Welcome to Our TITLE VII Street Team!
You are now visiting an ACTIVE film campaign of sustaining support for the post production phase and ongoing street team of the film, TITLE VII! The video above is a "first look" at the production that was made possible by this IndieGogo campaign earlier this year. Now, we continue to accept your donations at any level to help us complete the film and travel and tour the film in effort to combat same-race discrimination.
By coming on board our team at any donor level (see Right side of the screen), you become a team member who supports independent film and those who need a voice to expose same-race discrimination in the workplace.
At EPIPHANY Inc. we have a library of films that get people talking. TITLE VII is no exception. Our campaign here on IndieGogo will go on indefinitely. So join us, invite your friends to participate by sharing this ongoing campaign, choose one of our very cool perks on the right side of this page, and stand up for equality everywhere.
With your contribution you'll receive our updates
(see previous updates to this campaign by clicking here), build an audience who will be talking about our film of which you're now a team member for a very long time, and receive the tools you need to keep a healthy dialogue among employers and employees so that the workplace does not end up destroying lives.
One campaign tool you can use are these very cool "ENTITLED" tees in short sleeve and tank style!
We teamed up with the Minority Women Veterans to help prevent sexual abuse in their workplace, prohibited by TITLE X of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Just click here to purchase your tee, and help fund our next project--a docu-series that brings their harrowing stories to light, and justice in the end.
TITLE VII is a co-production of EPIPHANY Inc. and Stuart Films in collaboration with FDUFilm. Please visit us at EPIPHANY Inc. at
NicoleFranklin.com/cine for our film library.
Keep reading below and watch our video above to see how TITLE VII, our microbudget of a film, all began. And, welcome to the Team!
Keeping It 100
My name is Nicole Franklin and I am so appreciative for your support of our film,
TITLE VII, my first narrative feature as writer/director. After spending a career in documentaries, shorts and theatre, I am excited to bring a controversial drama to the screen! I'm a filmmaker who explores African American subjects often not covered in cinema. This one is no exception.
By chance I was sent the book
Within The Walls by author Daisy M. Jenkins, and the story immediately brought flashbacks of my experience with same-race discrimination in the office. Although it is not quite taboo, there definitely may be some secrets exposed as co-screenwriter Craig T. Williams and I present the story of a self-hating higher up who wreaks havoc when the mere presence of the new female hire commits the ultimate sin of reminding him of his color.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act banned employment discrimination based on sex, race, color and national origin in 1964. Fifty-two years later employment discrimination still exists in US corporate culture.
We have incredibly talented actors whom you'll recognize mastering this gripping subject matter that I feel will take us into new territory as more attention is being paid to quality Black film. Hold on for the ride.
Cast
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Lead: Chicava HoneyChild
Chicava HoneyChild is an actor, burlesque danseur, historian, teacher and producer. As an actor her credits include work with Spike Lee, David Wong, Joe Brewster and Robert Altman.
Her current projects are Sister Shake, a documentary and companion book on the legacy of Women of Color in burlesque heritage and Sacred Burlesque. She has lectured and/or performed on the university circuit at Yale College, Swarthmore, Sarah Lawrence College, and Wesleyan to name a few.
Chicava is the proprietress of New York City's Brown Girls Burlesque and lead teacher of The Broad Squad Institute. She received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College her areas of interest being performance art, women of color in burlesque heritage, and sacred sexuality and spirituality.
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Lead: Fidel Vicioso
Fidel Vicioso's experience in Film and Television ranges from Shaft to Prison Song to Taino to The House that Jack Built, and appearances on Blue Bloods, all three Law & Order installments as well as an adorable appearance on Sesame Street. Theatre credits include "DC-7: The Roberto Clemente Story" and "Hamlet."
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Lead Cast: Celestine Rae
Celestine Rae is an actress and writer with a background in classical dance. Born and raised in Philadelphia to an Italian and German American mother and African American father, Celestine began her artistic career as a dancer, training in modern and ballet technique. Her passion for dance quickly grew into a love for acting as she was nicknamed 'Face' by choreographer, David St. Charles, for her passion and expression while performing in his narrative ballets. After graduating from Temple University with a B.A. degree in English, Celestine immediately relocated to New York City to pursue her career as an actor full time. She trained under Terry Knickerbocker at the William Esper Studio. She has also appeared in ads and editorials for 'Allure,' 'VIBE,' and 'Essence" magazines.
