Shadow and Act (part of the indieWIRE blog network) recently released their “Black Filmmakers to Watch | 2011/2012″ list and I’m happy to share with you I was among those mentioned.

It’s a really diverse collection of emerging talent. If you’ve been following the black indie film scene than there’s a few names here you’ll recognize.

Here’s an excerpt:

As I’ve already made known, I’m not necessarily a fan of lists, especially ranked lists where the arts are concerned.

However, I do see SOME value in providing black cinema enthusiasts like yourselves (or cinema enthusiasts regardless of race) with the names of noteworthy black filmmakers who may otherwise go unnoticed by the the mainstream press, and even indie film publications. We’re celebrating those black filmmakers – propping them up, you could say. If a site like ours doesn’t do that, we certainly can’t complain when more prominent media outlets don’t. Not that we’re not already supportive of fledgling black talent; we’ve been doing that since the site’s beginnings. This is just a more concentrated effort.

Now, here’s the challenge: even though I’d like to think that we have our fingers on the pulse of all that is indie black cinema, we don’t; so there very well could be a few “noteworthy” black filmmakers out there I’ve never heard of, for one reason or another. And that’s where you all come in! The goal is to make this a collaborative effort – at least initially.

The criteria?

First, when I update the list, I’ll likely only consider those who were active in the previous 12 months.

I’ll insist that they are indeed up-and-comers, meaning, they may have a few short films on their resumes, and even a feature, or two; but, no filmmakers who’ve been working since 1999, with 6 feature films to their credit, for example.

I should add that “up-and-comers” doesn’t necessarily mean young-in-age. There are certainly those who are discovering the medium at later life stages.

Also, it’ll be great if they are “active,” and are continuously working on projects, whatever they are. So, don’t name a filmmaker who made a film in 2008, enjoyed some success with it, but doesn’t appear to have been involved in anything else since then.

It’ll be great if they have work that is readily accessible, whether online, on DVD, or in some other format that the rest of us can obtain; or at least exits, and be on its way to an accessible format.

Their films would have played at top-tier film festivals, screening series, etc, and/or, have been acquired for distribution, or received some notable recognition.

And, lastly, I’m not just looking for black American up-and-comers; granted most of us, and the majority of our readers reside in the US of A (myself included), and we cover mostly black American cinema; but this needs to be a Diasporic collection. It’ll be a challenge, but so what, right?

If anything, this should also hopefully encourage filmmakers to maintain some sort of public profile, or keep us abreast of what they’re up to, so that we can stay informed, and in turn, inform others.

In the list below, you’ll find mostly young filmmakers whose works I’ve already seen enough of, that I obviously see value in, and whom I really hope will be given opportunities (or are able to create opportunities for themselves that will allow them) to continue to create in the future. Also, they all appear to be enjoying some degree of success, via notable film festival play, award & grant wins, program selections, distributor pickups, attracting names to their projects, etc. And I’m only going back about 1 year.

AGAIN, this isn’t a final list, so don’t send me emails, or leave comments cursing me for not including a name As I said, this is meant to be a collective effort, with you folks providing the necessary checks and balances making sure there are no significant omissions on my part. Your additions will help solidify it! Though, I should reiterate, this isn’t a name-every-black-filmmaker-with-a-film-list, hence the above criteria to help narrow it down.

So, without further ado, here you go, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER; In parentheses are their works, along with any notable mentions…

A big Thank You to S&A (for their continued support) and be sure to check out the list here.