Detroit’s Black Filmmakers Take Centerstage in MOVIETOWN
News related to:Tubi · 2 min read
DETRIOT, MI, UNITED STATES, November 12, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- MOVIETOWN, a four-part documentary series, premieres November 11, 2026, on Tubi, exploring the rise of Detroit’s Black independent film industry. The series, produced by Tilt Shift Media, Latchkey Entertainment, and Inkstertainment, and distributed by Silver Line Entertainment, delves into the entrepreneurial spirit and narrative power of filmmakers who are building their own industry in the city.
Detroit, known for its automotive and music heritage, is now home to a thriving community of Black independent filmmakers. Through grassroots production networks and modest budgets, these filmmakers are creating opportunities, building devoted audiences, and challenging traditional barriers in the film industry. The series features more than 50 interviews with actors, writers, directors, producers, and entrepreneurs who are transforming Detroit into a filmmaking powerhouse.
Among the featured filmmakers are Kaamel “Diezel” Hasaun, known as the “King of Tubi,” and Mena Monroe, the “Queen of the D.” Other notable figures include Thomas L. Harris and Deborah Lane Spencer from the hit series McGraw Ave, Robyn Rose, NuNu Thurman, Kamal Smith, Cookie Smith, and Jayda Jones. These filmmakers serve as their own writers, producers, directors, and marketers, turning resourcefulness into a business model and their city into a canvas.
The series is structured into four episodes: "Detroit Is Movietown," which traces the movement's origins; "History of the Hustle," exploring its entrepreneurial culture; "A Filmmaking Goldmine," examining production economics, local talent, and streaming opportunities; and "The Future of Filmmaking," considering the technologies, challenges, and opportunities shaping the next generation.
Detroit’s legacy of making things, from the assembly line that Berry Gordy once worked on to the Motown empire he built, continues through a new generation of filmmakers. These creative entrepreneurs are building their own industry, taking centerstage in MOVIETOWN.
From cult classics like McGraw Avenue to The Dirty D, Detroit filmmakers have disrupted the model, making features in as little as two weeks for a fraction of a typical Hollywood budget.
The series also confronts a debate within the community itself. Some filmmakers and critics see echoes of the Blaxploitation era, with films that traffic in familiar tropes and stereotypes. Others see raw, honest storytelling by and for the community. MOVIETOWN lets both perspectives be heard. "Detroit shows up for its own," said Travis Williams, a Movietown sound mixer and Detroit filmmaker.
The stakes reach beyond Detroit. Throughout television’s history, networks have often relied on creators of color to attract audiences, only to later shift their content and sideline the very voices that built that success. MOVIETOWN asks: Who gets to tell stories? Who owns them? And what becomes possible when a community builds the means to bring its own experiences to the screen?
Together, the four chapters of MOVIETOWN offer a portrait of a city shaping its future through the stories it tells, and the people determined to tell them.