Nicole Giles is the Director of Marketing and Multicultural Affairs for the Greater Philadelphia Film Office (GPFO). Her predecessor, Chris Brooks, whom she met while conducting research for an unrealized film vendor expo, recruited her to work for the organization. Originally from Houston, Nicole says she had been “silently stalking” GPFO upon moving to Philadelphia from Los Angeles in 2001. After that chance meeting with Chris, she then met GPFO founder and executive director Sharon Pinkenson, and in less than a week she’d been hired.

Nicole works tirelessly for the Film Office - organizing events, marketing the city to production companies, launching advocacy campaigns and developing emerging filmmaker programs.

Q&A With Nicole Giles

I sat down with Nicole and asked her to fill me in on life at the Film Office and her vision for the future:
 

Maori: What are your plans for this year and beyond?

Nicole: We are moving with trends and technology and are retiring our printed Film and Video Production Guide. We are launching a new online interface for filmmakers and film fans. Through Greater Philadelphia Filmmakers, we will be rolling out more panels and workshops focusing on various business topics related to filmmaking.  As always, our mission is to create jobs for industry locals who want to live, work, learn and play here. My goal remains to encourage more people of color to get involved—as film vendors, in particular.

Maori: What should filmmakers know about GPFO that they don’t already know?

Nicole: I think filmmakers underestimate the extent to which we can help them prepare to apply for the Film Tax Credit. Who wouldn’t want 25% of their production budget credited back in the form of a tax credit that can be applied to your own tax liability or sold?
 

Maori: What are some of your goals for the multicultural filmmaker in Philadelphia?

Nicole: To help them think more about the business of filmmaking in this region.  Of course everyone wants to be the star, but sometimes it’s worth your while to consider the option of opening a lighting rental or audio production company while you explore your passion of directing.
 

Maori: What is your take on the pulse of the Philadelphia film and television community at the moment?

Nicole: It’s very exciting. We have talent from around the world working at local production companies, producing innovative content for television and special effects in post-production for features; plus, there are countless projects being produced for the web.

Maori: Where is your favorite place to catch a film in Philadelphia? Any particular screening series or venues or festivals come to mind?

Nicole: I love the Ritz Theaters in Old City. This past summer The Awesome Fest was a big hit. I moderated a panel for the screening of the Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975—it was dope! I also think the Headhouse District’s Annual Summer Indie Film Series was refreshing.
 

Maori: What’s been a shining moment for GPFO and the multicultural initiative thus far?

Nicole: Hosting the Filmmakers Lounge at the American Black Film Festival in 2008 was a highlight. I was able to raise the money for the sponsorship (thanks to State Rep. Tony Payton, Jr. and Jovan Goldstein) and I was happy that Philly was able to show love to filmmakers of color. Commitment to diversity and hiring people of color for a crew, etc., really has to be a top-down strategy. We saw this with Tanya Hamilton during the filming of Night Catches Us. We need more of this.

Maori: What are some upcoming projects or initiatives for the Film Office?

Nicole:  A few other major productions, which I cannot yet mention officially, are coming. TV production has really picked up in the region. There also seems to be quite an appetite for music videos here. Several hip-hop artists have been here recently; perhaps we’ll see more.

Insider Tip: Nicole is interested in being of service to the film community in the city! If you’re a still photographer, insurance broker, audio engineer, accountant, costume designer, art director, etc., contact her so you get listed in the GPFO directory.  Call 215-686-2668 or email .

For Valentine’s Day, I’m hoping you’ll join me in supporting an independent film made by local filmmakers. Exit Strategy is a romantic screwball comedy in the tradition of Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller, is a perfect date film.

Exit Strategy is a comedy about a relationship gone terribly wrong. James (Jameel Saleem, who wrote the script) gets evicted from his apartment and moves in with his girlfriend of three months Kim (Kimelia Weathers) and quickly discovers she's everything he never wanted in a woman. He enlists his best friend Carville (Quincy “QDeezy” Harris) and strangers, including Kevin Hart in a memorable cameo, to help him devise a way to get out of his relationship. However Kim is budging—breaking up just isn’t an option.

Philadelphia natives QDeezy (on-air personality at 107.9) and Saleem teamed up with executive producer Big Boy and first-time director Michael Whitton to produce the film on a shoestring budget of $100,000.

