She believes she’s the first in the state!
A new Atlanta film production studio has a Black woman as its majority owner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Television and film veteran Tammy Williams is the owner of Cinema South Studios, a new studio in the works in Atlanta’s Fayette County. Williams partnered with investor and CEO of Black Promoters Collective, Gary Guidry, to bring the studio to life, making history as the first known Black woman majority owner of a major production complex in the state of Georgia.
The two announced the facility last July, undergoing a $135 million project to build the space out. Williams said the studio has been a long time dream of hers, and she’s grateful for Guidry for helping her make it happen. Williams is the owner of Tammy’Dele Films, a production company that has also offered a film academy and job training program since 2012, serving more than 2,500 students over the past decade. She also offers an educational component, providing more than 20 different workshops for those looking to get in the business. Currently, she works out of a 16,000 square-foot warehouse that is near the new site and she is finally ready to expand.
“We’ve been patient. This has not been an overnight thing, this vision for us,” said Williams.
Photo Courtesy of Cinema South Studios
The studio is breaking ground this March and when it’s completed it will feature nearly 11 soundstages, a back-lot, prop house, wardrobe rental facility, lighting grip rental space, transportation company, office building, theater and post production facility on the campus. Guidry said once he saw the full vision for the project from Williams, investing in the purchase of the 60 acres and the studio buildout just made sense.
“The demand for soundstages is happening globally and the ownership rarely looks like us, let alone an African American woman. When I choose to invest, I evaluate the need of the business and the ownership. Investing in Tammy Williams and her team of professionals convinced me that buying the land in Fayetteville, GA was a sound decision with the talents of her at the helm,” said Guidry.
Cinema South joins a legion of other new studios in the work in the Atlanta area. Williams hopes to have the first two soundstages up and ready for production by the end of first quarter, 2023.
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Photo Courtesy of Tammy Williams