Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lioness TeLaine. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lioness, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on thus far is my independent sci-fi film Dynasty The Movie, starring the American renowned rapper Lil Flip. It’s a 90-minute science fiction film and is the first installment of the franchise and is also my directorial debut. I executive produced, directed, wrote, and starred in this action-packed film and it’s by far the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done for myself and in my career.

I’ve also recently released my poetry album titled, “Colouring Outside The Matrix” on July 7th, 2023 on all platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple music. It’s 11 tracks total and is a complete vibe. The album is composed of melodic beats with a great delivery of uplifting and thought-provoking lyrics. It even includes a track titled Dynasty The Poem inspired by the film.

These projects are projects I’ve put my all into as an artist and professional and love to see the world receive them in a great light.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started in acting as a theater major at an arts high school. While attending the school, I was able to travel to the United Kingdom to perform in a theatrical production. From then on, I attended college in Chicago and majored in film production.

Once I relocated to Dallas, Texas, I got immersed into so many other media outlets such as radio, videography, photography, and marketing. Being active in so many different industries, allowed me to build a brand, reputation, foundation, and relationships to leverage and elevate myself and my career.

In 2017, I met the photographer for a major independent film, titled “The Carter High”, starring Vivica A Fox and Pooch Hall. Later that year, I starred in my first indie film, Quintessential The Movie, and 2 others following titled “The Devils Ring” and Texas Kill City.”

Working on set amongst other professional creatives, learning the craft along with technical knowledge and experience from school and the other industries I worked in, gave me great insight and power to step out and create my own film!

When starting out, I just had a concept. The sci-fi film I wrote actually started out as a poem titled, “Dynasty.” With such strong, powerful, thought-provoking, and dynamic lyrics, I knew I wanted creative visuals. I wanted to create an abstract music video for the poem. After consulting with a few industry peers, the poem turned into a short film and from a short film to a full-feature film.

I am most proud of being able to complete my vision from start to finish because it was not easy.

I took my concept to a few local independent studios who rejected the project because
the budget was too low.” My producer Ralph Celestin is the one who picked up the project, located on the east coast in Boston, Massachusetts.

Overcoming so many obstacles before, during, and after the creation of this film has been most rewarding to me. The endurance, patience, grace, discipline, strength, and resilience I and my team have had is what I am most proud of. I am so thankful for the relationships and team I had the pleasure of working with throughout the process. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to assist me with seeing this all the way to the end.

I’m also proud of trusting the process and trusting myself through the no’s, the highs, and the lows and for stepping out of the box. Science fiction, I’d admit was very ambitious as a first film, but it has been the one thing that made the project stand completely out.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In my view, society is improving greatly with how they support artists. The more we progress as entrepreneurs, we grow increasingly in artistry. There are more independent films, musicians, music artists, business owners, fashion designers, and influencers than ever before. This is a great time to be an artist because the more we evolve in technology, digitally, and in other ways, we require more creatives. I do believe we still have a ways to go but I do appreciate where we are and where we’re headed.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I think a good resource to have known about was crowdfunding. There are so many projects large or small that I could have possibly funded had I had knowledge of the platform and its benefits. You live and you learn and I would encourage others to try it and see how it works out for their future projects.   

Contact Info:

• Website: LionessTeLaine.com
• Instagram: @LionessTeLaine
• Twitter: @LionessTeLaine
• Youtube: @DynastyTheMovie
• Other: linktr.ee/lionesstelaine

Image Credits
Joanna Dutches Williams TeLaine Studios 7