Insider Tip: Win a free pair of tickets to the opening and the exclusive after party on Twitter @philly360!

I sat down with QDeezy for an exclusive interview last week to discuss filmmaking in Philadelphia.

QDeezy Q&A

Maori: How did you get involved with the project?

QDeezy: Jameel and I had mutual friends and met five years ago. I’d already seen some of his Exit Strategy webisodes online and then ran into him in LA on a video set. We continued doing web skits and then I funded his first film, Let Go. Later on, he gave me the screenplay for Exit Strategy and I believed in it from the first day. I thought it was amazing and I said, “Dude, we have to make this film.”

Maori: How did you get the project started?

QDeezy: I was talking to my boss at the time, Big Boy, about making some projects outside of radio. I told him I had a script that I wanted to make a movie. I gave him the starting budget and he cut me a check. It was really that simple. I really appreciate him believing in my ability to make it happen.

Maori: Why this kind of movie—is it a new genre? What was your vision?

QDeezy: My vision was to make an urban movie that appealed to the mainstream. I feel like it is a new genre, we are broadening the depiction of blacks in films.

Maori: What was it like making Exit Strategy?

QDeezy: It was a fun adventure. This being my first film, I learned so much in a short period of time.

Maori: Do you have a story from set you remember that may be funny or interesting?

QDeezy: The day we had Kevin Hart on set was pretty memorable. We didn't have much time to shoot because Kevin was only in town for the day. He called my phone and said, “I have 20 minutes before I pick my kids up from school, let's do it!” On set it became Operation Kevin Hart, we rushed to get the shot set up. Two minutes later Kevin Hart walks in, he did his scene in 2 takes. He has been very supportive of Exit Strategy from day one. I really appreciate his friendship

Maori: Why is the premiere of the movie happening in Philadelphia?

QDeezy: This is home for me, and my radio station Hot 107.9 and Radio One are behind the movie 100 percent.

Maori: What project(s) do you have coming up next?

QDeezy: We are working on shooting another urban comedy about a married guy based in Philadelphia later this year. I’m working closely with the film office (Greater Philadelphia Film Office) and everything will be publicized later.

Exit Strategy opens February 10 in an exclusive engagement at:

AMC Franklin Mills

1149 Franklin Mills Circle

Philadelphia, PA 19154

AMC Loews Cherry Hill

2121 Route 38

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
 

Dee Rees initially wrote Pariah as a feature script to work through her own coming-out process. Hailing from Nashville, she’d been living in New York and wrote the script during lunch breaks while interning on Spike Lee’s Inside Man. She shot a short version as her thesis project for NYU’s graduate film program, which did very well on the festival circuit. Rees was later invited to participate in both the Screenwriter’s and Director’s labs at Sundance where she work-shopped the script and began the plans to shoot the feature. Next up for Rees is a thriller called Bolo and a scripted series for HBO. We’re looking forward to more amazing work from this talented artist!

Maori: How did you come up with the title for the film?

Dee: Each of the main characters is a “pariah.” They all have their fears, desires, strengths and weaknesses, and isolations. One thing I worked on in the writing was showing the characters’ struggles to connect, and their worlds away from their families – where there are attitudes and expectations that they might not know how to handle.

Maori: Is the protagonist Alike’s story at all in line with your own coming-out story?
 

Dee: It’s semi-autobiographical. As I was coming into my sexuality, I started to become comfortable with who I was. But I didn’t know how to express that. Alike struggles in the same way. It seemed like you had to check a box—butch or femme. And I’m neither one of those things. I finally came to the conclusion that I don’t have to put on any personae; I can just continue to be who I am. And that’s what Alike comes to realize in her journey.

Maori: How different is Alike than a 17-year-old Dee?

Dee: Alike knows who she is. She’s assured about her sexuality even though she doesn’t know how to consummate it. She has this friend that is pulling her in one direction and her mother in another, and she’s caught in a tug-of-war and comes to realize that ultimately she can be who she is on her own. We are similar in that I liked poetry and was always a writer. As Alike discovers herself as a woman she also discovers herself as an artist, which I relate to.

Maori: Why did you decide to set the film in Brooklyn versus where you grew up in Nashville?
 

