About Me: Nicole Sylvester
Director. Producer. Writer.
Nicole Sylvester is an award-winning Brooklyn-based filmmaker. Maya & Her Lover is her debut
feature film as writer/director. The film is about a woman who, stifled by complicated memories of
her overbearing father and on the verge of becoming a recluse, begins a sexual relationship with a
much younger man who at the ripe age of 22 is unsuccessfully attempting to overcome his past.
Maya & Her Lover has played at several film festivals including American Black Film Festival,
where it was nominated for ‘’Best Feature Film’’ and “Best Director”, Harlem International Film
Festival, where it won “Best Feature”, Detroit Trinity International Film Festival where it won “Best Feature”, Black Harvest Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival and Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival.
Nicole has been a director all her life – her family has always called her bossy – but her
professional career began as a producer/director at a local cable company in Detroit. There she
was able to hone her skills culminating in a national Cable ACE nomination and a local Cable ICE
Award win.
Nicole transitioned from cable to the greener pastures of film production by directing the short films The Stop and Minor Blues. The success of these films helped establish her as a burgeoning
filmmaker on Detroit’s independent filmmaking scene. Nicole has been a panelist at several film
festivals and film related events. She is a former board member of the Detroit Film Center where
she also taught filmmaking workshops and is the recipient of three Public Benefit Corporation
grants for film productions.
Nicole’s other credits include writer/director on the collaborative feature film The Owner, where she joined forces with 25 filmmakers from 13 countries to produce/direct the first international feature film of its kind. The film was screened to packed theaters and landed the 25 filmmakers in the Guinness World Records for “Most Directors on an International Film.”
She has also produced several projects including the feature films Blood Bound and Cargo. Shot
entirely in the Bahamas, Cargo has played at numerous film festivals winning several awards
including Best Diaspora Film at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival, Best Film at the Haiti
International Film Festival and winner of the Amnesty International Human Rights Prize for film.
Her experience also includes work as a production coordinator on studio productions such as
Venom 2 (Sony Pictures), Power (Starz), Harlem (Amazon Studios) and as a Distribution
Coordinator for Jeff Daniels' company Purple Rose Films.
Nicole is a member of New York Women in Film & TV, Women Independent Producers, Film
Fatales and an IATSE Local 161. Ever versatile, Nicole is currently developing several television
and feature film projects. Maya & Her Lover was released in 2021 by 1091 Pictures.
About Me: Alisa Lomax
Producer. Writer.
Alisa Lomax is a filmmaker based in Detroit. An award-winning producer, she is a Sundance Screenwriters Lab alum and has directed two films. Alisa tells stories about people navigating life in the midst of confusing and even hostile circumstances.
Alisa’s most recent film is the award-winning Maya & Her Lover distributed by 1091 Pictures.The film has screened in numerous festivals including American Black Film Festival and Pan African Film Festival. Additional producing credits include the drama Layla’s Girl, featuring Richard Gant,and When I Need to Smile, a documentary about philanthropist and jazz label founder Gretchen Carhartt Valade.
She started her career coordinating corporate and industrial videos for companies including Kmart and Visteon.Over time she worked on stage productions as well as live events and commercials for clients including Ford, GM, UAW and NBA.She has also worked on Emmy Award-nominated and winning television documentaries. In time, the opportunity to expand into films presented itself. Alisa performed various positions on a wide range of movies, from no-budget shorts and features to major studio projects such as 8 Mile and Crossover. Soon,she began to create her own work.
Alisa wrote, produced and directed two short films, reality and Big Girl Lost. Both films were well-received during festivals and screenings.When Sundance expanded its Screenwriters Lab, Alisa was selected as one of just 13 Detroit writers who participated.Joan Tewkesbury,whose credits include Robert Altman’s classic Nashville,led the session.With interests and projects ranging from experimental to documentary to narrative, she continues to develop and produce projects independently. Currently, Alisa is writing a dark comedy series set in her hometown of Detroit.She is also developing the curriculum for her upcoming term as the inaugural artist-in-residence of a digital arts program for children.
About Me: Trevite Willis
Producer.
