Because the anxieties of your 30s, have nothing on the chaos of your 20s…

Entrepreneurs Campaign is LIVE (again)

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Entrepreneurs Campaign is LIVE (again) 〰️

in Partnership with The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Zuri Adele Fellowship for HBCU Alumni

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The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Zuri Adele Fellowship for HBCU Alumni is known for its dedication to help Black HBCU graduates obtain a higher education in Film & Television. In the off-season between those fateful acceptance emails, our idea is that this webseries could be a reminder of all the hard work The Zuri Adele Fellowship puts into giving back to the community. We believe in the mission of your fellowship to further the education of HBCU graduates who are looking to work and create in the industry. Furthermore, we believe in creating stories that inspire these graduates to continue their work across the industry.'

Mission Statement:

We are a diverse and women-led team of filmmakers utilizing the naivety and absurdity of a pair of 20-year-olds to uncover universal truths about the human experience. Our hope is to tell real stories that make our audience feel seen. We want people regardless of race, gender identity, or class to look at the screen and say “Hey, is this (bleep) play about us?” Because..well..it is.

Synopsis:

Mariah is hopelessly optimistic but optimism doesn’t get you a bank loan. So when Uncle Desmond leases her a “cafe” (his abandoned smoking spot), Mariah needs help and she knows exactly who to ask but the one problem is she doesn’t know how.


Halle is detrimentally pragmatic so when she goes from college acceptance letters to job rejection letters, she battles the notion that life doesn’t have a curriculum. With the opportunity to get her life back on track, Halle has to figure out how to get the confidence–and the money–to take it, despite her mother’s objections about her finally leaving home.

Obviously these two girls need each other, there is just one problem, they haven’t spoken in almost two years – since Mariah’s mom passed away. Uncle Desmond wants to see their reunion more than anyone, so he gives Halle an offer she can’t refuse.

Mariah wants to honor her late mother’s dreams, but worries she will fail. 

Halle wants to live in her idealized future but is forced to exist in the present . 

Desmond just wants his family together again and, frankly, doesn’t care how they come together.

They only have 6 months to make this work. Will it bring the family closer together or tear them apart? In the pursuit of your dreams, is it okay to sometimes abandon your morals? Most importantly, can they rekindle their friendship or are some relationships better left in the past?

The Purpose:

Entrepreneurs is a show about the ultimate acceptance of adulthood; Accepting the bad just as much as the good. 

Yes, people die. Jobs turn you down. Friends are lost. And disappointments occur.

But you always have the opportunity to laugh right after a good cry.

Entrepreneurs deals with themes such as

Grief

Self-Doubt

Perseverance

The Creative:

From the creative mind of our director Imani Celeste, the visual style will act as an extension of the characters’ emotional states as we play with the delicate balance of intimacy and isolation. The cinematography will evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and intimacy as Mariah and Halle navigate their strained relationship and aspirations.

We are looking to raise $15,000, for our micro-low budget proof of concept web pilot. We are actively casting, staffing, and reserving for our shoot in December 2024. We appreciate every donation as it will be put towards our cast and crew, production and creative costs.

The Shoot:

The Inspiration

We found it hard to find current examples of content that we felt reflected this project and what we thought was most relevant to the current climate of the world. So, naturally, we turned to the likes of Issa Rae, Zuri Adele, Lena Waithe, and more for inspiration. The camaraderie and ambitious nature of Good Trouble works to combat the increasing anxieties caused by just living life as a Black woman (à la Girlfriends) who’s seemingly perfect family struggles with a lot more than what meets the eye (reminiscent of Bel-Air). All these series showcase how multifaceted a human being can be. Through the ups and downs, the good and the bad, you learn how to get through this thing called life. 

It’s the most relatable thing in the world.

The Creative Team


  • Creator/Showrunner

    Abena Akyaa is a first-gen Ghanaian-American screenwriter/performer, and one of the founders of MakeMischief Productions. Born and raised on Long Island, she grew up exposed to the arts through the church choir, school musicals, dance classes and, most importantly, dragging her parents to the movies. All of these fostered her love for creativity and storytelling. During her time at Johns Hopkins, she zoned into her love for television and film, always gravitating towards psychological thrillers and coming-of-age stories. Noticing the lack of positive black representation in mainstream media, she made it her goal to create stories that are a reflection of herself, and those who don't get to see themselves often on the little and big screens. She begins her creative journey with her first official project, Entrepreneurs. Abena previously worked as an assistant at The Gersh Agency and currently works as an Office PA on Elsbeth Season 2.


