Byron Hurt is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, activist, lecturer/public speaker, and media educator.  He is also the former host of the Emmy Award-nominated series, Reel Works with Byron Hurt.  His documentary, Hip-Hop:  Beyond Beats and Rhymes, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has been broadcast nationally on PBS’s Emmy Award-winning series, Independent Lens.  His film, Soul Food Junkies, received the Best Documentary Award at the 2012 American Black Film Festival.  His documentary Hazing premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS’s Independent Lens on September 12, 2022.  His Lee and Liza’s Family Tree aired as a PBS NOVA episode in 2023, and his short documentary Men of Courage addressed men’s roles in preventing gender-based violence.