This series consists of application materials submitted for consideration for the Sidney Poitier Fellowship (SPF) competition. The Sidney Poitier Fellowship for Emerging Black Filmmakers was announced by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. (BFHFI) in 1992 as a program to award up to ten fellowships to black film/video artists in the process of beginning or completing projects. The SPF program sought to "discover and provide support to talented persons who are pursuing careers as video and film makers" and to further the BFHFI's mission to provide resources to "those who are creating new and dynamic media images from our cultural perspective" (BFHFI planning document). The BFHFI announced the first Poitier Fellowship winners, who were selected from a pool of 102 applicants, at its 20th and final Oscar Micheaux Awards Ceremony in October 1993. The Awards Ceremony souvenir program includes a listing of the Poitier Fellowship awardees. Although the BFHFI intended to present ten awards bi-annually, the Sidney Poitier Fellowship program did not continue after its initial year.
SPF applicants were required to submit budgets, treatments, scripts, or project proposals, as well as a sample work on videocassette. The applications reflect a broad spectrum of independent film and video making from the early 1990s. Proposals include feature films, film school student projects, documentaries, community television, animation, experimental short films, and new media productions submitted by applicants ranging from first-time filmmakers to experienced mid-career veterans.
Videocassettes included with applications have been arranged in a separate series. Except when unavailable, each application has a corresponding sample work on videocassette found in the Videocassettes Series