ABOUT ME
Briana Clearly is a Chicago based filmmaker, Mentor, and community curator. She is a graduate of DePaul University with an MFA in Directing (2023).
Clearly's works have been screened at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Black Harvest Film Festival, Gentleman Jack's Real to Reel Chicago 2018 & 2019, and Big Shoulders International Student Film Festival 2019. Her short experimental documentary, The Sum of Her Parts, won Best Chicago Short at the Windy City Film Festival (2019), as well as the The Dear White People Film Competition (2019).
In 2020, Clearly released one short film per month for the entire year for her self imposed #BC12FOR12 Film Challenge. Since then, Clearly has been part of Full Spectrum’s cohort for Chicagoland Shorts, Vol. 7 (2021) and has been an ambassador for Open Television (OTV).
Most recently, Clearly has begun an initiative called Filmmaker’s Mixtape, which encourages aspiring and experienced filmmakers alike, to take a quick, casual, and practical approach to filmmaking. This initiative includes a comprehensive limited series podcast and a year long film challenge, entitled #FM12for12 (fka #BC12for12). The pilot program has a cohort of three (3) filmmakers making one (1) film a month for the entire year (2024), mentored by Clearly.
Clearly has curated several programs, including Spades Social, The Rough Cut, and Forward The Culture and in July 2023, Clearly produced the inaugural Silverroom Block Party Film Fest, where over 40 local filmmakers shared their work.