AFRICAN | AMERICAN
Chisom Chieke
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LOGLINE
Romantic Comedy Short Film
As cultures clash and insufferable parents meddle, a first generation Nigerian American and her Black southerner fiancee must decide between being true to themselves or trying to live up to their families expectation…a risk to their happily ever after.
SYNOPSIS
African|American follows Ada and Trey, a couple navigating the challenges of their relationship while balancing personal ambitions and family pressures. Ada, a former medical student turned artist, plans to surprise Trey with homemade jollof as a gesture of gratitude for his support. At the same time, Trey sets out to lift Ada’s spirits by picking up her favorite soul food. While cooking, Ada faces criticism from her father about her relationship, and Trey receives similar disapproval from his grandmother. When they come together that evening, they’re both surprised by each other's gesture through their respective cultural dish. In the end, they choose to blend the two meals, symbolizing the fusion of their cultures and the triumph of love over differences.
Writer & Director Statement
As a Nigerian-American creative, I’ve had an interesting experience, navigating various intersections of my Black existence. Through this journey, I’ve grown privy to the dichotomies of Blackness that exist across borders. I honor these differences in my everyday life as an American, privileged to reflect on my multicultural experience, while finding gratitude in the journeys that my ancestors took to bring me here, where I’ve discovered the power of our collective voices, our collective stories.
Time has taught me that my life’s work is to help uplift these collective stories, especially the ones that live within me. I am fueled by these stories. I cannot shake these stories. I am deeply inspired by these stories.
Consequently, I live in my vocation as a multimedia artist who writes, directs, and produces work that explore the past, present, and future of radical love, acceptance, and growth across diasporic communities. In a time where many of us are searching for belonging, I am hopeful that these stories will support and strengthen our connection between one another.
I'm so excited to embark on this journey and hope to get your support in actualizing this vision.
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LOOKBOOK
Chisom Chieke. Writer & Director
Chisom Chieke is a Nigerian-American multimedia artist and second-generation storyteller with a lifelong passion for narrative. She writes, directs, and produces works that examine the past, present, and future of radical love, acceptance, and growth across diasporic communities. Chisom is a 2nd Rounder for Sundance’s TV Development Track, Official Selection for: The United We Heal Film Festival, OMWAN'EKHUI Film Program, and Stowe Story Labs. Chisom is a SuperSpecial Writers’ Fellow and a 2025 BlackStar Director’s Lab Fellow. She is also a proud member/alumna of Insecure EP, Amy Aniobi’s, 2021 TRIBE Mentorship Program. Chisom is currently free-lance producing in Philadelphia, PA. As a first-generation Nigerian American who ventures a less traditional path, Chisom looks forward to bringing this story to life as writer/director of African | American.
Justin A. Whitaker. Producer
Justice A. Whitaker is a Writer/Director/Producer focused on illuminating stories from around the globe through his work. A member of the WGA, he has written for Sesame Street and Moonbug Entertainment. He directed the hour long documentary “Milestone Generations” (HBO MAX) in conjunction with Ally and DC, a film that examines the 30 year history of Milestone Comics. He is currently co-directing a documentary film about the Full Circle Expedition, the first all Black expedition to summit Mt. Everest, co-produced with Westbrook Studios and REI Studios. Justice is committed to telling stories of the global African Diaspora and has written multiple features and TV Pilots exploring the Black experience in America. Justice is also a professor of Non-Fiction Storytelling, Narrative Screenwriting and Professional Practices at Pratt University’s Film School in Brooklyn. Justice is represented by Cinetic Media.
Yasmine Carruthers. Producer
Raised in South Jersey, Yasmine (Yaz) has worked as a film producer, event producer and production coordinator for organizations such as BlackStar Film Festival, Comcast Corporation and All Ages Productions - where she currently is producing full time. As a producer and aspiring screenwriter, she has a passion for storytelling in a way that draws others to compassion, love, faith and a call to dig deeper. She recognizes that there are many roadblocks to healing, especially for Black and Brown people, and believes television and film is a way to create real internal/external change.
Stowe Story Labs alumni can initiate an application for fiscal agency here.
