Black women are done waiting for opportunities. Instead, they are paving their own way in the entertainment industry. If we look ahead into 2018 at all of the women of color slated to play leading ladies -- it's clear that it's our time to shine. After working for years as an event producer for Sundance Film Festival and Hyatt Hotels, producer and entrepreneur Marti Hines, decided it was time to make a name for herself. Hines and her partner Jasmin Greene launched D Pique Productions (DPP), a company that focuses on high-quality film and television for women of color. Now, the pair is gearing up for festival season with their first feature film, die Expats. “I think it’s very important that we support each other, and we stick together," Greene explained. “Marti and I really try to work with people who are in line with our mission -- work with other women. So our film, all of the people in the key departments, they were women. I think it’s just important if we can open a door, open it to another woman and keep the party going that way.” Hines realized that fulfilling her dreams was about recognizing the talent that was right in front of her. “I think that we have to really use each other," she proclaimed. “I was listening to an interview that Issa Rae did, and I just love how she was talking about working laterally instead of networking up. I think that we have such a community of talent and so much intelligence just right around us. Jasmin and I, we went to college together and have been friends for almost two decades. It took so long for us to realize, ‘Hey, why don’t we actually work together on something?’ We were kind of just parallel, working side by side, and, of course, cheering each other on. Then, about five years ago, it dawned on us that if we decided to work together, we could really be unstoppable.”
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