Chase Announces Finalists from Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York For The Legacy of Homeownership Film Challenge

Chase, one of the nation’s leading residential housing lenders, today announced the four finalists of The Chase Legacy of Homeownership Film Challenge. The public can view the finalists’ original five-minute movies online and vote for the grand-prize winner. Chase is working with BlackFilm.com and Home Box Office (HBO®) to discover emerging filmmakers in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York and share their vision of legacy preservation within the African-American community through the lens of a camera. The four finalists are: Adetoro Makinde from New York, Marc Newsome from Houston, Crystle ‘Clear’ Roberson from Atlanta, and Vincent Singleton from Chicago. Each finalist received $5,000 and motion picture film products from Kodak Motion Picture Film to produce and direct an original five-minute film on African Americans who built, sustained and passed on their legacy through homeownership. The public can view all four films at www.blackfilm.com/chasefilmchallenge and cast their vote for the grand-prize winner until June 30. "We want to highlight inspirational and empowering stories on the importance of legacy preservation through homeownership, which builds and maintains viable communities,” said Veronica Seale, Emerging Markets and Affordable Lending marketing manager at Chase. "It’s important to celebrate these success stories.” "At HBO, we are committed to finding and developing diverse talent,” said Lucinda Martinez-Desir, vice president, Market Development. "The Chase Legacy Film Challenge is an important opportunity for us to help bring to light the creative genius of rising filmmakers and to infuse the film industry with new ideas and perspectives.” All four films will be shown during an exclusive screening in New York on July 24 at HBO headquarters. The grand-prize winner will win an opportunity for their film to air on HBO Properties. According to Valerie Moore, founder of blackfilm.com, "The Chase Legacy Film Challenge is one of the most meaningful grant programs available to filmmakers. Not only are we providing them with funding and industry resources, but we are inspiring filmmakers to reflect and celebrate the meaning of legacy and homeownership in the African-American community.” The finalists were judged by the following panel of film industry professionals: Effie Brown – producer and founder, Duly Noted, Inc. Patricia Lomax – film acquisition coordinator, HBO Lola Ogunnaike – entertainment correspondent, CNN’s American Morning Samantha Taylor Pickett – director of development, Focus Features Gail Huggins Porter – director, Ebony Jet Entertainment Group A. Doran Reed – casting director, Robi Reed & Associates Bryce Wilson – actor/music producer Billie Woodruff – director Visit www.blackfilm.com/chasefilmchallenge for each panelist’s biography and photo. About Chase: Chase is committed to helping consumers achieve and sustain home ownership. It originates $200 billion in residential mortgages and home equity annually, and services a portfolio of more than $600 billion. The home lending division serves borrowers nationwide through more than 2,400 local loan officers in 290 mortgage offices and more than 3,100 bank branches, as well as approximately 400 representatives in call centers. In addition, the Chase Business-to-Business channel serves mortgage brokers and bankers in all 50 states through 13 processing centers and more than 600 account executives. Parent company JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.6 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. Information about Chase’s mortgage products and services is available at www.chase.com. About HBO®: Home Box Office Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., providing two 24-hour pay television services – HBO and Cinemax – to over 40 million U.S. subscribers. The services offer the most popular subscription video on demand products, HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand, as well as HBO on Broadband, HD feeds, and multiplex channels. Internationally, HBO’s branded television networks, along with the subscription video on demand products HBO On Demand and HBO Mobile, bring HBO services to over 50 countries. HBO programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide. About Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging Division: For over a hundred years, Kodak has been providing tools for the creative community to tell their stories in motion, and is focused on bringing the best in imaging capabilities to its customers. The world’s most celebrated movies, popular TV shows, cutting-edge music videos, effective commercials, and revealing documentaries are photographed on Kodak film. For information on Kodak’s film, digital and hybrid motion imaging products, services and technology, visit www.kodak.com/go/motion. About Blackfilm.com: BlackFilm.com is an online resource which links the Black film community while cultivating national and international audiences interested in their work. This site provides a forum for filmmakers, scholars and organizations to present information and promote artistic expression. For more information about blackfilm.com visit: www.blackfilm.com. For more information about the Film Challenge go to www.blackfilm.com/chasefilmchallenge, and for the Legacy of Homeownership Tour, go to www.chase.com/legacy or call 1-800-541-0368. HBO® is a trademark of Home Box Office, Inc.