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Lead Cast: Cal Gladen
Award-winning actor Cal Gladen's film and television credits include Botoxic, Lights Out, Hemispheres, 100 Centre Street and As The World Turns. His work in the theatre as an actor and producer has garnered multiple appearances in the New Jersey Repertory Theater, Lovinger Theater and Currican, a theater.
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Lead Cast: Beata Harju
Beata Harju is a Finnish-born and New York -raised actress. Her most recent work includes supporting roles in the TV-series “Betrayed,” and the short film “Puuttuminen.” Beata made her National Theatre acting debut as Honey in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” followed by Jane in “August: Osage County” at Svenska Teatern, the National Swedish Theatre of Finland in 2012. She gave her voice in Finnish and Swedish to the iconic Moomin character Mymble in the animated feature “Moomins on the Riviera.” Beata has a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre and filmmaking from Sarah Lawrence College, New York. She has also studied business at Aalto University School of Business in Helsinki, singing at the Pop & Jazz Conservatory of Helsinki, and improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, the Magnet Theatre and The Groundlings Theatre in New York and Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan.
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Lead Actor: Brian Anthony Wilson
Brian Anthony Wilson (Charles). Recent Theatre: Driving Miss Daisy (Act II Playhouse), All My Sons (People's Light), The Last Jimmy (Grand Performances, L.A.), Hands Up (Flashpoint).. Film/TV : Creed, The Benefactor, Crooked and Narrow, They Are Strangers, 6 Souls, Zombie Killers:E.G., Voiceless, Limitless, The Postman /The Jim Gaffigan Show, Blue Bloods, Allegiance, Broad City, Unforgettable, The Sopranos & all 5 Seasons of "The Wire".
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Lead Cast: Maria Pusateri
Maria Pusateri has performed in theater, film and new media. Her passion for acting was ignited when she began studying at HB Studio, then later at Circle Repertory School of Theatre, she’s also worked on comedy improv at Magnet Theater. Her theater credits include Noises Off and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Maria is a member of the Northport Readers Theater and the Long Island Repertory Co. She recently starred in the short film Over Dinner, and will be in the upcoming web series This Is Why. Pusateri produced/directed the award-winning documentary Vito After: A 9/11 Responder Copes in the Aftermath, and has worked in various production capacities in both narrative and nonfiction film and TV, including as associate producer for the Oscar-nominated documentary short Mondays at Racine. www.mariapusateri.com
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Lead: Ariel Estrada
Ariel Estrada has performed on screen in series such as The Americans and soaps One Life To Live and Another World. He has even been a character in the gaming world in Max Payne 2. Numerous credits in regional and off-Broadway theatre include "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Othello" and "Two Gentlemen of Verona."
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Lead Cast: John Crandall
John Crandall trained at Esper Studios in New York City and has performed in theater, independent film, industrials and commercials. His credits include the role of Jerry Casser in the soon to be released feature film ‘Clipped Wings, They Do Fly,” Dr. Arthur Mitchell in Simply Sandra, a film by John Joyner and Ray in the short film Faded. John is also an athlete, lecturer, chiropractor, acupuncturist and NAET practitioner.
What We Need & What You Get
Our film will be lensed by talented Director of Photography Cybel Martin. Because I had the wonderful invitation from FDUFilm at Fairleigh Dickinson University to be their filmmaker-in-residence,
TITLE VII has a mix of professionals and dedicated film students as crew, making this the ultimate learning laboratory.
TITLE VII will bring a necessary conversation into the public dialogue.
Visit our virtual message box by clicking "When The Office Becomes Your Private Hell." We have already received multiple responses across social media. Our outreach campaign will make sure your voice is heard and help someone else avoid suffering in silence.
Donations
No cash, but an extra pair of hands? We'll take it.
Need publicity for your restaurant or catering hall? Come on board and let's barter!
Have a piece of art you wish to cover empty wall space on our corporate office set and get publicity like no other? Let's talk!
TITLE VII is an opportunity for all involved to tell a story of which we all will be proud.
