Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Racheal.
Christine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in some of the roughest neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida. I hid myself away when bullets were flying and went to bed early when the pantry and fridge were empty. That, in addition to experiencing abuse, I needed to find a place of peace, so writing became my outlet at 11 years old. I studied my craft at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Business at Florida State University. I was a published author at 25 years old and have since published seven works. I began writing screenplays in 2012, filmed my first documentary in 2017, and relocated to Atlanta, where I would join a community of like-minded, ambitious creatives. We formed Opal Ally Productions, where we have produced “unplugged” music videos and short films.
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?
Entrepreneurship is no easy feat. It is always easier to return to the familiar 9 to 5 structure for security and peace of mind—and also for non-entrepreneurial loved ones to understand your journey and vision. Sometimes you feel like a visitor in a foreign place where no one knows your language, so you’ve run out of people to talk to, but somehow you muster enough strength and courage to move forward. In this industry, you have to learn who to trust and know that when it comes to true relationships, it’s about quality and reciprocation over quantity.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In short, I am a storyteller. My heart is to inspire, encourage, and help heal others through my craft. Sometimes it is in the form of a brief social media post, a short story, a novel, or a short film—whatever makes the most sense at the time. My approach to storytelling is to find a unique perspective to convey a timeless message. At times I design my own formatting rules to push the creative envelope and is evidenced in the novel TRAPPED (2020).
In addition, I bring people’s fears to light in order to help them heal it, which is the purpose of the novel, THE WAR OF US (2021). It depicts a fictional race war ignited in downtown Atlanta and gets to the root of what divides American citizens as well as offers a forbidden love story between two of the characters. My most recent short film, UNSPOKEN (2021), touches on forgiveness as a woman returns home after a decade to say a final goodbye to her unloving (and unlovable) mother.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love how passionate the people in Atlanta are about their craft and their vision. Not only that, many are willing to extend a hand to others to help in whatever way they can. Yes, there are those with an intense, competitive spirit, but I’ve encountered way more people who are driven by compassion and a willingness to help someone else’s vision come to fruition. Of course, the thing that is most frustrating about this beautiful city is the traffic. I literally try to plan my life around it.
Contact Info:
- Email: opalallyproductions@gmail.com
- Instagram: @christine.racheal
- Facebook: @CRachealWrites
- Twitter: @CRachealWrites
Image Credits
Bracy Photos | Photos by Kedar
