Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sharee Silerio. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sharee, thanks for joining us today. 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 so far has been my short documentary, titled “Black Girl, Bleu”. This film was born from my personal challenges with mental health, as I’ve lived with some measure of anxiety or depression since I was a child and have experienced grief throughout my life.
Mental illness runs in my family on both sides, but it was never talked about. Through the silence, I learned that something being “off” should be swept under the rug. As an adult, though, I learned how damaging this mindset and way of operating could be.
After the unexpected passing of my favorite uncle in 2016, I knew that I wanted to be “okay”, and that always meant I was able to go to work, do well in school, and accomplish my goals. So, to cope, I put my “Strong Black Woman” mask on and filled every waking hour I had with something to do. This time, that was a couple part-time jobs, producing a web series, attending a film training program, and more.
A year later, though, all the emotions I had buried beneath keeping myself busy began to make me sick. I found myself overwhelmed with sorrow, lost, and depressed. A conversation with a friend where I was told “No one has a reason to be depressed” and “You’re ungrateful for being depressed” left me feeling even more alone, misunderstood, and hopeless.
I knew that I couldn’t be the only Black woman trying to be strong, dealing with mental health challenges and feeling shame because of them, so I created a safe space, through my documentary, for Black women to share their truth.
Hearing the women featured in the film share their raw, honest experiences and emotions has encouraged me to do the same in therapy, take medication to treat my conditions, as well as cultivate the courage I’ve needed to tell my story and live free despite the challenges of mental health stigma.
Sharee, 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?
From documentaries to digital series’ and narrative films, my mission is to use intimate and authentic storytelling to explore the depth, reality, gifts, magic, and beauty of being Black. My dream is to continue telling stories that move audiences to confront biases, cultivate empathy, and encourage vulnerability.
I tell coming-of-age, self-discovery, and real-life stories where Black women and girls exist as full human beings on screen and feel seen, heard, loved, and affirmed beyond the screen.
My desire to make sure Black women and girls feel accepted and valued through my work comes from my personal experiences moving to a predominately white neighborhood after living in a predominately Black neighborhood.
One day, when I was a child, I sat on my parents’ bed, with my eyes closed, reveling in the warmth of the sun’s rays shining on my face. In that picture perfect moment, I was also praying to God, begging for my skin to miraculously become lighter. When I woke up the next morning and looked in the mirror, a knot of anxiety grew in the pit of my belly. I had to survive another day as me.
It didn’t help that a white classmate told me “You’re ugly because you’re black”, or that the kids who looked like me called my “burnt”, “crispy”, and “ugly” among other things. Unfortunately, I received everything everyone said about me as truth, so to protect myself, I withdrew from those around me. Thankfully, I had an outlet.
Watching movies, music videos, and sitcoms became my refuge. Expressing myself through poetry; videotaping myself lip syncing and dancing to my favorite music; reciting monologues on the family camcorder; and recording my sister act out scenes of a horror film I wrote allowed me to be and see myself.
Now, film and television are the outlets through which I express all the things I needed to say but felt like I couldn’t. And my mission is for each of my projects to offer the same for Black women and girls.
When I was in undergrad at St. Louis University, I was the first Black reporter and anchor for the campus TV news program, and my interests in writing and film merged when I took film classes and wrote my first screenplay. After Graduate school, I became an intern at STL TV, where I was quickly promoted to a producer and helped write and launch an entertainment news show.
A few years later, I was selected out of over 100 applicants to participate in Continuity’s inaugural media training program, where I produced several three-to-four-minute short documentaries.
One of the short docs I created as a participant in the cohort – “The Mountains That Made Me” – was selected for the 18th Annual St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase plus invited to screen at the 27th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival as part of the Doc Shorts: Black Voices line up.
After graduating from Continuity’s program, I worked as a Production Assistant on projects such as “Rhythm and Flow” (Netflix), “The Disappearance of Phoenix Coldon” (Oxygen), “Hart of the City: St. Louis” (Comedy Central), “The Busch Family Brewed” (MTV) and more.
I am most proud of my first crew-produced, crowd-funded documentary, a short about mental health titled “Black Girl, Bleu”, was completed in 2020. It was selected to screen at film festivals across the U.S., including the African American Film Marketplace and S.E. Manly Short Film Showcase, the Denton Black Film Festival, The Micheaux Film Festival, the BronzeLens Film Festival, and the Imagine This Women’s International Film Festival.
“Black Girl, Bleu” has won multiple film festival awards, from Outstanding Special Programming (The Micheaux Film Festival) to Best Mental Health Promotion (Believe Psychology Film Festival), and an Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Short (St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase).
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Being Black, and a woman has been challenging for many reasons. For example, I’ve been in work environments where I’ve been expected to power through despite asking for help, supporting this idea that Black women are superhuman and can take a lot without assistance.
There have been times when the way I looked, such as wearing braids was frowned upon. One time, after I straightened my kinky curls, a director told me “I like your hair that way”. So, at times, simply showing up as who I am and was born to be can cause anxiety or frustration, but I choose to be who I am unapologetically, no matter what.
After graduating from Webster University, my student job with a government entity ended abruptly, so I ended up on unemployment. On one of my last days at work, a co-worker asked me what I was going to do next. I told her that I was going to pursue my dreams in film and television, and she angrily responded with “You’re too nice for that industry, they’re going to eat you alive. Don’t stay on unemployment too long.”
This caught me by surprise and cast a bit of doubt on my plan because for a minute, I wondered if she was right. It took a couple of years after this experience for me to get the nerve to move towards my plans, but I’m so happy I didn’t let her words ring true.
It’s been 10 years since that day, and now I’m working in the industry I love with an Academy-Award winning production company!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that I’m known for creating content that gets to the heart of the matter, moves audiences, and encourages people to view life from a different perspective.
Through writing, I pour my heart out by sharing my experiences with mental health, trauma, and faith along with wisdom I’ve gathered along the way.
I know exactly what sets me apart from others, and it’s the tender, heartfelt, authentic rawness of the stories I tell. I know exactly who I’m creating for – Black women and girls. I also know what I want them to see, know and believe to be true about themselves – past, present, and future, through my work.
What is most rewarding of all is when Black women tell me that what I create offers them healing, freedom and hope. It affirms that I’m on the right path and should keep following my heart when it comes to bringing stories to life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shareesilerio.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ShareeSilerio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShareeSilerio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shareesilerio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShareeSilerio
- Youtube: https://instagram.com/ShareeSilerio
- Other: https://blackgirlbleu.com/
Image Credits
Mena Darré | Brand Photographer + Strategist Chloe | BTS Photographer