Dee: I set in it Brooklyn because I’d seen out and proud teenagers who were unafraid to be themselves, whereas I came out at 27 and struggled. Brooklyn provided a world where these girls could be themselves. This isn’t a story that could be set in the South. These clubs wouldn’t have existed.

Maori: Have your parents seen the film? What do they think?
 

Dee: They saw it in New York a month ago and their reaction was amazing. They told me they were proud of me and that they loved me. I hope that other people’s parents see the film. When I first came out to my parents they weren’t very accepting, and for them to now accept me and see this film—I never thought I would change their minds.

Maori: You earned a graduate business degree before going to film school—do you have any words of advice for folks who maybe think it’s too late to follow their dreams?
 

Dee: I got an MBA because I didn’t think it would be practical for me to be a writer, and I did what was expected of me. I thought I could write on the side. In my career, I wasn’t doing the creative things that I wanted to do. I wasn’t happy. Once I went to film school I was happy. I was fulfilled. Life is too short to not do what you were meant to do. I think that to the extent that you can, you have to make what you live for what you do. It’s never too late to start.

Maori: What’s your opinion regarding comparisons of Pariah to Precious?

Dee: I don’t really have an opinion. I think the films are compared because they are black films. But they are completely different experiences. Both stories are needed. They provide different voices and opinions. Mainstream films don’t get compared to each other. They are individual pieces of art. We should let both of these films exist on their own merits.

 

Maori: A lot of people are saying that you’ve made one of the most important films for LGBTQ folks of color—at least in this century—how does that feel? What kind of films do you want to be known for?

Dee: We just wanted to tell a story that meant something and would touch people. It feels good that it feels authentic and affirming and that it has been embraced by the community and outside of the community. I want to be known as a filmmaker that tells stories we don’t always see and that are interesting. I want to create stories that live in people’s minds and inspire them to look at themselves differently.

Maori: What do you hope Pariah accomplishes overall?

Dee: I think questioning and affirming your identity is a universal theme, and I hope that Pariah changes people’s minds and helps them to know that it is okay to be themselves no matter where you are coming from. There doesn’t have to be a binary presentation of gender. It is okay to not succumb to peer pressure. It is okay not to check any box and instead exist somewhere on the spectrum. I hope that the film causes some healing within families that are broken and that it heals hearts.

Pariah is now in theaters! Check it out here:

Landmark Theatres

Ritz at the Bourse

400 Ranstead Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

By now you’ve more than likely heard about the narrative feature film directed by NYU grad Dee Rees—Pariah. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival last January, has since received much deserved critical acclaim for its sensitive and emotionally-gripping portrayal of protagonist Alike’s coming-of-age and –out as a queer teen.

Set in Brooklyn, Pariah tells the story of a 17-year-old girl preoccupied with poetry and searching for romantic love. As she begins to embrace her sexuality and commence that awkward crawl towards adulthood, Alike battles her conventional parents and more flamboyant peers, all the while managing to continually progress toward a graceful freedom that she can call her own.

This film is not a tragic tale, and contrary to a few mentions in the urban blogosphere—it is not “Precious 2.0.” Pariah is lovingly and masterfully crafted. Rees has surrounded herself with a team of über-talented filmmakers including executive producer Spike Lee, cinematographer Bradford Young (who received an award at Sundance for his work on the film), producer Nekisa Cooper and actors Adepero Oduye (Alike), Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell among others—the entire cast is stellar.

The characters are all three-dimensional and smash open stereotypes. It’s not easy to love or hate any character outright. The costumes are seamless and the art direction is subtle and captivating. Cinematographer Young recently gave an interview in Shadow & Act where he discussed the visual aesthetic of the film and the importance of discovering new ways to present black bodies at their most beautiful. The overall effect of the film is not one that is overwrought, but rather has a fine sense of balance.

In our jaded times, Rees has managed to construct a story that hasn’t yet been told in this manner, that pulls on our hearts in all the right ways and encourages us to love ourselves (and our families)—whole.

Insider tip: There will be a special tastemakers screening on Wednesday, January 11 at 7:30pm at the Ritz East (125 S. 2nd Street). Philly 360° has a few tickets available! Follow Philly 360° on Twitter for a chance to win.

Pariah opens in Philadelphia on Friday January 13

Landmark Theatres: Ritz At The Bourse 5

400 Ranstead Street (Old City)

Philadelphia, PA 19106