MIKE A. PENDER
A native Philadelphian, Mike A. Pender fell in love with cinema when he first saw EMPIRE STRIKES BACK at the Midtown Theater at 2 years old. After studying Film & Media Arts at Temple University Pender has gone onto makeover 11 film projects that have been official selections in over 50 film festivals across the globe. Pender has gone onto win several awards internationally. These awards include, The Silver Award for “Best Short Film Subject” at Philafilm, honored as part of “Best of Fest” at the International Black Media Festival in Oxford, England. He also won The Audience Award at the Piton International Film Festival in St. Lucia. His satirical short film about stereotypes of Black men in America, “The Negro Zone”, was used as a headliner to tour the US to different universities to discuss race relations in America. “Limits are what you allow them to be,” says Pender. In 2016 “The Negro Zone” became required viewing at The University of Wyoming in the Education department for diversity. Working with top tier talent like R&B icon Patti LaBelle, hip hop mogul Jermaine Dupri, civil rights legend Bobby Seale, Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men & performance talent David Mann of the Tyler Perry franchise “Meet the Browns" Pender is an undeniable asset to any project.