Assistant Highlights - August 2024

By Regan Lavin, TV Lit Assistant at UTA and Artistic Curator for THA

The coolest assistant-run events we're attending this month...

SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT

by Nice Hog! Productions

Frankie Campisano, a Film & Television Coordinator at Luminate, is the face and co-founder of Nice Hog! Productions, a multidisciplinary creative collective. Their latest short film, SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT, is currently on its inaugural festival run.SMBP recently played at the Pack Theater for Pack Fest on Labor Day Weekend, and will play at AMC Burbank 16 on Wednesday, September 25th, 2024 as part of Burbank International Film Festival. Nice Hog! also hosts live comedy shows and produces web content to support their short films and projects in development.

An hypnotic, mixed-media triptych that's as much a condemnation of late stage capitalism as it is an elegy for lost childhood, SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT is an experimental comedy/horror short inspired by adult swim projects including MULCHTOWN, TOO MANY COOKS, and UNEDITED FOOTAGE OF A BEAR, among countless others. Originally developed as a pandemic passion project, SECRET MENU draws on my real life growing up in North Carolina, filtered through a funhouse mirror over and over again. Nice Hog! Productions would like to thank the Elon University Alumni Production Fund, whose support was instrumental to bringing my vision to life.

Click HERE for a link to get your tickets to the Burbank International Film Festival.

Burbank International Film Festival Screening

Wednesday, September 25th, 2024

6:30-8pm

AMC Burbank 16

125 E Palm Ave

Burbank, CA 91502

THE NEGRO OF THE ABYSS

by Noel Chingunji aka Nifty Noel

Noel Chingunji, aka Nifty Noel, was most recently a Creative Assistant in Adult Animation at Netflix UK. Noel has just released an audio drama, THE NEGRO OF THE ABYSS, which is a retelling of the infamous Jack The Ripper murders from the POV of an anonymous Black Woman. It serves as commentary on the media’s unconscious bias towards missing Black Women. Noel wrote and directed the audio drama and intends to develop it as a short film. Last but not least, it stars Emma Naomi, who is best known for playing Alice Mondrich in Bridgerton. THE NEGRO OF THE ABYSS is available on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts now.

In Noel’s words, “the Negro of the Abyss emerged from my deep desire to explore the intersection of race, gender, and history through a narrative lens that challenges the traditional accounts we often accept. I’ve always been passionate about stories that reframe well-known history or mythology through an alternative lens, bringing marginalized and forgotten voices to the forefront.”

This audio drama reimagines one of London’s most infamous chapters, centering on Jane Doe—a character who represents the countless voices lost to time, especially those of Black women. By intertwining her story with the tragedies of the canonical five victims of Jack The Ripper, Noel aims to provoke thought about how society chooses whose stories are told and whose are left in the shadows.

The Negro of the Abyss is about more than reimagining history; it’s about ensuring that the narratives of marginalized people are heard, acknowledged, and remembered.

Stream on Spotify HERE

Stream on Apple Podcasts HERE