Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kim Fields, Vanessa Bell Calloway And Victoria Rowell have signed on to direct four short projects for BET’s Her Stories franchise. Led by producer Tressa Azarel Smallwood, the 20-minute films will tackle a range of topics including race, mental health and much more.
“Even though I’ve licensed films to BET previously, being chosen to produce these crucial initiatives with all African-American women is such an honor,” Smallwood said.
“We are proud to be the platform for these powerful stories and of the work that our female talent has put into these projects that are ever so timely,” BET executive Lorisa Bates added,
Fields’ short film, Baby Blue, will star Shaquita Smith and Traci Braxton. The film will tell the story of a young woman suffering from post-partum depression. Meanwhile, Calloway’s short film, A Long Look In The Mirror, will spotlight a mother-daughter relationship when the mother copes with a cancer diagnosis. Similarly, Ralph’s Like, Comment, Subscribe will tell the story of a vlogger diagnosed with breast cancer. Rounding out the string of films, Rowell’s Everything Is Fine shows an affluent Black family with an estranged son who struggles to hold on to reality.
Production began in Maryland this month. There is no release date for the films yet.
