Michael J. Dennis

Michael J. Dennis (b. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American filmmaker, film promoter YouTuber. A graduate of both New York University and The American Film Institute, his short films and documentaries have won numerous awards and have screened worldwide. In 1999, Dennis founded Reelblack, a full-service production company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to producing work-for-hire, it is responsible for Reelblack TV, an entertainment/newsmagazine originally broadcast on PhillyCAM/DUTV. Partnered with YouTube, it has over 5 million views. Reelblack Presents and Soul Food Cinema are monthly film screenings designed to showcase classic films and work by up-and-coming filmmakers that relate to the Black experience. Since 2002, Reelblack has screened and promoted over 900 films.

As a filmmaker, Dennis has done music-related work, having documented the burgeoning Philly Neo-Soul scene in his films Jazzyfatnastees: In Process, A Taste Of Lady Alma, Kindred: In This Life Together and the Last Night at the Five Spot. Also that year, an early NYU video project, Who Is Chris Rock? (1989), was posted on YouTube, where it quickly gained notice by HuffPost, The Comic’s Comic and The New Yorker blogs.