WELCOME HOME CHANEL
You can’t choose your family, but you can choose who you invite to the party.
ABOUT
Taylor, a curious yet intuitive young lady, can’t wait to get her hands on the Halloween costume her aunt promised to make her. Although the family has gathered to welcome her father, Drew, home from rehab, she is far more eager to see her favorite aunt, Chanel. Taylor’s infatuation with her aunt quickly turns to skepticism as she slowly realizes things in the family aren’t as they seem.
Welcome Home Chanel is a breakout drama highlighting the taboo world of drug addiction in the African American middle class household. Adapted from true events, the film is told through the eyes of Taylor, a 9 year trying to navigate this tumultuous family get together. Taylor’s father, Drew, has just returned home from his latest visit to rehab and the family has gather to welcome him home. Also making their way back home is Chanel, Taylor’s favorite aunt. As the family prepares for dinner, Taylor, curious and inquisitive, finds that Chanel and Drew have far more in common than she ever thought. This film does a great job of highlighting real life family trauma through a child’s perspective. The raw and sometimes uncomfortable reality of drug abuse leaves you on the edge of your seat.
YEAR 2017
RUN TIME 12:27 Min
EMAIL jenahye.johnson@gmail.com WEBSITE https://www.jenahyejohnson.com/
CAST & CREW CREDITS
DIRECTED BY Jenahye Johnson
SCREENPLAY BY Jenahye Johnson
PRODUCED BY Jenahye Johnson
PRINCIPAL CAST
Linae Bullock | Zoe Ayers | Roxanne Pugh | Wain Jenkins | Michael DeGrenada
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Welcome Home Chanel is a short film that will spark discussion involving substance abuse in the upper middle class households.
Opioid abuse is on the rise in Baltimore County and now that more white families are being effected by this epidemic, Maryland officials are taking an interest in the matter while African American and minorities suffering from these same addictions are being incarcerated at record numbers. This film was made to show that minority families have been and are still suffering from this epidemic just as much, if not more than, affluent white middle class households. In efforts to bring attention to this issue, I plan to screen this film in local Baltimore festivals and to make it available for online streaming to make the contents of this film easily accessible for local viewing.
DIRECTOR BIO
Jenahye Johnson is a Baltimore based Writer/Director and member of the inaugural class of MICA’s Filmmaking MFA. From as early as she can remember, she has been drawn to the art of filmmaking and storytelling. Weekend matinees were a standard family outing throughout her childhood. Throughout her Undergraduate studies, she grew more and more fascinated with video production. When presented with the idea to apply to Graduate School for Filmmaking, she jumped at the opportunity. In the Spring 2016, her first film, Eden premiered at the Maryland Film Festival. Moving forward, Jenahye hopes to continue writing and directing films for and about the African Americans and LGBTQ communities.
FILM AND PRODUCTION STILLS
AWARDS
FULL FILM
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Jenahye Johnson is a Baltimore based Writer/Director and member of the inaugural class of MICA’s Filmmaking MFA. From as early as she can remember, she has been drawn to the art of filmmaking and storytelling. Weekend matinees were a standard family outing throughout her childhood. Throughout her Undergraduate studies, she grew more and more fascinated with video production. When presented with the idea to apply to Graduate School for Filmmaking, she jumped at the opportunity. In the Spring 2016, her first film, Eden premiered at the Maryland Film Festival. Moving forward, Jenahye hopes to continue writing and directing films for and about the African Americans and LGBTQ communities.
(Update provided in May 2017)