Rada Collaborative
Our Mission
The Rada Collaborative is an arts organization based between Brooklyn and Baltimore that uses cinema, visual art, and compelling visual stories to build narrative agency and material change for creators of color. We provoke critical thought and disrupt the status quo in nonfiction spaces and our world. We formed Rada Collaborative as a space to nurture and mentor BIPOC artists and provide a platform to spotlight their work and build an expansive sense of belonging for them.
We are building a community of creatives who redefine the cinematic canon. We question and challenge established theories and approaches that center the idea that diverse representation in storytelling power structures alone is not a sufficient or adequate measure for justice and structural change. Instead, we prioritize a complex deep examination of character and story motivation and agency within storytelling and artistic practices.
Projects
Age of Water
In Mexico’s heartland, a close-knit community is torn apart when three children die due to a rare form of cancer. A group of mothers determined to uncover the cause, unexpectedly expose radioactivity in their water supply, setting the stage for a battle against local authorities who repeatedly undercut their efforts. Their journey reveals the dangers that lie in Mexico’s ancient layers of water and the terrifying effects that occur when rural communities battle government-backed interests.
Cuscú
Black Panamanian filmmaker, Risseth Yanguez-Singh asks her grandmother a question about their shared kinky hair texture. The painful conversation that ensues takes Risseth on a journey of self-discovery where she finds other Black women and places that teach her to navigate and enjoy the complexities of identity, self-love and Panama’s hidden Black history.
The Banker’s Daughter
Years after its collapse devastated her family, filmmaker Samia Khan-Bambrah takes us on an intimate journey into the collapse of the Bank of the Credit and Commerce International, unearthing the trail of stolen dreams left in its place in the forgotten corners of the Developing World.
Black Star Rising
An epic quest to reclaim history. A team of divers hunt for Marcus Garvey’s sunken Black Star Line fleet. While they dive into the depths to uncover remnants of Garvey’s dream of Black empowerment, Garvey’s son, Julius, fights above ground to clear his father’s name and reveal the political scheming and FBI vendetta that sought to silence him. Together, they weave an extraordinary web of evidence aiming to expose the sabotage and secrets that doomed a revolution. A Rada Collaborative partnership with filmmakers Roger Ross Williams and Geoff Martz from One Story Up.
Excerpt from Dubbed in Glamour, Funky 4 Plus 1.1980 June 11. Courtesy of The Kitchen and The Kitchen Archive, c. 1971 – 1999, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2014.M.6).
Imaging Improvisation
Imaging Improvisation is a new 2025 film series produced by Rada Collaborative and our curatorial fellow Daniella Brito, in partnership with Anthology Film Archives, that spotlights the poetics of improvisation across the practices of contemporary Black moving image-makers and interdisciplinary artists. From film to literature, music to performance, Imaging Improvisation celebrates the experimental legacies of improvisatory art-making, bringing together a collective of image-makers, musicians, and performers across partner art venues in NYC. The series unfolds throughout summer 2025, with monthly screenings at Anthology, as well as offsite performances. Check our calendar for full screening details.