Today we’d like to introduce you to Neriah Kharece.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Okay soooo here’s my origin story…It all started when my mom met my dad, kidding! What started it all was a series of discriminating events and a life-altering layoff. 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. 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!
Now, as of 2024, and 28 years old, I still work for myself, but also work with tech companies as a video manager, I have a production consulting business and these days I’m more exclusive and selective with when and who I work with. I now am at a place where I get to be picky and I’m grateful that I get to work with the people I admire and respect!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest obstacle is being a single parent. I run into a lot of problems just trying to figure out who is going to watch my daughter when I have to go film but I always figure that out. But sometimes it’s a financial thing because childcare is so expensive so when I have to be on set for 12 hours that’s a hefty bill to pay when I drop her off for that long. So it is hard for those reasons but I always find a way to make it work. And obviously being a young black female in a male predominant world is always hard but what people say to me or how they feel about me or when they judge me literally doesn’t bother me at all I’ve been through worst so it’s not hard to deal with, but it can be annoying sometimes to have people judge you just because your a woman.
Another obstacle is truly just being a young artist with so many ideas but not enough resources and tolls and connections to bring your visions to life. I have found myself shelving a lot of projects because I dont have the money to create the project. I want to be sure I always put out quality work but that is a luxury for low budget indie filmmakers like myself. This is something that has always been a struggle and still is, its hard to navigate but all you can do is put great work out when you can and surround yourself with great people and everything will happen the way its supposed to.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The main purpose and goal of Kharece Productions are to create works of art that speak volumes and has an everlasting effect on audiences. I want my films to always evoke a deep emotion and I want my audiences to feel something after experiencing my film. Rather it is feeling hopeful or happy, or inspired, forgiving, feeling heard, or just making the audience really question things or think, also, of course, bringing awareness to things and starting difficult conversations. That’s what I want every film of mine to do.
My proudest moment was winning “Best Director” at an international film festival “Kalakari Film Festival”. This was a no budget passion project that originally was discarded because it was a feature film that never was completed. I decided 3 years later that I would turn it into a web series and brought it back to life! I submitted that project and it’s been recognized in so many film festivals. When it when live on Facebook Watch we had over 1000 viewers and the demand for more episodes was strong. I was so proud to see the engagement and outpour of love, it’s 100% my proudest moment as a first time writer and director for that project that was so personal to me and my real story.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The film industry is sadly headed to an odd place. With Ai being exploited and the writers and animators having less time to truly work on high quality work I feel we are getting rushed cash grab type of movies instead of real art. There is a disconnect in the since that, right now we are in a time where our art is not truly reflecting the true state of the world. And attempts to do so are coming from voices that can’t really speak to it. The point of views are coming from outside spectators which results in a lot of diluted stories. We have made some strides but it seems like we have settled back to the default setting. For all of the films that are talking about real perspectives and issues those dont get half of the promo they should get so no one even hears those stories. So for those reasons Im worried about the state of art and the care and attention to detail falling flat more and more over time. Especially with this new since of urgency and microwave content that people want. Ai will be abused and used to mass produce these microwave scripts and I fear we will lose the human touch behind the art.
On the more positive side I think we will see more people of color in the space, I think the next generation will push the envelope and knock doors down. I think people will start to push back and question things more. All of these things will be baby steps into what hopefully becomes a more free, expressive, inclusive space that isn’t determined by money or status but just the ability to be an artist and tell a damn good story!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://khareceproductions.wixsite.com/website
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neriah-k-6a043785/
- Other: https://www.neriahk.me
Image Credits
Neriah Kharece
