United States

Orlando Bagwell

Director New York

Orlando Bagwell is director of the foundation's JustFilms initiative, a new effort supporting emerging and established filmmakers whose work addresses the most urgent social issues of our time. The initiative focuses on expanding the community of independent filmmakers around the world—talented storytellers who often lack funding to realize their visions or reach broad audiences.

Orlando joined the Ford Foundation in 2004 as a program officer concentrating primarily on support for documentary films and leading the foundation's five-year special initiative, Global Perspectives in a Digital Age, Advancing Public Service Media. He later served as director of Ford's Freedom of Expression work—overseeing grant making for public media, media rights and access, arts and culture, and religion issues—before being tapped in 2010 to establish and lead the foundation's JustFilms initiative.

His distinguished career as an independent filmmaker and producer spans more than 25 years. Recognition of his work includes four Emmy Awards and numerous Emmy nominations, three George Peabody Awards and the 1994 New York Film Festival Grand Prize.

He was a lead producer and director of Blackside Inc., and its award-winning series, "Eyes on the Prize." He later served as executive vice president in charge of production at Blackside from 1991 to 1994. As executive producer and filmmaker at WGBH Educational Foundation from 1995 to 2000, he supervised all aspects of the multi-part historical documentary series "Africans in America" for PBS broadcast and the related national educational and community outreach programs. He has produced and represented a number of other documentary television series and single programs for national PBS distribution. Since 1989, he has been president of Roja Productions Inc.

Orlando has curated visual exhibits for the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. He holds a master's degree in broadcast journalism and a bachelor's degree in film, both from Boston University.