And So It Begins...

ZEMIRA – Independent Feature Film - Non-Union Females
Zemira Film, Inc. is casting the non union females for feature film
Zemira.

Curtis John (Director). Curtis John and Mecca Woods (Writers).
Shooting starts early spring TBA.


PRODUCERS: Curtis John and Mecca Woods
SYNOPSIS: ZEMIRA is a coming-of-age story loosely based on real life events. It centers around the title character, Zemira Black, a booksmart but awkward African-American girl struggling to find her place and her voice in the world. As if dealing with the stress of being a teenager isn’t hard enough, Zemira struggles with the adversity of her drug addicted parents and an upbringing in a violent South Bronx neighborhood, both of which are starting to destroy her unless she can figure out how best to fight for her life. For more information check out http://www.zemirathefilm.com


COMPENSATION: Reel copy, credit, transportation/meals, possible low pay (To be determined). Submit headshot/resume electronically to: zemirathefilmcasting@gmail.com--please include role for which you are submitting in the subject line.

(Young talent must be 18 years or older and not in high school)

Auditions will begin in mid-September; non-union talent is encouraged. We will contact you with dates and locations upon selection. All actors MUST bring a monologue of their own choosing. We will provide sides of the film script to selected actors.

SEEKING:
ZEMIRA –AFRICAN AMERICAN
[TO PLAY 14-16]
Our protagonist. Zemira is the oldest of two children. She hates when people mispronounce her name. It’s, sound it out, ZA-MEER-UH. Despite growing up in the South Bronx, Zemira has aspirations of being a famous poet and writer one day. Very intelligent, although highly emotional, and very much a smart-ass, she’s grown very tired of her mother and father’s contradictory nature: constant drug use and violence against each other while always telling their kids to do the right thing. So Zee (her nickname) has begun to rebel against them by being out at all hours with her best friend or her boyfriends. Neighbors always saw her with her journal, but she barely even writes anymore, the one thing she was always passionate about.

Zemira’s best and only friend Robyn, helped her come out of her shell,as has mother nature, who allowed her to shed her baby fat and begin to blossom into a curvy young woman. She’s still insecure though, most especially because of her second-hand clothes and deep dark skin. Although seeming to become a different person, when no one else is around Zemira will still have her face buried in one book or another. Zemira’s seeking what she thinks she needs, love and acceptance, but her empty search for these things is catching up to her.

JEANETTE-AFRICAN AMERICAN
[EARLY-MID 30s]
Zemira’s mother. Jeanette comes from a long line of abused women. She thought she changed her destiny when she met her now husband Darryl, but eventually even he is abusive to her as well, more emotionally than physically, as she got caught up in his drug use. Now trying to stay clean and make a stable life for herself and her
two children, Jeanette has finally let go of being so damn independent and mistrusting, and has learned to seek out help from other people. If this doesn’t work out for her though, she has no idea what she’ll do.

A small woman, Jeanette’s very un-girly. She tends to wear men’s clothes and keeps her hair in a short boy cut. She’s got a great sense of humor, but can easily explode on you when angered. Don’t get on her bad side! A film fanatic, she utters lines from the classics with ease, especially anything that Brando or Bogey have done.

ROBYN-AFRICAN AMERICAN
[TO PLAY 14-16]
Zemira’s best and only friend, Robyn is a wild and crazy girl that Zemira befriends their first week of high school. An only child, Robyn is spoiled rotten by her mother who works two jobs just to support them. Extremely proud of her expensive name brand clothes and gold jewelry, she’s a very thin girl who upon first look one would think she spends all her food money on fly gear. But even with her loud, crass and often obnoxious ways, Robyn’s a sweetheart who tends to have people’s best interest in heart, although mostly when it’s lockstep with hers, and usually has Zemira’s back.

Ironically, around adults Robyn is well-mannered and respectful. Highly sexually active – she lost her virginity at age 12 – Robyn always has a boyfriend and stays flirting with any cute boy in her immediate vicinity. She never talks about her dad, or about her brother who died when she was seven years old.

Keep on truckin'...!

Hey everyone.

It's been some time since we've posted to the blog, but that's only because we've been ultra-busy since last month's fundraiser.

We've garnered a bunch of support since the fundraiser which helped open the eyes of a lot of our supporters to the precise vision for ZEMIRA. Truth be told, we haven't even followed up on all of our leads since then, but things are moving along quite swimmingly. Things aren't perfect yet, there's been some roadblocks here and there, but the film is coming into alignment...we just have to maintain our momentum and keep it flowing.

Our aim is to start casting real soon. There are some great actors we worked with last year during a script reading that was organized through ActNow Foundation, so we have to get back in touch with them as well as find others to audition for the film. I saw one of them perform this past weekend, and he's gotten even more amazing with his talent. There's so much fantastic talent out there and we're looking forward to meeting and hopefully working with them. Undoubtedly, the hardest part to cast will be our lead, Zemira. But hopefully we'll get some help on that front (crossing our fingers for good luck, more on that to come if it manifests postively).

Feel free to contact us at info@zemirathefilm.com if you don't hear from us because we still need all your support and well wishes (And financial contributions.... putting together a film ain't cheap!).

Thanks for reading. Speak to you all again soon!

Curtis Caesar John
Director/Producer/co-Writer, ZEMIRA

1st ZEMIRA fundraiser an outstanding success!

