TNCC Co-Hosts
SYD
Syd is a native of Lithonia, GA. She’s a proud member of the Beyhive, a Cheetah Girls enthusiast, and your local Black pop culture expert. While Syd is a professional Marketer, she moonlights as a free-trial scammer. Meet Syd!
LEX
Lex grew up in Metro Atlanta, but is (overly) proud of their country, Alabama roots. If Lex is chatting at a party, chances are they’re talking about public transit, a Tyler Perry movie, or some gay sh*t.
Meet Lex!
Celebrating Black Indies
The ‘Chitlin Circuit’ is a term used to describe a ring of performance venues where Black entertainers could perform. Throughout American history this term has mainly referred to theatre and musical venues. But now independent Black performers can showcase their work on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ALLBLK and Tubi.
This is what we call the "new" Chitlin Circuit. We started The New Chitlin Circuit as a place for independent Black films to receive the spotlight and appreciation they deserve.
How We Started
While attending Howard University, Syd and Lex were roommates. And their favorite way to wind down on a Friday night was a tall glass of cheap Moscato (ahh, college) and the blackest movie they could find.
While many film buffs scoff at the Sister Codes and Boy Byes on the movie world, Syd and Lex love these feel-good flicks. But after finishing a movie like Plug Love, when searching the web to find the critical reception or the online conversation about the movie…there’s nothing.
So The New Chitlin Circuit is our answer to that.
Black independent film comes in many genres and our goal is to highlight all kinds of Black indies. So we’ll review the gangster movies, the rom-coms with Marques Houston, the arthouse dramas with Sundance buzz, and everything in between.