“It was the chance of a lifetime. It was a terror like no other. Five promising filmmakers, most young and all hungry, were competing for a $1 million grant to make a feature that would have its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival next year. The money came from AT&T, and the setup was very ‘Shark Tank’: They would have 10 minutes to pitch their movie to a jury whose members included Lee Daniels, Jeffrey Wright and Anthony Mackie.”