More of the Players
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Nicole Franklin is an award-winning filmmaker and now Executive Vice President of News at kweliTV, the interactive streaming platform and app that covers the global Black community. Through her 25 years in the industry she has been a television director, stage manager, editor, educator, public speaker, web event host and contributing writer to such publications as The Good Men Project, Toronto-based ByBlacks.com and NBCBLK. For sixteen years, her company EPIPHANY Inc. has been producing independent films for numerous cable networks including Showtime, BET, IFC, Nickelodeon, Sundance Channel, FUBUTV and kweliTV. In news she has worked on several Emmy Award-winning teams in stations from St. Louis to Los Angeles to New York City and on programs such as The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and morning television broadcasts on CBS News.
Nicole’s other credits includeThe Double Dutch Divas!, Journeys In Black: the Jamie Foxx Biography, Black Enterprise Business Report, and corporate videos.Educational films executive produced by her company EPIPHANY Inc. include Gershwin & Bess: A Dialogue with Anne Brown and the 10-chapter series Little Brother, both titles distributed by Third World Newsreel and currently airing on kweliTV. Little Brother is a recipient of the Foundation to Promote Open Society/Campaign for Black Male Achievement Award, fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas. Inspired by Gershwin & Bess…,Nicole has a screenplay in development titled BESS. TITLE VII is Nicole's directorial debut of a narrative feature.
Project reels may be viewed at NicoleFranklin.com.
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Director of Photography: Cybel Martin
Cybel Martin is known for her expressive, stylized work. The first and only African-American woman to receive a MFA in Cinematography from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, she is currently cinematographer on the documentary And...Scene, a Woman's Journey to Walk Again. Films she has shot have premiered in festivals, including Sangam (2008; Sundance Film Festival) -- known for its deeply moody and textured palette -- and Orange Bow (2005; Tribeca Film Festival). Other credits include No Vagrancy, Queen of Glory and Ultimate Goal -- all in post-production, Forget Me Not (2012; commissioned by the Studio Museum of Harlem), and Flora’s Garment Bursting into Bloom (2003; winner of the Showtime “No Limits” Award, New Festival). CybelDP.com
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Production Collaboration: FDU Film
FDUFilm approaches teaching film/TV/original content production from both the artistic and professional point-of- view. FDUFilm students work with the most up-to- date professional industry equipment from HD digital cameras and industry standard lighting and grip equipment to Avid, Premier and Final Cut editing software, as well as AfterEffects and Entertainment Partners production software. Intimate classes and a low student-to- faculty ratio allow students to shoot films in their freshmen year. The program is adapted to better reflect the reality of the industry, resulting in a higher percentage of FDUFilm graduates finding professional work within a year after graduation.
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Co-Screenwriter: Craig T. Williams
Craig T. Williams is the writer of numerous award-winning short films, including Allergic To Nuts and Drawing Angel. His work has screened on BET Filmmakers Showcase, NYC25, ABFF Independent and Aspire Channel as well as film festivals all around the world. Craig is co-founder of the film celebration, Indie Power, a free screening and discussion event, celebrating independent filmmakers.
As CEO of Red Wall Productions, a film production company he runs with his wife, Rosalyn Coleman Williams, Craig has produced over 30 film projects including independent short films, promotional videos, educational films, actor reels and the groundbreaking documentary Black Sorority Project.
Writer and Producer of the hit web series “Justice,” Craig’s feature screenplays include:
Game Night, Cape of Good Hope, Jimmie, Hanging By A Thread and Without The Music. Written TV Pilots include: Weddings American Style and Harder days, both 30 minute comedies. Craig is a proud member and co-leader of FilmShop, a Media Producers and Independent Filmmakers Collective.
A native New Yorker, Craig was born in Harlem, and raised in the Bronx. He was a Junior Tennis Champion having trained at the Harlem Tennis Center. In 1989 he gave back to the community by opening a free Tennis Camp for children ages 7-17, no child was ever turned away.
Co-Executive Producer: Emelyn Stuart, Stuart Films
Emelyn Stuart is the founder of Stuart Film Group and the Oktober Film Festival in New York City. Her producing credits include the award-winning short film “Wings and Beer,” the network broadcast of the short film “Heads or Tails,” and the wildly successful award-winning web series “12 Steps to Recovery” (Punch TV).
