The expectation was to get a real job with health insurance and benefits, pay the bills, and then “play” artist in your spare time if you found some. And I did try that. I actually got reprimanded once by an administrator when I was teaching because he said I wasn’t the art teacher and could do with a bit less of it in my lessons. There was just always this draw, but when I found out I’d be having a kid I decided to go all in. A bit backward to some but as a very good friend of mine said, “You’re not modeling the outcome, you’re modeling the process. It’s just important that your kid sees you making the effort.”

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I think the most interesting thing that’s happened to me is that I literally stumbled into my first job. I was in film school and I’d learned that a major production company was partnering with our department to film a feature. There were only a few positions left and I wanted to apply. The professor who was serving as an EP had her office door closed but I couldn’t tell if anyone was in there. I didn’t want to interrupt, so in my attempt to be discreet I leaned against the door — just as the director was flinging it open. I tripped all over myself not to fall on top of him. Just then a professor walking by commented that I was known to think on my feet better than I was standing on them at that moment. It was such a fleeting comment but enough to impress everyone in that meeting. The next thing I know, I’m trailing behind the creative team, taking notes, and getting my first assignment. That led to my first IMDb credit which has opened countless doors for me since then.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest besides almost falling on my face?! I don’t think there is one… but, if there’s anything I learned from that experience it’s not be afraid of closed doors. Now, literally and figuratively, I’m going to knock on the door or knock it down. Rather than trip all over myself for someone else’s comfort, I’d rather stand tall and let them redirect me. It’s now very much asking forgiveness than permission.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Well, I just wrapped a short film called “The Champion” as part of a producers’ lab with the Black TV & Film Collective and Wavelength Films; both of which are based in New York City. The film follows a young boy and his mom as they battle to get him assessed for special needs services at the height of the pandemic and school closures. It’s loosely based on my own experiences with that, as I wanted to draw some attention to the topic. I’m also working on some other social stories in partnership with a BIPOC-owned animation studio out of New Mexico, as well as having some discussions around a feature film that explores Black female erasure in the justice system. I can’t talk much about them yet, but I hope to be able to share more in the next few months.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

The only true failure is not making an attempt. I do think it’s important to build a strong community though. Talk to people, ask questions. Find people who will shoot straight with you when you aren’t doing your best work but will also hound you when you aren’t getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, or caring for your body like you need to. This business can be brutal on your body, so take care of yourself. I would also say, find a side hustle — passive income, something that can supplement you when you’re not in production (or even when you are) and will allow you to buy into healthcare benefits. There’s a lot of conversation around work-life balance and fair treatment right now, so find other people who value that, band together, and stand strong. If you’re called to this — do it. Just fortify yourself as you do.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Diversification in film and television is critical because our industry is a microcosm of the world in which we live. It’s not enough to have some characters who look a certain way to say some words about a thing. We have to be Intentional and deliberate because for too long stories have been undermined, diluted, or just plain erased. Everyone deserves to see themselves depicted on-screen, period. Just like everyone deserves to have access to a career that pays them a living wage. We have too many marginalized communities being excluded from work behind the scenes in this industry only to find that the few who are hired are paid far below that of their White counterparts… and their White counterparts aren’t even making a living wage sometimes! So yeah, it’s important that we see stories that reflect our social make-up but also that our workforce reflects it too.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Buy-in is a myth. Don’t spend your time trying to explain to the people who don’t get it. I don’t care if they’re your oldest friends, family, bosses, spouse. Just say no. Find the other kindreds who understand and band with them. It doesn’t mean you have to be elitist or exclusionary. Just be your own brand of greatness and they’ll come around in time. Some people have to see it to believe, but we literally choose a path that requires us to believe it first and that’s okay.

2. Find your fine. Most of us have heard the adage, “As iron sharpens iron…” It basically means you’re looking for people who are going to keep you sharp, they are of likeminded. But you also want to find those folks who are a bit ahead of you. They’re your fine stones. They’re going to help you polish and refine your craft.

