Film Forum

Advocate, model, and muse—with a career spanning over five decades, Bethann Hardison has gone from working in New York City’s Garment District to founding her namesake agency where she guided the careers of some of the most prominent models in the world. In 1988, she founded the Black Girls Coalition, and in 2013, she spearheaded the launch of the Diversity Coalition sparking an industry-wide movement for diversity and inclusion. In recognition of her decades of advocacy work, Bethann received the CFDA’s Founder’s Award in 2014. In 2018, with the support of the CFDA, she founded The Designer’s Hub to guide and empower Black designers, and in 2019 became an inaugural member of Gucci’s Changemakers Council. Bethann currently serves on the CFDA’s Board of Directors and as Gucci’s Executive Advisor for Global Equity and Cultural Engagement.

Frédéric Tcheng is a French-born filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. He co-produced and co-edited VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival (and theatrically at Film Forum) and was shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards. He is the co-director of the acclaimed documentary DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL, which the New York Times called “dizzily enjoyable.” His award-winning directorial debut DIOR AND I premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and was released by The Orchard (also premiering theatrically at Film Forum). His most recent film HALSTON was executive produced by CNN Films and premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. He has served as a filmmaking mentor for Queer Art, a non-profit arts organization in New York that serves a diverse community of LGBTQ+ artists across generations and disciplines. He studied engineering in France and is a graduate of the film program at Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

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