"Triggers" is inspired by the true story of a young woman's battle with bipolar and schizophrenia as she finds herself the subject of an unusual criminal investigation.
How is this project unique?
Often time in media a story is one-sided and ultimately only shows the incident. Triggers will give a look into the life of a Cahira, young woman who suffers from two mental health disorders who attempts to obtain normalcy in her life. Her life is turned upside down when she finds herself involved in a situation that results in her facing serious jail time.
"Triggers" will focus on the events that took place in Cahira's day that lead up to her in prison.Director Silver believes this film will begin much needed conversation to help eradicate the stigma of mental health in the black community.
"Triggers" is a USC student advanced film production in the 2020 spring semester. The film fulfills a grade requirement needed for graduation. We will spend three weekends in production and five weeks in post-production. With a primary crew of 10 artisans, we will work together to shoot, edit and write over the next two in order to bring this project to completion. We will be filming within the city of Los Angeles.
Menu’Ette Silver (Producer, Writer, Director) is a third-year M.F.A Television & Film Production student at the University of Southern California from Baltimore, Maryland. She has previously interned at JuVee Productions, UTA, and WHAG-TV. Menu’Ette has written, directed, and produced various short films. Amongst her USC films, Autonomy, Boundaries, and The Dope Years: The Story of Latasha Harlins are her most recent projects. Since moving to Los Angeles, Menu’Ette has become a volunteer mentor for EmpowHer institute, a non-profit organization that creates a safe space for girls to develop their voice. She is passionate about education, children, and is aware of the impact media can make on society. Thus, leading her to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. In her spare time, she enjoys reading Biblical devotionals, socializing with friends, traveling, hiking, boxing, hot yoga, and bonding with her husky mix Kodak Silver. A woman of God with the gift of communication, a love for people and a heart for her generation. She hopes to inspire and uplift all whom she meets.
Kaelan Laurence (Producer) is a filmmaker & photographer with a flair for the ornate and the lavish. After developing a foundational grasp of cinematic and visual expression during his studies at Howard University, he sought out to document authentic human experiences. A life-long artist, he began his collegiate journey pursuing theatre arts. Shortly thereafter, he discovered a love for film, motivating him to redirect his path and blossom as producer of visual content. With each project, he aims to enlighten, challenge ignorance, or generate discourse surrounding an overlooked subject.
Andrew Lloyd Preston (Producer) is an Award-winning filmmaker and actor, Andrew Lloyd Preston, grew up in Huntsville, AL where he later attended Alabama State University, majoring in Visual and Performing Arts and Dance.His desire to create worlds of drama, science fiction, thrills, and action led him to his first project, “The Hit”, which was released via Youtube. Although he never submitted it anywhere, he got plenty of feedback and callbacks for it. His sophomore project, “Duality”, which follows two sisters on the same path but in two different ways in search of each other. It speaks on mental illness and how trauma is a big part of mental illness, and also how it leads people down different paths that could take them on journeys that could make them unravel or deliver them to a place of love. His third project in LA, “Activate”, which follows a Mr. Green as he is thrust into a world of espionage that he didn’t know that he was a big part of because of his memory. It is set to release on Youtube and to Premiere at the Oscar Micheaux Film Festival in Los Angeles in February. The next project that he is helming is, “Choices,” Which is meant to be a series based on some non-fictional things that have happened to him in his life. It is about a young actor who is struggling to stay afloat in the big city of LA and is desperate. So he grabs the first helping hand that is extended to him without thinking about the consequences of his choice of accepting such a big proposition. Andrew served as a judge for the Cannes Diversity Awards Segment for the 2018 Cannes Festival. Andrew is planning on submitting these upcoming projects to the top 5 major festivals and is currently developing 3 digital anthology series for the 2020-2021 year. The Quill Series - Modern stories based on Shakespeare's scenes. Emotions Series - Short-form drama scenes with stories all lead by a certain emotion, that weigh heavily on cinematography and performance, meant showcase the story and performers skill and talent. The Yellow Tape Series - A series dedicated to thriller short films and or proof of concepts for features, and possible series.
Allison A. Waite (Director of Photography) is a Los Angeles based director, editor, cinematographer, and photographer. She currently attends USC's School of Cinematic Arts, pursuing an MFA in Film & Television Production with a concentration in cinematography. Allison obtained a B.A. from Hampshire College where she maintained an interdisciplinary major of Film/Video production and Africana Studies. She has received the Princess Grace HBO Film Award and numerous film festival nominations for her work on the film Roots in Concrete. Film is her activism tool of choice, she aims to give unresolved stories a voice and spark connections within her community.
Lionel Anthony Cook (Editor)Cook graduated from Temple University in 2004 with a Bachelor’s degree in Film & TV Production. He went on to write, direct and produce his first short film Streets Keep Calling Me. The film received high acclaim at the 2008 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. His feature film debut, Sure Looks Good, was an official selection of the 2010 San Diego Black Film Festival and is currently being distributed by Maverick Entertainment. Cook has since went on to direct two other short films, Spare Change, which was the official selection of the 2011 Hollywood Black Film Festival, and The Journey of Herman Stone, which won two awards at the 2012 Downbeach Film Festival. Following up the shorts, Cook directed the web series, Underground Kings, distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures in 2017. 2018, Cook was brought on as director of photography and editor for the short film The Misbegotten. Currently, Cook continues to actively work in film production. He was the director of photography for two commercials for the Philadelphia based energy company PECO in 2019. He was the editor for seasoned Director, Jamal Hill's next film The Available Wife. Cook is now in pre-production for his next feature film, Worth The Wait.