3. Be solution-oriented. Filmmaking is all about problem-solving. I don’t care how much you plan, some act of God, nature, or budget will appear just as the camera is about to roll. If you are someone who knows how to solve a problem, though, you will always be in demand. I recall I was working in the Casting Department across the hall from one of the lead producers on a show. She needed to get a fireman’s uniform for a reenactment. In the past, they’d always booked a fireman but this time they had to show the actor’s face. I suggested that instead of booking a fireman, we find a way to get them some publicity and our gear. The firehouse was so thrilled with my proposed publicity package they gave us two uniforms and volunteered one of their off-duty responders to serve as a dedicated consultant. Needless to say, for the rest of the season, I got asked to solve a lot more issues that had nothing to do with the casting. That producer and I are still friends.

4. Always be learning. Whenever possible, I’d intermingle with folks in other departments. As best I could, I‘d learn about them, their roles, and their needs. Having an understanding of these things not only helped me to be a better professional on-set, but it also informed my writing and producing when I started leading my own independent projects.

5. Ask an attorney. Know your rights. Fortunately, this isn’t something that I have had to encounter personally but I’ve seen enough people affected by it to know that I should share it. Every American worker has federally protected rights. While there are contracts and deal memos that we sign in order to work that restrict our rights in certain things, many things have more to do with group norms, passed down traditions, and hearsay than actual legality. When in doubt ask a professional and go from there.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Prioritize yourself. Rest is revolutionary. Do not be afraid to take care of yourself. The future of film is fair. We aren’t there just yet but I believe we’re on our way. Especially in the age of pandemic productions, we have to extend ourselves grace and make the time to hear ourselves. If your body is telling you it's a breaking point… please listen.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’m actually hoping that I’m doing that now in my work with my nonprofit, Reel Families for Change. The goal of the organization is to change the way we work in the film industry. We want to see shift the scales of work-life imbalance, address exclusionary systems, and build something more rich, rewarding, and sustainable for everybody. We actually use a lot of research to help us plan our programs and initiatives and figure out how to serve the industry. Our hope is that film and television will be the first successful case study and then we can change the way we work as an entire nation by scaling — and customizing — our efforts.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have had some incredible mentors and role models along the way. There are way too many to name them all, and I know if I leave one or two our I’ll likely get a phone call, so I won’t even try. But I am grateful to all of them for their encouragement and support, for modeling what it looks like to still have a life and work in a field you love, and for always putting my name in rooms before I ever entered. I would go to interviews and people would tell me they were happy to have seen my name because they’d heard about me. That was always endearing for me because I never told my mentors where I was applying — I’m superstitious in that way — so I knew they’d already been talking about me to people before I’d even known an opportunity was underway.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

It’s not a quote I read anywhere but it’s definitely something I tell myself as the result of an experience I had when I was first starting out, and it’s absolutely informed the way I show up in this business and in life. “Don’t agree when they say you don’t belong.” What I recall is sitting in a doctor’s office where there was a random AARP magazine on the table with Susan Sarandon on the cover. It was very out of place, which made me want to read it even more. I’ve always loved Susan Sarandon so I jumped right to the article and started to read it. I was mind-blown. She basically said that she wouldn’t be Susan Sarandon if she had followed the conventional rules. If her kids hadn’t been with her at parties, events, and casting calls then we wouldn’t know her name. That hit hard for me because I’d passed up on a great opportunity with a well-known faith-based studio only days before because my childcare fell through at the last minute. I started to bring my son with me but the weight of being perceived as unprofessional and inept made me waver and, ultimately, decide against it. Since that day my son has been with me on scouts, on-sets, in post-production sessions. He says he wants to be a director — and he’s actually kind of good. What if I’d let convention dictate my movements? He might never have been exposed to the thing he’s loved for years now.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Oh, man! There are so many; especially the ones that have championed for parents and caregivers on their sets or implement reasonable workdays and offer a living wage. This is a toughie. If I had to pick, it’s a toss-up between Alexis Ohanian and Gabrielle Union. Alexis because he made paternity leave a public issue… and made it something cool. Companies wanted to emulate his model. He leveraged his influence to incentive the masses. I am always for that. And Gabby Union because she is my kindred spirit. The more I learn about her the more I find we have in common and I just feel like if we sat down together we would save the world… and have all the fun doing it. I also think it might disrupt the space-time-continuum to have that much synergy in one place though, so tag responsibly.

How can our readers follow you online?

I’m on all social media handles as @akimabrown33 and they can join my virtual community via the website at www.akimabrown.com.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thank you for having me. I look forward to doing this again.