13 December 2024 2 minute read
Kendi King, C’2024, has won the Georgia Power Company Rising Star Student Scholar award. Atlanta Business Chronicle and Georgia Power announced the fifth annual Business of Entertainment Georgia Power Rising Star Student Scholarship. The award was presented to King at the 2024 Business of Entertainment event on Thursday, December 12.
King expressed appreciation for her accomplishments and love for Atlanta. She wrote on her LinkedIn, “ATL has my heart. I am proud and honored to have been named the Georgia Power Company Rising Star Student Scholar. This scholarship – and every other expendable dollar I earn for the foreseeable future – will be going towards the production of my original TV pilot, “12 to 21,” - a coming-of-age series for Black and Brown girls. We shoot this January and have only 12 days left to raise the remaining $8,000 needed to reach our Seed&Spark goal. If we don’t hit 80% funded, all donations are refunded. Help support diverse storytelling by pledging your support. Big ups to Professor Anjanette Levert for nominating me and continuing to believe in my filmmaking career.”
The Rising Star Student Scholarship recognizes one college junior or senior student in good standing pursuing a degree in film-related studies in Georgia. King, a documentary filmmaking major, earned the top prize of $5,000.
“Kendi transferred to Spelman with a great foundation from NYU film school, but she blossomed here, taking advantage of opportunities that were not as obviously available at her former school,” documentary filmmaking Professor Levert said.
Most recently, King was also named Emerging Filmmaker Fellow by Mountainfilm Awards. King won with her film From Rodeo to Polo: The First HBCU Polo Team. The short film tells the story of the first-ever HBCU polo team as it begins its inaugural season at Morehouse College. This ragtag team of rodeo-riding cowboys, who have never played the sport, strive to transform into tournament-winning polo stars. As an Emerging Filmmaker Fellow, King has access to mentorship, festival networking, and development assistance from the team at Mountainfilm. Additionally, according to the website, she will have the opportunity to travel to Telluride for the 2025 Mountainfilm festival over Memorial Day weekend.
“Kendi's award as the Emerging Filmmaker Fellow at the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride is huge because she was chosen out of a national competition,” Levert said. “Plus, Kendi joins the previous awardees who are considered "ones to watch" in the film industry! It's thrilling to see our documentary students being recognized on a national stage.”
King is now completing her final semester at Spelman College. According to her autobiography, she is a passionate writer/director for stage and screen and a skilled sound designer and mixer. She has professional experience in film production and post, working for industry leaders such as Netflix (inaugural post-production intern), HBO (assistant sound editor, ‘Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show’), and NBCUniversal (Original Voices Fellowship). She is an Emmy-nominated director (Sports Emmys ‘24), the recipient of the Tony Hawkins Award for Audio Narratives, and most recently completed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences “Gold Rising” Program.
Kendi King Acquires NBCU Original Creators Voices Fellowship