Black Public Media (BPM) on Monday, Feb. 16, premiered “Men Of Courage” on its AfroPoP Digital Shorts series.
The Byron Hurt documentary follows five Black and Brown men in New Jersey who are working to disrupt generational cycles of gender-based violence in their local communities: Atlantic City, Newark, Paterson, Salem, and Trenton.
Winner of the Breakthrough Film Award at the Detroit Black Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Queen City Film Festival, and Best Short Documentary at the Gary International Black Film Festival, “Men of Courage” is streaming on BPM’s YouTube channel.
The Plainfield, New Jersey resident’s film is a counterpoint to the “man-o-sphere” concept of masculinity, with men sharing their personal experiences of witnessing, experiencing, or committing domestic abuse and using their influence to ensure that the violence stops.
An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Hurt is the former host of the Emmy-nominated series Reel Works with Byron Hurt.
His acclaimed documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast nationally on PBS’ Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens.
Hurt’s film ‘Soul Food Junkies’ also aired on Independent Lens and the cable news network TV One.
His film Hazing premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and aired on Independent Lens in 2022. His documentary Lee and Liza’s Family Tree aired on PBS NOVA in November 2023.
His film Hazing premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and aired on Independent Lens in 2022. His documentary Lee and Liza’s Family Tree aired on PBS NOVA in November 2023.
Hurt is a former adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Journalism School in the Documentary Program and is an adjunct professor at SUNY Old Westbury.
BPM, formerly known as the National Black Programming Consortium, has been advancing Black stories in public media and beyond since 1979.
BPM, formerly known as the National Black Programming Consortium, has been advancing Black stories in public media and beyond since 1979.
The national arts nonprofit said it has “funded and distributed rich narratives that broaden our understanding of our nation and the world around us.”
BPM said it funds and trains documentary filmmakers and creative technologists (those who use technology to create art, such as immersive media).
BPM said it funds and trains documentary filmmakers and creative technologists (those who use technology to create art, such as immersive media).
With Men of Courage, BPM said it will continue its work despite the federal government’s rescission of $1.8 million in funding last year.
In response, the group said it established the Black Stories Production Fund “to ensure that Black stories can never again be subject to political whims.”
In response, the group said it established the Black Stories Production Fund “to ensure that Black stories can never again be subject to political whims.”
