JANUARY 14TH
Short Film
(14 mins.)
A young couple’s anniversary takes a bittersweet turn when a police officer pulls the husband over on a questionable traffic stop. Inspired by true events.
Grand Jury Prize - Best Short, Orlando Urban Film Festival
Best Short Feature, Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival
Best U.S. Social Justice Short Film, Hollywood Women's Film Festival
Best Social Justice Film, Hollywood South Urban Film Festival
Best-Women Produced Short Film, Urban Mediamakers Film Festival
Best Short, Vyre Film Festival
Social Awareness Award, Vyre Film Festival
Best Short - Award of Achievement, SoCal Film Awards
Best Social Justice Short, New Age Cinemas & Scripts Film Festival
Best Short, Top Indie Film Awards
ROSES IN
THE WATER
Feature
(109 pages)
A young woman in New Orleans decides to enlist in the U.S. military to improve her life and get out of poverty, but an unexpected pregnancy disrupts her plans.
Top 10%
2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowship
Grant Development Winner
Stowe Story Labs
Top 100
Launch Pad Feature Competition
“ROSES IN THE WATER is a powerful, poignant script about the struggle against oppression. It manages to speak volumes about the disenfranchisement and helplessness felt by such a large portion of this country’s inhabitants without getting preachy or overly dark. The script is incredibly strong in dialogue, character, theme, tone, world, and message. This is a film that will resonate with a lot of people for many different reasons right now. It’s a timely piece that can speak to a fairly broad audience. It’s also entertaining and enjoyable even in the darkness of the story and world created. It’s a story that touches the mind and heart and speaks to old and young. This is a strong piece that could become a great film."
PINEY RIDGE
TV Pilot
(60 pages)
Following a heart-wrenching personal tragedy, a Black female sharecropper in 1930s Virginia sets out on a mission of personal revenge, all while fighting the exploitation of the town’s wealthy landowners and the violent harassment of the local sheriff and his posse of unlawful men.
Nominee - Best Concept, TV Script, 2020 Queen Palm Int'l Film Festival
Winner, 2019 The Script Lab Screenwriting Contest
2nd Rounder, 2019 Austin Film Festival
Finalist, 2019 The Film Empire Diversity Mentorship Contest
Finalist, 2019 SAGindie Fellowship
Finalist, 2019 WeScreenplay Fellowship
2nd Round, 2018 Sundance Episodic Lab
2nd Round, 2018 MACRO Episodic Lab
Finalist, 2018 FutureFemme Screenwriting Competition
Finalist, 2019 The Break Screenwriting Competition
"PINEY RIDGE is a thrilling telling of a dark time in American history. With the rise of the alt-right, the story of the Southern Tenants Farmers Union is a timely reminder of how far we've come, and how far we've still got to go. This script is deftly plotted and sets the stakes for the episode and the series, and quickly introduces us to the antagonistic forces and those will fight them. Through Bessie, we see the devastation and determination of people wanting a better life for their children. In Bessie, we meet a woman who is both tender and strong. Her determination to join the men in their fight makes her immediately likeable, just as her grief gets us on her side. We're in a world that's ripe for long-form storytelling. This is an excellently put together pilot."
"PINEY RIDGE is a devastating parable that crescendos a family's injustice to a full-on tale of personal revenge and redemption. Equipped with a dynamic cast and plotting that excites and pushes all of the emotional buttons, this is a pilot that's worth tracking."
"PINEY RIDGE is a very sturdy execution of a truly compelling premise that — in spite of being set in the 1930s — holds a magnifying glass to many concepts that we're still sociopolitically grappling with today; racism, economic equality, political conspiracies, etc."
"This pilot has a story that unfolds at an unforgettably heart-pumping pace -- and reveals how the series will tackle poignant themes, casting a spotlight on a brave and bold single mother who stands up against the injustice, corruption, and hatred in her time."
"Everything about this (pilot) feels authentic and respectful and grounded in humanity and love. Bessie is a reluctant superhero, and her community is unparalleled in their support of Bessie and each other. These people in rural Virginia in 1934 are dealing with The Depression and the Klan – life and death on every front – and so there is great potential for a long series' worth of material. The characters are complex, the dialogue feels authentic, and the roller coaster of Bessie's life is punctuated with moments of terrifying stillness. And yet, there is still a lightness and an energy throughout. 100% compelling."
"This is a strong pilot about an important period in the nation’s history focusing on the battle for equal rights and the battle against hatred, which coincidentally is still relevant today. The writer wastes no time in jumping into the action, which should help keep viewers riveted to the screen. And, what’s more, we didn’t get bogged down with unnecessary flashbacks to fill in the gaps. The characters here are all well-defined (their individual voices are reflected in their dialogue) and different from one another (reflected in their actions). This is a solid script that could make for an entertaining, and educational, hour of television each week."
