Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Jonterri Gadson
SUPERMOMS, BLESSINGS…AND RABBIT HOLES by Shaniqua.the.artist (drama short)
A young woman’s battle trying to love her child while chasing her dream.
Featuring sola bamis, Darryl Dunning II, Tamika Simpkins, Shirley Jordan, LaNora Terraé Hayden, Shaila Tyler, Alyse Moné, Natasha LaGrone, and Bonnie-Rae Sunshine
Shaniqua spent her childhood staying in almost all 5 of the New York City boroughs, but her heart lies in the place where she was born and made her most memorable memories — BROOKLYN, NY. It was in Brooklyn where, as a child, she began performing as characters she saw on TV and in films because she wanted to “continue the story” after the credits ended. Her street smarts and grit allowed her to avoid the common pits and downfalls of her surroundings and pursue the uncommon path of going to college. Shaniqua earned a BA in theatre from the University of Buffalo, MSW from Adelphi University, completed a two-year conservatory-based acting program at Maggie Flanigan Studio, and studied at NYC-based, Kimball Studio for on-camera classes.
During a performance at Columbia University, Shaniqua had the opportunity to share, through acting, the story of African-Americans who lived in the 1800s. The performance encouraged her to resume her project of starting YC Productions — a production company with the mission of telling the stories of social issues with the goal of increasing awareness within communities.
In between writing short films, being a writer/actor for the Amazon series, Hood Deals, knocking out auditions, and attending acting classes — Shaniqua prides herself in being a mother to an amazing son. Her tenacity, passion, and confident belief in her purpose continues to fuel her efforts in chasing her dreams. She sends her love and gratitude as you take a peek into her life as an artist.
The Black Wall Street Giant by Sabah Muhammad (drama feature)
In April of 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when a young piano phenom discovers that her inspiration and best invisible friend, THE Jesus Christ, is an emaciated white guy and not the black giant she trusts and reveres, she must fight to feel the love and hope that once colored her racist poverty-stricken world.
Featuring Isabella Riley, Karan Kendrick, Oneké Cummings, Josiah Ekari, Antonio David Lyons, Krystal Farris, LaNora Terraé Hayden, Shirley Jordan, Philip Smithey, and Tamika Simpkins
Sabah Muhammad is a writer, disguised as an attorney dedicated to criminal justice and mental illness reform. Her one true love is powerful storytelling based on growing up Black, weird, Muslim and poor in the bible belt South. As a kid in the Nation of Islam, she was the plucky eldest of seven whose spirited intelligence usually earned her a timeout for not being righteous; alone in a room thinking about what she’d done, usually something feminist, proved to be an excellent place to develop characters. Art, as an escape, prepared her for a ten-year acting career that included countless exciting projects like The Brooke Ellison Story directed by Christopher Reeve, starring Jon Slattery and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio; The Skeleton Key, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Kate Hudson; and a 12-city arena tour, sponsored by Coca-Cola: the Go for It! Roadshow.
