Quincy G. Ledbetter
Writer, Director, Editor
My name is Quincy Ledbetter, an award winning filmmaker, photographer, and musician who focuses primarily in narrative, documentary, and experimental film. As a jack of all trades I write, direct, DP, edit, and compose music.
I couldn’t afford film school, so I bought a camera and taught myself how to make films by making as much as I could while learning the tricks of the trade through books, Google, and Youtube.
I took the leap into digital media as a Video Producer & Editor at Mashable, where I conceived, produced, shot, and edited original content. From there I did a short freelance stint at NPR developing new shows and then moved on to work as a Video Director & Editor at Mic . After that, I landed at HuffPost as a Video Director and Senior Video Editor. My work has won an Edward Murrow Award and a ASME Ellie Award for News Documentary (2018), an Emmy Nomination for Short Format Daytime Program (2017), and a Webby Award (2016).
Most recently, I won the Project CRE8 competition by BET and Paramount Players to direct my forthcoming feature film, Alieu the Dreamer.
WEBSITE: QUINCY LEDBETTER
SOCIAL MEDIA: INSTAGRAM
A Q&A WITH FILMSHOP BREAKTHROUGH SERIES 2018 FEATURED ARTIST QUINCY LEDBETTER...
"ALIEU THE DREAMER" (FEATURE SCREENPLAY)
In a world where humans have been unable to dream for three decades, a driven government agent finds a young man in the projects who has suddenly started dreaming.
What was the inspiration for your project?
There are a couple of things that inspired me to write this film. First and foremost, I have extremely vivid dreams and I woke up screaming one night from a nightmare and thought, "It would be nice to not have nightmares ever again." Then, my thoughts snowballed into thinking about what it might be like if all of mankind suddenly stopped dreaming. The other thing that inspired this project is our current political and social climate. Lately, I've been fascinated with public figures who frequently lie and hurt people, but somehow compel so many people to follow their every word and instruction. I sort of wanted to marry those two things together and it turned into Alieu the Dreamer.
What do you feel is your greatest challenge moving forward?
A week before finding out that I made it into Breakthrough, I secured an opportunity to make this film fully financed with studio backing, so while I feel the most excited and validated that I have ever felt, I also feel a great deal of pressure. Thus, the greatest challenge moving forward would have to be battling insecurities; which are rooted in both a history of systemic oppression and an unwarranted lack of confidence. That being said, however, I feel as if those feelings are very common, human reactions to getting such a great opportunity.
How has the Filmshop community contributed to your project's development?
Last season, I workshopped a draft of the script in Filmshop and the notes I received were so helpful and truly elevated the quality of the screenplay. THIS season, I workshopped my pitch in Filmshop and got feedback from my chapter a week before pitching to the studio executives who ended up giving my film the greenlight. I can't even put into words how helpful my chapter members' feedback was to tightening my pitch. It was invaluable feedback that I took with me in the room.
What might Filmmaker Magazine say about your project?
I would hope that Filmmaker Magazine would describe my project as a fresh take on the sci-fi genre. I also hope that they would see that I really worked hard on writing something that was unpredictable and offered layers of perspective that people might recognize more and more as they revisit the film.
What's next?
I've been doing a lot of pre-pre-production legwork because my focus is to make sure I am over prepared going into this. I want to show everyone that I am an open-minded filmmaker who can also defend the vision and intention behind the project. Generally speaking, I'm preparing to tow that line in case I have to.
Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.
The only things I'm afraid of in life are zombies, the police, and not living up to my full potential. With everything else it's GAME ON!
What keeps you up at night?
I worry about whether or not I am socially and emotionally present enough outside of my creative endeavors, so I take deliberate action to slow down for an hour or two here and there to be still and listen to the people close to me and be there for them. At the end of the day I wonder if I'm doing that enough because I work A LOT.