October 16th we will be on a plane to Cape Town, South Africa to  shoot the short film, Thula

Thula (pronounced "Toola") is a short film about two young women who crisscross the world in search of purpose, family, and home. Thula, which is Zulu for "peace" and "serenity,"  is a story that explores what it means to let go of your "baggage" and to make amends with yourself and the people who love you. 

When we began the conversation about writing and producing a short film together, we planned to have many months between finishing writing the script and actually shooting the film.  But as we settled on developing a story that takes place in Cape Town, South Africa, several "miracles" happened that encouraged us to accelerate our calendar and to really kick into high gear.  We have been gifted a beautifiul location to shoot in mid-October, as well as access to a incredibly talented South African crew during this time period. Making a film (even a short one) costs a lot of money, and we simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to fully realize our vision for Thula. The script has been written, our core team has been assembled, all plane tickets have been paid for (except for a very important one... more on that below), accommodations have been made, and it is almost time to actually shoot our film. We have put a lot of our own money into the project to this date, but the fact of the matter is that we need help.  We still need $9,000 to produce Thula in the high-quality, professional fashion that we believe the story deserves.

By contributing to this IndieGoGo campaign you are enabling us to:

• Buy a plane ticket and to pay for lodging in Cape Town for our director, James Bland
• Hire first rate crew and supporting actors in South Africa
• Take care of post-production expenses including editing, scoring and film festival submission

Who We Are

The core team behind this project includes:

• Jahmela Biggs: Producer, Creator, Writer, & Actor
• Kaliswa Brewster: Producer & Creator
• Caitlin Talbot: Producer & Actor
• James Bland, Director

Kaliswa, Jahmela, & Caitlin are actors who were in the same graduating class at American Conservatory Theater's MFA Progam in San Francisco.  We each split off after school and began our careers--Kaliswa to tour the country for the better part of 4 years doing professional theater with renowned companies, Jahmela to work in tv & film in LA where she has appeared in several television shows, feature films and web-series, & Caitlin to explore both coasts booking jobs in both theater and film.  Thula marks the first film collaboration for the three of us. 

Jahmela and Caitlin own a production company in Los Angeles called Pramina Pictures, LLC which currently produces the popular web series Debt Collectors (www.debtcollectors.com). Our very talented director, James Bland, is also the director of Debt Collectors. He has directed numerous projects such as Dreaming In Color, Fail the series,  Cocoa Love, and Mission Swaziland. He has worked closely under producer Will Packer and served as an assistant to Sony Screen Gems Senior Vice President and Creative Executive, Scott Struass. James is a consumate professional and a rising star in the directing world. He has many high-profile films on his resume including Takers, Death at a Funeral, & Burlesque.

Not to get all crazy sentimental on you, but it feels like this film is destined to happen. The African setting alone means a lot to us, and in many ways it feels like a homecoming-- Caitlin's family is from South Africa, Kaliswa's family is from Liberia, West Africa (she lived there for the first few years of her life), and James is directing another project in Swaziland. 

This film marks a new phase for us in our creative careers.  We have each been mentored and groomed by some of the greatest names in the industry, and now we are stepping out on our own to contribute our voice and our unique vision to the entertainment industry. We care a lot about telling stories that are inclusive and that reflect truth.  We feel strongly that if we are going to produce films we need to produce them to the best of our ability so that doors will continue to open for us.  Thula is truly a labor of love as we humbly step into the arena as filmakers.

Thanks so much for visiting our Indiegogo Campaign!  We will be keeping you updated every step of the way-- it's going to be amazing journey and we hope you will lend us your support to help make this film happen!