Babatunde Odesanya always has his mind on at least two projects at a time, and always seems to be tired. In the 15 minutes he allotted to “waking up” he fell asleep two times on the sofa of the Brooklyn co-working place he works out of.

          Odesanya runs the Black and Latino Filmmakers Coalition (BLFC) pretty much by himself, aside from a couple of interns to help him manage his online presence, and with a group of friends and advisors that support and help him when needed.

            In 2005, Odesanya founded the BLFC, which he describes as a trade association that provides resources, advocacy and marketing for black and Latino writers, directors and producers in the independent film industry.

            “We need diversity because…you have to challenge your ideas, and the same story over and over again is not going to do it,” said Odesanya. “ So you have to be creative and you have to see things from a different viewpoint in order to grow, because the whole thing is about growth.”

            According to Odesanya, there are about 60 paying members of the coalition, but there are about 300 to 500 “friends and family filmmakers,” who he describes as sister organizations and other individuals who work with the coalition, but are not necessarily members. Odesanya says his members have created over 100 shorts, and 3 to 4 dozen feature films, not counting all of the pilots that he has helped develop. He says that on any given weekend, five to six of his members are making use of the coalition’s resources to shoot a project, many of which are not even on his radar.

            BLFC not only provides resources to filmmakers but also holds marketing events and workshops, often taught by Odesanya himself. Most recently, the coalition has put on the first annual Black and Latino Film Awards, an event honoring black and Latino creatives in the indie film industry who have created works that reflect the stories and messages that embody BLFC’s mission.

          “It’s important to make a film that isn’t based off of box office returns and have diverse story lines, and you’re just not going to get that from a machine that’s used to putting out the same thing over and over again, because they have a different metric for measuring where the success is,” he said

Odesanya understands the financial limitations that can prevent people from getting into the independent film industry. He emphasizes the need for resources and education about the business aspect of the industry, which he tries to teach in his workshops and to his mentees and members of the coalition.

            “The skill set of being an artist and the skill set of being a business person are different, filmmakers have to…master both of them so that they can be successful. So that you’re not necessarily waiting for that big blockbuster hit to feed your family,” said Odesanya.

          In 2004, Steiner studios, well known as the largest movie studio outside of Hollywood, opened up in his backyard.  This event inspired his 14-year long journey.  Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t get a job at Steiner Studios. His mentor, former New York Assembly man Roger Green, suggested he created a coalition of black and Latino filmmakers and go to the city council in order to become established in the industry.  He did just that.

          Odesanya mentioned that he was inspired by Oscar Micheaux, who is regarded as the first major African-American filmmaker.  In the early 1900’s, Micheaux independently produced over 40 films, many of which were considered “race films” Odesanya respects his “do it yourself” attitude.

          Since that beginning, he has been through multiple variations of the business plans. “We have had 4 or 5 different restarts,” he said, referring to the aims and goals of the coalition and what they focus on.

          Despite the chaos and obstacles he has had to deal with, Odesanya’s main aim is to create a support structure to enable a group of diverse and talented people to tell their story, and to be able to afford to create their works in an industry that is otherwise so restrictive, particularly to black and Latino artists.

          “There’s so much to show, there’s so much to experience and for an hour and a half on a feature film we can take you someplace…and show you something different,” he said “That’s what this whole thing’s about, it’s about experience, and if you live life without diversity you’re not getting as much experience, so you’re sort of cheating yourself.”