After screening in more than 50 international festivals and winning multiple awards, Assembly is broadcasting on PBS’ Independent Lens. The 55-minute broadcast cut is also available on the PBS Documentaries’ YouTube channel from June 22 – September 21, 2026.
In recognition of his 34-year career in LGBTQ+ storytelling, Johnny was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS). He is now a voting member of the Documentary Branch.
Following its world premiere at SXSW, Assembly screened at more than a dozen festivals in spring 2025, and picked up its first award. The feature documentary had its international premiere at BFI Flare in London and its Canadian premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto, along with screenings in Salem, New …
Assembly (formerly Get Your 10s) will have its world premiere in the documentary competition at SXSW from March 7-15, 2025. Assembly follows visionary artist Rashaad Newsome as he transforms a historic military facility into a Black queer utopia, blending art, AI, and performance. Through stunning visuals and deeply personal stories, …
At the 40th Sundance Film Festival, Being (the Digital Griot) – Rashaad Newsome’s non-binary AI – will read their poetry and lead a workshop to help participants decolonize their minds. Catch a glimpse here. Being will appear again as a major character in our forthcoming doc Get Your 10s.
Our feature doc-in-progress Get Your 10s secured major funding through ITVS, the primary funder of independent documentaries on public television – guaranteeing us a wide and enthusiastic audience, and putting us on track to finish the film in 2024.
Johnny was selected from among many incredible scholars at San Francisco State University to receive a Marcus Transformative Research Award. The award provides a one-semester sabbatical and $3000 to work on the forthcoming documentary Get Your 10s.
Our film @getyour10s was selected as a finalist for DocPitch, a prestigious grant that funds documentaries. Though we didn’t win, we got $5000 in production funds that moved us closer to completion! Big thanks to DocLands Film Festival and California Film Institute.
Build or Destroy, an animated experimental short that Johnny produced, screened in festivals including Outfest, Outfest Fusion, Choreoscope (Barcelona), Seattle Queer Film Festival and Newfest, where director Rashaad Newsome won the Emerging Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award. The film also screened at the In the Black Fantastic exhibition in London and …
After 6 intense weeks, we emerged from Rashaad Newsome’s mind-blowing exhibition and performance at NYC’s Park Avenue Armory with hundreds of hours of incredible footage. Featuring some of the top vogue dancers from around the world along with an opera singer, a spoken-word poet, global musicians, a gospel choir and …
