Sowande Tichawonna

Sowande Tichawonna is an award-winning, independent filmmaker and actor from Washington, D.C. who got his start as a production assistant for the PBS series In Other Words with Ossie and Ruby, produced by acclaimed actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. As a member of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers based in New York, Tichawonna co-founded the AIVF-DC salon where he served as chair of the organization from 1994 to 2000. The salon hosted monthly workshops and screenings that covered all aspects of the film and television industry. His credits include executive producer and director of photography for the documentary Straight Up Go-Go (1992), which received critical acclaim and garnered an impressive second place in the Nielsen ratings for its time slot during its television debut in the D.C. market and writer/producer/director of the short film Talkin' Shop (2000) for which he won the 2000 Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist. The Mayor's Arts Award is the