Quick take:
- All proceeds from the NFT sales will benefit the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Accelerator scholarship.
- The program supports female-identifying filmmakers of colour.
- Pplpleasr rose to international fame after raising $1.3 million from an NFT cover of Fortune magazine she created.
Renowned multidisciplinary artist, Pplpleasr, is teaming up with Cannes Film Festival’s media partner, Brut, to release 75 Cannes-themed NFTs on May 2. The NFT project, named “75 Producer Pass NFTs,” aims to make the film industry more inclusive to young female filmmakers.
According to Variety, Pplpleasr, also known as Emily Yang, will create the artwork for the 75 NFTs, which will feature visuals tied to the Cannes Film Festival. Yang has previously worked as a vfx artist blockbusters such as Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman, and has created NFT art inspired by Moebius, incorporating elements from animes as well traditional Chinese and Japanese art.
The 75 Cannes-themed NFTs will be sold at fixed prices ranging from 5 ETH ($14,699) to 6 ETH ($17,639) and 7 ETH ($20,579). Buyers of the NFTs will receive an invitation to the Cannes Film Festival. All proceeds from the NFT sale will benefit the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Accelerator scholarship, which supports female-identifying filmmakers of colour.
“Philanthropy is a big part of my work,” Yang told Variety in an exclusive. She pointed out that her NFTs have previously helped raise millions of dollars to support various initiatives, including fighting against Asian American hate crime and supporting small businesses and free journalism. Pplpleasr rose to international fame after raising $1.3 million from an NFT cover of Fortune magazine she created last year.
Speaking to Variety, Dr. Stacy Smith, founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative said: “We know that Web3 will play a critical role in the future of storytelling and that women are already underrepresented in the field across the board, so being able to fuel the dreams and projects of up-and-coming female-identifying creators in conjunction with shining a light on women in the NFT-space is a double success in our eyes,” said Smith.
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative launched the new scholarship program which grants $25,000 scholarships to female-identifying filmmakers of colour for filmmaking expenses during their senior year in a US film school.
Scholarship recipients will also have access to industry leaders such as Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group; Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios; Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios; actress Halle Berry, director Kathryn Bigelow, and producer J.J. Abrams, among others.
“We’re just at the beginning of what NFTs can achieve in terms of empowering creator equity and how cinema can be financed with it,” said Brut co-founder Guillaume Lacroix. Brut will also host a House of Creators at Cannes and invite about 100 creators from across the world to the event.
Pplpleasr recently launched a new decentralised video and film platform called Shibuya that allows users to engage, fund, decide outcomes and become owners of long-form visual content. NFTs for watching Shibuya’s first series, White Rabbit, generated 431 ETH in sales volume. The series illustrates the experience of going down the crypto rabbit hole.
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