Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
We’re continuing Into Focus: Alumni Stories. A series spotlighting the artists who started their journeys with DCTV Youth Media and where their creativity has taken them.
Next up: Jamal Hodge. A multi-award-winning filmmaker and writer, Jamal began his journey with DCTV Youth Media in the late 90s and has since built a powerful career across storytelling genres.
His work has screened at over 100 film festivals worldwide, earning more than 50 awards, including the Vanguard Award (Best of the Fest) at the Hip Hop Film Festival. Beyond his filmmaking, Jamal continues to shape the industry as a board member of Harlem Film House and AXS Lab, while contributing to impactful projects like the Oscar-nominated The Life and Death of Brent Renaud.
At the core of it all is his perspective as a storyteller. As Jamal puts it, “DCTV prepared me in so many ways... you have a fundamental foundation and love and respect for the craft incorporated into storytelling especially when it comes to documentary, narrative and how important what we do is.”
With a new poetry book, I’m Not a Good Person, I’m a New Yorker, coming out this summer, Jamal’s work and contribution to storytelling is still unfolding.
We’re continuing Into Focus: Alumni Stories. A series spotlighting the artists who started their journeys with DCTV Youth Media and where their creativity has taken them.
Next up: Jamal Hodge. A multi-award-winning filmmaker and writer, Jamal began his journey with DCTV Youth Media in the late 90s and has since built a powerful career across storytelling genres.
His work has screened at over 100 film festivals worldwide, earning more than 50 awards, including the Vanguard Award (Best of the Fest) at the Hip Hop Film Festival. Beyond his filmmaking, Jamal continues to shape the industry as a board member of Harlem Film House and AXS Lab, while contributing to impactful projects like the Oscar-nominated The Life and Death of Brent Renaud.
At the core of it all is his perspective as a storyteller. As Jamal puts it, “DCTV prepared me in so many ways... you have a fundamental foundation and love and respect for the craft incorporated into storytelling especially when it comes to documentary, narrative and how important what we do is.”
With a new poetry book, I’m Not a Good Person, I’m a New Yorker, coming out this summer, Jamal’s work and contribution to storytelling is still unfolding.
