We recently connected with Neriah Kharece and have shared our conversation below.

Neriah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

In my years of working in this industry what I have realized is the number one thing that I do when I work with other fellow filmmakers is resourcing things for people and connecting them to other artist that can help. This was something that became a unique selling point as everyone always shared with me how rare it was to get that much help and assistance from their DP. Kharece productions is all about helping up and coming artist. Its really important to me and is embedded in our mission, vision and value statements. Serving the underserved is our number one mission!

Neriah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

If you have a movie script but have no idea how to bring it to life? If you are frustrated due to a lack of resources, opportunities, and connections, Kharece productions are here for you! Here you will find top-notch industry-level cinematography and industry-standard equipment at your disposal! We’ll also assist you with all parts of the production process. You will have support, counsel, and guidance along the way. Working with us, we guarantee satisfaction. We work exceptionally hard to help the no-budget and micro-budget aspiring filmmakers that don’t have access to an abundance of funds, assets, and top-level producers. It would be our pleasure to be a part of YOUR story! We believe knowledge is power, and we strive to give as much power to BIPOC artists as we can! We believe in quality over quantity always! We embrace failure and mistakes because we understand it leads us one step closer to our success! We believe we are lifetime students, knowing that learning is never done! We believe that life on set should NEVER be toxic and stressful. It’s genuinely uncalled for! Here, you are always seen as a human first! We are resourceful! $Millions are not needed to SPEAK to millions. We STRONGLY believe that there is no “Hierarchy.” We know and understand that we are NOTHING without each other! Every role on a set is intricate and necessary for the process. We are growth and detail oriented. We are compassionate, empathetic, and considerate. We will always give BIPOC artists something the industry never does…OPPORTUNITY! Opportunity to be seen, heard, loved, and respected! Our vision is to empower ambitious artists with the knowledge and resources to exceed their creative goals and give life to their unique stories.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

So the same week I graduated, a company called me for an interview. And by the end of the interview, I was signing a contract to start on Monday. I couldn’t believe I would be working a full-time salary job with benefits at an ad agency, shooting and editing all of their content! I was so excited. How many people get hired the same week they graduate to work at 18 years old, making 40K a year doing what they went to school for. I cried; for the first time, I was so proud of myself and to see that somebody out there believed in me and my work!

Life was good; I had a great job, great friends, a great apartment, had my car, and was paying my bills, being very independent and proud of that! But unfortunately, the bliss didn’t last long. I noticed that co-workers at the company did not want me there, and I couldn’t understand why. One older white woman, in particular, made it her mission to run and tell the boss any little thing she saw me do. I eventually felt very attacked and unwelcomed at this company. I was only the second black girl in the whole building, so maybe that had something to do with it, I don’t know. After six months of working there, I got pregnant with my daughter, which only made me an even bigger target. Everyone started judging me and treating me like an outcast. I was 19, and they were all in their mid 30’s and higher, so I think they didn’t think I belonged there. But unfortunately, after a year of working with them, after returning from my maternity leave, they laid me off A MONTH AFTER HAVING MY DAUGHTER! I was shocked and felt like it was all apart of the plan to get rid of me the whole time. So now what am I going to do? I have all these bills to pay and a daughter to take care of with no income. Things quickly went downhill. I stayed unemployed for a whole year and a half. I lost my apartment and my car and barely could afford to buy food; it was horrible. I applied for many jobs and didn’t get called back for anything. But one day, something unique happened.

A recruiter left a voicemail and asked me to call her back, and she told me they needed a video producer and editor to start work immediately, and I said yes before she could even finish telling me the details of the job! I applied to so many jobs, and the job I got happens to be one I didn’t even apply for. Finally, the drought was over, and I was going to be able to get back on my feet and move out of my mom’s place and provide for myself and my daughter. The job was fantastic the people were terrific! But even though it was a great job with great people, it was not feeding my artistic soul. I had to ask myself if this was what I wanted to do because I was starting to fill miserable. So when I turned 22, I made a plan. I said I’m giving myself six months to save up as much money as possible, and then I’m going to move to Atlanta and chase my dream with no hesitation. So my friend and I, who helped me move, packed up a U-Haul and drove from Texas to Atlanta. I got my LLC and started pursuing this head-on.

It was a risk, yes, but it was worth it. I have done so much since I moved to Atlanta. I’ve gotten to shoot for celebrities and work with great people in the film industry. Georgians are so nice! They have welcomed me and helped me when I needed it, and given me direction and connections; I am learning and growing more every day. I am thankful for the struggle I went through because it made me fearless and strong I didn’t think I would make it through all of that when I lost my job, but when I did survive, I was like, okay, I got through that so NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW! The moral of the story is just bet on yourself and say fuck it, pick up a camera and call yourself a filmmaker and go for it! It worked out pretty well for me!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The number one thing that comes to mind is college. They give the impression that skill alone and talent will take you far. I came to learn this isn’t true. I have had to unlearn that it’s not about quanity or working none stop, and if you work long enough and hard enough, you will get to where you are going. I worked for free and worked 12-17 hour days. I filmed so many shorts and commercials and music videos etc. And I did that for a good 4-5 years. I realized I was getting nowhere. I discovered it’s all about who you know and not what you know AT ALL! I got two film degrees and came to learn that means nothing. No one cares what school I attended. I have never been asked about my education. I have seen people who never spent one second in a film school and are way further in their careers. I asked myself for so long, what am I doing wrong? I’m working so hard and not seeing the results of that?

The final revelation I had was this. I am an introvert. I am not networking and making long-lasting impressions and connections. When I am in the room, I’m a wallflower 100 percent. This business runs off of friendships and relationships. Everyone is simply doing each other favors, leveling up, and bringing their friends along (regardless of credibility or talent). So having to unlearn how to be introverted was hard. Still, I am much better at talking with people now. Unlearning the mentality that I have to shoot a film every week and mass produce projects to get somewhere. I now know it’s about quality, not quantity. That was a huge learning curve for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.khareceproductions.com
• Instagram: @kharece_productions
• Facebook: Kharece Productions LLC
• Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6779375/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Image Credits
Neriah Kharece , Mr Wes, Irina Hall, Kara Monroe