Emelyn has chosen to work on projects which focus more on giving back than they do on the financial bottom line. They specifically aim to show how life can be won despite major obstacles and difficulty. “You Only Live Twice” is a gritty tale full of hardship and pain. In spite of the turbulent journey its subject has taken, he still managed to come out on top. Slated for production in 2016, this project will rouse strength and determination in everyone who sees it. It features former boxing champion Meldrick “The Kid” Taylor, and boxer turned actor, Gary Stretch. Another project, “Street Life” illustrates how one’s spiritual faith can enable one to overcome tough times to finally see victorious results. Jason Hendrickson, a rising star in the world of Gospel music, is the subject of the pilot episode.
Emelyn is frequently asked to participate in panel discussions in festivals throughout the US. In 2013 she decided to launch the Ocktober Film Festival in New York City. The festival was a huge success with over 3000 people in attendance during its first year. The festival is dedicated to educating, empowering and inspiring filmmakers.
Emelyn continues to sponsor many community initiatives and small businesses through Stuart Films. In addition to being gifted in the world of business, Stuart strives to shatter the entertainment glass ceiling.
Co-Exeuctive Producer: Carl Gilbert, Jr., Stuart Films
Carl Gilbert, Jr. is the Ocktober Film Festival Director. In addition, he is also the Chief Operations Officer and Producer at Stuart Films. Mr. Gilbert spent several years on Wall Street before discovering his affinity for the arts. Combining his love for the arts with his business experience is what Carl does best. Carl has diligently been planning, overseeing, programming and managing all aspects of the Ocktober Film Festival since 2013. The unveiling of the festival in 2013 included over 3000 attendees mostly due to Carl’s ingenuity and strategic planning. The staff and volunteers were grateful for Carl’s consistent leadership. One filmmaker was quoted as saying, “The Ocktober Film Festival was organized and professional, mostly due to Carl’s project management skills.” Carl is also a sought after independent producer who is often called upon to consult on film and new media projects. His latest feature film, “The Turnaround,” is scheduled to be released later this year. He is also working on several short films that will be making their festival debut at the end of 2016. Above all, Carl wants to continue to do work that empowers, educates and inspires filmmakers.
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Co-Producer: Lisa Durden
Newark NJ native, Lisa Durden, is an award winning, content creator/producer, in non-fiction television and feature film. In 2005, Ms. Durden launched, Lisa Durden Unlimited Productions, a Multi-Media Company, headquartered in the State of New Jersey, that specializes in creating award-winning content across multiple platforms for television, the web and live audiences. The organization’s mission is to create quality programming and to tell compelling stories, with big, entertaining, characters!! Currently, she is Co-Producer of the upcoming, provocative, feature film, TTITLE VII (Directed by Nicole Franklin), that explores rarely discussed issue: Same-Race Employment Discrimination. Lisa is contracted as the Broadcast Manager with the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC); an organization that supports diverse voices by developing, producing and distributing innovative media about the black experience and by investing in visionary content makers.
Lisa also serves as Curator of the annual Reel Sister Of The Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series and the Producer of ImageNation’s annual,star studded, Revolution Awards; celebrating Black excellence, artistry, activism and independent film.
Lisa began her career as a journalist in front of the camera, currently appearing as a Pop-Culture Expert/Contributor, on such nationally syndicated programs as Fox News Channel’s, The Kelly File with Megyn Kelly; HLN’s, The Daily Sharewith Melissa Knowles; iHeart Radio’s American Now with Meghan McCain, Fox 5 News Live with Ernie Enastos; Arise TV; PIX 11 Morning News, WTNH News 8’s CT Style with hosts Ryan Kristafer & Teresa Dufour and WABC Radio’s Geraldo Rivera Show and Hot 97’s Street Soldiers with Lisa Evers, to name a few. In September 2015, Lisa was featured in Rolling Out Magazine, as the months Black Intellectual, for blazing a trail in news, with her, “Out-Spoken, Straight-Talk, Commentary,’ on issues that include social justice, politics, women’s issues, education and race.