Last Wednesday’s fundraiser for ZEMIRA was a huge success. Yes, Team Zemira got some great donations for the film (thanks again!) as our audience was entertained by our incredible talent:

You can find out more about our benefit’s headliner, Jesse Boykins III at ww.thebeautycreated.com. This young brother had all the ladies in the room smiling, nodding their heads and caught up in the rapture of his music; all the fellahs thought the brother was good too. Talented is too stilted of a word to describe Jesse’s music, so just go to his ‘site and both listen to snippets AND buy his music so that two years from now when this brother is accepting huge awards, you can exclaim to your friends, “I’ve been a fan of Jesse’s for years! Where’ve you been?!?”

Our opening musical act, the ubër-talented hip-hop artist SoSoon - the truest Hip Hop representative of the working & thinking man/woman brought a wonderfully gritty sensitivity to our benefit. Go to www.sosoonmusic.com to hear his music (‘Underclass’ is a personal fave) and see more about who SoSoon is. His music is what ZEMIRA is all about.

The national exploits of renown poet Delana R.A. Dameron can be found at her website: delanadameron.com and at a bookstore near you with How God Ends Us, selected by Elizabeth Alexander as the fourth annual winner of the South Carolina Poetry Book Prize.

You may have missed her performance at our benefit, but feel free to watch one of the tightest young poets on the scene, Kayan Ali James here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUUUE3MZol0) for just a taste of how she flows.

We may have been up in the Bronx, but my man WordSmith Jones killed it our June 17^th benefit Brooklyn style! You can both hear & purchase a CD of his soul-discovering poetry at www.reverbnation.com/wordsmithjones

Not only did she stand out at the literary arts movement for teens UrbanWord NYC

(www.urbanwordnyc.org), but as a finalist at the 2009 NY Knicks Poetry Slam, the (only!) 17 year old Thiahera Nurse ripped it(!) at our benefit. We’re so thankful that she got to represent a key demographic we’re approaching for this movie and she’s a prime example of what guidance and self-awareness can do for a young person from the ‘hood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz9LAEK6bw0

My partner Mecca’s old friend, and now one of my new favorite poets, Timothy

“Prolific” Jones can be found at www.AndreMauricePress.com, of which he is both founder and CEO. André Maurice Press is an outlet for the published voices of the hip-hop generation and is dedicated to cultivating talent, and providing writers with a means through which to transform their expression into a vehicle for economic empowerment. Being creative and getting paid for that talent – now that’s what’s up.

The smooth yet powerful poetic musings of Charan P a mainstay on Prolific’s Indelible performers/writers crew, flowed sweetly for us as well. A poet/performer/educator transplanted from Chicago to New York, her work uncovers the stigma and effects of racism on modern society. Check her out here in NYC, and in Philly and DC as well. Charan P. is in high demand.

And of course we can't forget to mention my man DJ Prototype who keep the audience both entertained with hot beats, head bopping music and even mad funny sound effects throughout the entire night. You can catch up to him on his blog at: http://thedjprototype.wordpress.com/ where he displays his mindset, critical thoughts on Hip-Hop, and other artistic endeavors.

THANK YOU once again to all of our talented musicians and poets for helping make this fundraiser a big success!

Curtis Caesar John

Co-Writer/Producer/Director - ZEMIRA

An Investment On the Future

We Are All Made of Stars

As I've been busying myself with the planning of the fundraiser, building the film's network of supporters, and making my rounds to a number of events across the city, I've had some time to think about ZEMIRA in its entirety and just how far and wide this here net casts.

See, most folks who are familiar with our mission think that our main objective is to raise funds for the film, shoot the film, and screen it in as many venues as possible. Well, what Curt and I have realized is that the completion and screening of the film is just part of the story. There's a residual effect taking place here and we're excited about the possibilities. We're actually building a community.

We have discovered that the goal of our film is not only to address the challenges of black female youth, but it is to also forge relationships. Not only do we want to build with the young women and men that ZEMIRA is aimed toward, but we also want to build with our fellow artists and creative minds--the people who challenge the status quo, those responsible for revolution. Folks, we want to build with you.

Since the production of our film is still in its early stages that means we want to connect with the actors and the actresses, we want to meet sound techs and cinematographers, the make-up artists and wardrobe managers, the marketing teams and musicians (we do need a soundtrack). We want the go-getters and the passionate--we want you, you and you too. We want to help you build those portfolios people! This movement is all encompassing.

So, if any of you reading this entry fit any of the descriptions as noted above, send us an email at curtis-and-mecca@zemirathefilm.com and let us know what you'd like to do. Also make sure to stop by our event on the 17th to catch a further glimpse of our vision. (To the artists and wonderful people who've been with us thus far-- thank you!)

Let's come together. No one can stop us now.

It's all coming together...!

As Mecca said, we're hard at work with the fundraiser and with pulling together elements for the feature film including crew members, cast, and investors, to name a few. I never knew I could function so well on 4 hours sleep (at least for 6 days out of the week!). But there's been a great synergy occuring that lets us know that this venture is going to be successful.

That in mind, I just wanted to take a few minutes to give you all a sneak peek of the promotional trailer that we'll show at our first June fundraiser. These are of Zemira's parents - Darryl and Jeanette, played very admirably and professionally by Lionel Linton and Dimequia Leshell. Let us know what you think!

- Curtis Caesar John

More Good News

While everyone has been out and about, enjoying the summer-like weather, I have been holed away inside my apartment (well, except for when I had to shuttle my daughter to and from the Harlem School of the Arts, but that was like 3 hours tops...sheesh) bouncing back and forth between my computer and BlackBerry (and four loads of laundry) accomplishing even greater feats of magic...I just got word that not one, but two more well-known and respected artists have agreed to connect themselves to this amazing movement/event. I can't divulge any further details (booooooooo, I know) but as I've previously mentioned, our fundraiser event is shaping up to be something wonderful and I can't wait for you all to see the treats we have in store!

Love,
Mecca