  • Director

    Imani Celeste is a versatile Afro-Dominican artist with a focus on filmmaking, acting, writing, and movement. Her artistic approach is rooted in a profound commitment to culture, storytelling, and community. While studying at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Imani was awarded the inaugural HEAR US grant. After graduation, she directed, produced, acted, styled and wrote her short film, "City of Dreamz." The film garnered attention at esteemed festivals and multiple academy award Qualifying film festivals such as Hollyshorts, NY Latino Film Festival, Blackstar, and Palm Springs Short Fest where her film was nominated for Best US Short. Notably, her film was featured on the Gothamist as one of “7 must-see films at the 16th annual Bushwick Film Festival.”

    Imani's journey blossomed into the dynamic worlds of films, photoshoots, and commercials, where she skillfully shifted between roles in creative direction, producing, choreography, and casting. Some of her noteworthy accomplishments include producing branded content for Essence magazine as well as last year’s commercial for the New York Latino Film Festival. Her choreography and movement direction have been featured on MTV, Nowness, and Something Curated.

    In the city that breeds dreamz, Imani Celeste personifies the essence of her community and proves to tell their stories in all of their unapologetic truth, drip and glory.

    She was the Producer/1st AD for The New York Latino Film Festival's commercial "You've Been Ready" which recently won a Silver Telly at The Telly Awards and nominated for a 67th Annual New York Emmy Award and an Imagen Award.

The Writer’s Room

  • Writer

    Darius Dudley is a multi-media artist from Cincinnati, OH who currently works in Burbank, CA. He received a bachelor’s degree in media production, and a minor in journalism, from the University of Cincinnati. Darius’ creative specialty is his innate ability to uniquely blend elements of dark comedies and thrillers into his scripts.

  • Writer

    Naki Franklin writes female-led coming-of-age comedies centered on friendship and romance. Naki is currently a television writing fellow in Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab, an Act Two Mentee at Coverfly, and a coordinator at Nickelodeon. She’s worked as a scripted television assistant on two desks at Creative Artists Agency. Previously, she interned at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, and a national literary journal where she reviewed prose fiction submissions.

  • Story Editor

    Monica Janvier (she/them) is a Haitian-American writer from Brooklyn, NY. Her writing explores queer joy, love, and heartbreak through a lens that considers the role of empathy, identification, and perception during the film experience. Monica also worked as a script supervisor on the short films “I'm Just Gonna Talk to Her” (2023) and “Mid-Shift”(2021), and was a production coordinator on the short film “Anne” (2021).

The Producers

  • Executive Producer

    Nicole Cervera-Arce is a Mexican-American producer currently based in Los Angeles, CA. Her interest lies in producing character-driven stories while working toward increasing diversity both on the screen and behind the scenes. Her professional experience includes Entertainment Tonight, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Late Night with Seth Meyers to name a few. She has worked closely in the campaign and marketing with Baron and Toluca creators Brendan Fehr and Majandra Delfino. Her most recent credits is an Associate Producer on the short “Lesbophilia” (2023) which is currently doing its festival run at Hollyshorts, Wicked Queer, Out South Queer Film Fest, Queens World Film Festival, and more!

  • Executive Producer

    Kameron Harris is an Atlanta-raised, Howard University Television and Film alumna whose passions lie in producing unique and POC-driven stories. She’s worked in a myriad of freelance production roles from producer’s assistant to production coordinator with brands such as NAACP, Harper’s Bazaar, BET, National Geographic, USDA, and more. Now based in Los Angeles, she works as an assistant at The Gersh Agency where she hopes to continue her work elevating stories written from the perspective of People of Color (POC) by POC that incorporate the usage of multiple art mediums.

  • Producer

    Jada Bethea is a Black, lesbian screenwriter, director, and producer known for her upcoming 2023 short film Flour Girl and her work as a production assistant on Pure (2021), the award-winning short film by Natalie Jasmine Harris.

    Born and raised in New Jersey, she moved to New York and earned her BFA in Film & Television from NYU Tisch in 2023 where she was selected as one of eight NYU HEAR US grant recipients for her senior thesis Flour Girl. Jada is also a member of the 2021 inaugural class of The Paley Center for Media’s Peter Roth Internship. As an artist, Jada challenges hyper-sexual depictions of sapphic, Black relationships through narratives that prioritize emotional intimacy.

  • Producer

    Jenae “Nae” Talison is a 24-year-old self-proclaimed “Midwest Baddie” from Columbus, OH. As a child, Nae was fascinated with television and film, particularly, an avid lover of the Disney Channel and loved the series: The Proud Family, That’s So Raven, and Hannah Montana. Nae graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications and Africana Studies from Tennessee State University in May 2022. In 2024, Nae graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television from UCLA’s Producers Program. Nae’s ultimate goal is to create a television, film, and podcast production company/studio solely focused on telling Black female stories across the diaspora.

Special Thanks to the Huntington Arts Council: 

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and administered by The Huntington Arts Council.