home.girls
Our Proof-of-Concept FINALIST TDE script is being turned into a short film to be used as pitching for our hit TV series and you get to be a part of it! Before "Insecure", there was "Awkward Black Girl" and as Issa Rae says "network across". Although "home.girls" is not a TDE grant winner (for them/this time), 'a no is just a redirection' and we are already rocking and rolling!
This Black Caribbean girl from the Bronx, daughter of immigrants, a mom who is disabled from a stroke and hasn’t seen her rolling stone, and a formerly incarcerated dad in person since she was 10 years old is an Award-Winning filmmaker and Showrunner of home.girls. We put out a casting call that garnered 43,830 views through Jan 22 Productions and finding our people, satiating the void. My Award-Winning directorial debut Tongue In Cheek has toured all over the USA and is an Official Selection of over 16 film festivals. I self-invested 10K of my own money that I got from a Google commercial that I was the Hero on, my side jobs, and paying all of the cast & crew on time at a net 90 SAG rate.
I know how important Black women storytelling is to you. There is hole in the entertainment industry of medium to dark skin Black women who are able to wear their natural tightly coiled hair on TV & Film, name 5? We’re changing this together! I would be honored if you could please help us by coming on as an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER on home.girls in exchange for a $999 donation through our fundraiser. For those with a smaller financial contribution, still very much appreciated, you can come on as a CO-PRODUCER for $599 or an ASSOCIATE PRODUCER for $399. Donate whatever you're able to - we are raising at least 25K for our 2-day shoot! This would be the best holiday gift we could ask for. The old ways are done and as a marginalized actress who graduated from the elite Drama Programs at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and Syracuse University, creativity is a specialty. I have always figured it out, I just keep going, cry it out and put my big girl panties on.
I have credits on ABC, CBS, Netflix, and Peacock, to name a few. I have had national commercials with Colgate and Twisted Tea. This 5’4” adult orphan, is a thrive-er. I make things, I get things done! We are asking for donations so we can complete home.girls. Have you heard about the 300,000 Black women who lost their jobs, this year alone? If $999 or $599 digs too deep in your pockets, consider $100. You will have the option to be included in our quarterly meetings as we go through production with cast + crew. If you don’t want to be included, then you won’t, you set the rules for your position. You’ll be the first person to know when we get a digital deal and can negotiate how much you want to be involved going forward.
We are using SPOTFUND to transfer donations into our Jan 22 Productions registered LLC bank account. We’ll even have a basic contract for Executive Producers + Producers who come on board, so transparency is ensured. We are of course still applying to grants and guarantee that we will get home.girls filmed. Are you able to help us, if not, do you know someone in the industry that would be a great fit that you could please share/pass this along to? If you haven’t already, watch my Award-Winning Directorial Debut 'Tongue In Cheek' for FREE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il9H7a7OLlU
I promise to take up space, not your time! Have a beautiful day. You matter and belong here, in this world, during this exact time!
Thank you for caring,
Detailed Budget: 2-Day Rate For Short Film Shoot for home.girls by Tai Brown / UPDATED BUDGET is 30K to tell our story properly.
Director, Executive Producer, Writer and Star - $2.5K (Role filled)
Jan 22 Productions - $500 (Role Filled)
Producer - $1,000 (Role Filled)
Assistant Director - $700 (Role Filled)
Cinematographer - $1.2K (Role Filled)
Camera + Lighting Equipment - $3K
1st Assistant Camera - $800
2nd Assistant Camera/Loader - $650 + 100 for equipment
Camera Operator - $500
Gaffer - $800
Key Grip - $600
Best Boy/Person - $400
Sound - $600 (Role Filled)
Boom Operator - $500
Editor - $900 (Role Filled)
Coloring/Finish - $600
Composer - $500 (Role Filled)
Makeup - $600 (Role Filled)
Production Designer - $700
Insurance - $1K
Location - $3K
Food and Misc. - $1.5K
2nd Lead Actor - $500 (Role Filled)
3rd Lead Actor - $500 (Role Filled)
4th Lead Actor - $500 (Role Filled)
5th Lead Actor - $500 (Role Filled)
6th Lead Actor - $500 (Role Filled)
Other Actors + Extra (15 People for $100/1 Day) - $1.5K
Production Assistant/Photography - $500 (Role Filled)
Festival Submissions - $1.4K
Miscellaneous Expenses - 1.450K
Total Budget Needed for Film - $30K
*Actual photo of me as the only Black girl for my bid year in my PWI sorority.
*home.girls has 6 main female characters and 5 of them are of color - with 4 being Black.
Character Descriptions as it appears in the script -
VERONICA: white female, 20 y/o college sophomore, blonde long hair, extremely privileged, racist and won’t admit it, lazy, speaks before she thinks, and an opportunist.
BIBI: Dark skinned Black female, 19 y/o college freshman, 4c afro, spiritually connected, is challenged by the colonization & displacement of her people, able to stand up for herself, and best friends with Annikiya.
ESHE: Dark skinned African-American female, 20 y/o college sophomore, braids hairstyle, fashion major and always decked out head to toe, eclectic, generally unbothered, walks to the beat of her own drum. Eshe is sitting on the bottom of the couch cutting her nails.
JENNA: Medium toned, East Asian female, 20 y/o college sophomore, dark straight hair, grew up around a lot of white people, is challenged by what her identity is, always down for a good time, adventurous. Jenna eats chips and guac.
CAMILA: Black-Latina, 20 y/o college sophomore, fluent in Spanish, not the most comfortable with her Blackness, patriot, social climber and hides her true feelings often.
ANNIKIYA: Black 1st Gen Jamaican-American female, medium toned, 20 y/o college sophomore, natural tightly coiled hair, Pro-Black, quirky, charismatic, and leans on being one of the most attractive people in the room to navigate spaces. This role will be played by Tai Brown.
IMDB CREDITS:
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - $999 Donation
CO-PRODUCER - $599 Donation
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER - $399
Or how about a $5 donation? Thank you ♥️ .
CAST REVEAL: 10/20/25
TEAM REVEAL: 11/9/25