RECENT PRODUCTION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Associate Producer of the award winning PBS’ feature documentary, Soul Food Junkies (Director: Byron Hurt), Associate Producer of the critically acclaimed, Sundance Channel’s, 5 part docu-series, Brick City 1 (Director: Mark Levin & Executive Producer: Forest Whitaker), Associate Producer of the upcoming 2 part docu-series, The Newark Project, about education reform in Newark, NJ; which is currently in production and Director of her controversial, award winning feature documentary, PROJECT WOW: Men On The Down Low (Best Documentary Award @ The Pocono Mountains Film Festival), which broadcast in short form on the BET J series, Black Stories and is currently being distributed in feature length by Echelon Studios Inc. She is also the Executive Producer & host of her popular, self-titled talk show, The Lisa Durden Show, airing in over 1 million homes.
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Coordinating Producer: Samuel P. Barden
Samuel P Barden. Producer, Production Coordinator, Editor, Cutting Assistant. New Jersey City University graduate, collaborator with Just Once A Month (a performance artist group) and winner of the Mets 15 seconds of fame commercial contest. He currently resides in New Jersey.
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Associate Producer: Warin Henry
Warin Henry is a freelance media professional who has worked on short and feature films, music videos, documentaries and webisodes. He was assistant producer/production assistant for Morgan Spurlock’s production company Warrior Poets, where he did research for its web series Mansome among other projects. He is also an organizer for StudentsFirst, a nonprofit aimed at ensuring the every US student have access to great schools and teachers.
Marketing: leslie j yerman
leslie j yerman provides communications, outreach and film festival strategies and submission services to independent documentary filmmakers and other industry members. A former VP/Communications, New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), she was recently marketing manager for the Bisbee Film Festival, presented by the University of Arizona Hanson Film Institute. Credits include: Awake Zion, The Healing Gardens of New York, The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America, Porraimos: Europe’s Gypsies in the Holocaust, Raquel: a marked woman (also associate producer) and Visioning Tibet. lesliejyerman.com.
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Graphics: Carlos Dos Santos
Carlos Dos Santos was born and raised in Latin America Caracas Venezuela and currently works in his studio in Portugal. He is an artist whose talents range from Pencil Sketch to Pyrography to Design and his work has sold internationally including the US and Japan. Dos Santos has began working professionally since 2015. He is the resident artist designer of EPIPHANY Inc.
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Digital Content Producer: Cyrille Phipps
Cyrille Phipps has been a media educator and filmmaker for over twenty years. Working in film and video, she has collaborated on various documentaries, on important cultural figures such as Muhammad Ali, Muma Abu Jamal and Malcolm X, that have aired on PBS, TNT and the BBC. She was the co-founder of Black Planet Productions, which produced the award winning grassroots series Not Channel Zero- the revolution, televised. As a member of this collective, she co-produced a number of critically acclaimed documentaries including, “Black Womyn, Sexual Politics and the Revolution.” and ''Our House: Gays and Lesbians in the Hood.'' She also produced and directed a number of documentaries and community-oriented programs dealing with issues such as AIDS, homophobia, sexism and racism. Most recently, the short documentary, ''Seen, But Not Heard','' examining issues around black women and HIV.
As the Senior Editor of Broadband Video at TV Land Digital, she oversaw all post-production for web-broadcast.Most recently, she has worked as a producer, camera person and video editor for channels and new media outlets such as Interactive One, a division of TV One, HITN and Sesame Workshop. She is currently, developing two web doc series addressing issues around gentrification in Brooklyn and AIDS in the Black community.
An EPIPHANY Village
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Harlem Brew, Sugar Hill, Harlem Renaissance, Sugar Hill Strawberry Hard Cider. Entrepreneur of the Year (2002, 2014). Beer for Legends. www.HarlemBrewing.com
Watch Nicole Franklin's very first commercial hire - The Quest for Sugar Hill Golden Ale by clicking here.
ImageNation Cinema Foundation
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ImageNation Cinema Foundation is a Harlem-based media arts group, founded with the goal of establishing a chain of art-house cinemas, dedicated to progressive media by and about people of color. Through a variety of exhibitions and programs,ImageNation edifies its audience. We foster media equity, media literacy, solidarity, cross-cultural exchange and highlight the humanity of Pan-African people worldwide. To learn more please visit
www.imagenation.us.
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NDOLO Films
Ndolo means love in Duala, one of the many languages of Cameroon in Central Africa.Our mission is to tell stories that matter. We care about what story we tell. We value the people we work with. NdoloFilms.com / @ndolofilms.
