Current
These projects are currently in production or post-production. Click on the project you would like to explore.
Masika Learns to Swim
Masika – whose name means “born during rain” – explores her complicated relationship to water, leading to a deeper understanding of herself and the currents around her.
Masika – whose name means “born during rain” – explores her complicated relationship to water, leading to a deeper understanding of herself and the currents around her.
An early concept sketch for the project.
At a glance
Project scope: 30 minute documentary film & impact campaign
Target premiere date: June 2026, during the week leading up to Juneteenth
Fundraising goal: $TBD
This project is currently in pre-production.
Project stages and timeline
The current stage(s) in bold type.
Pre-production: Nov 2023 - Apr 2024
Production: Feb 2024 - Nov 2025
Post-production: Sep 2025 - Dec 2025
Premiere: Week of Juneteenth 2026
Distribution: Jun 2026+
Another early concept sketch for the project.
Artistic approach
Masika Learns to Swim will be a short documentary film with a total runtime of 30 minutes that will include the following creative elements:
Classic follow-me documentary filmmaking
Classic documentary interview setups
Animated sequences
Full custom musical score
Narrative voice over from Masika
Premiere
We’re aiming to premiere Masika Learns to Swim during the week of Juneteenth 2026.
Distribution & intended social impact
TBD
Budget & fundraising
TBD
Characters & creators of Masika Learns to Swim
Masika Henson
Co-Director & Protagonist
Masika is the main character of the film. She’s based in Oakland, CA.
Keenan Dailey
Dir. of Photography, Editor, & Composer
Keenan is a multidisciplinary artist based in Atlanta, GA.
Jay W. Austin
Director, Producer, & Writer
I’m a documentarian currently creating out of Atlanta, Georgia.
Aleisi // Rijst
At the edge of the Amazon in Suriname, a woman cultivates one of the rarest rices in the world. While researchers wonder if her rice could help other farmers adapt to climate changes, Albertina brings forth her cultural relationship with the aleisi.
At the edge of the Amazon in Suriname, a woman cultivates one of the rarest rices in the world. While researchers wonder if her rice could help other farmers adapt to climate changes, Albertina brings forth her cultural relationship with the aleisi.
Twin sisters holding a bunch of rice in front of their mother’s kitchen.
At a glance
Project scope: 15-35 minute artistic documentary film
Target premiere date: Late Oct - Early Nov 2025
Fundraising goal: TBD
This project is currently in post-production.
Synopsis: Aleisi // Rijst
At the edge of the Amazon in Suriname, a woman cultivates one of the rarest rices in the world. While researchers wonder if her rice could help other farmers adapt to climate changes, Albertina brings forth her cultural relationship with the aleisi.
300 years ago, a young woman from West Africa liberated herself from slavery in Suriname.
Other women on the plantation braided grains of rice into Ma Paanza’s hair before she and her husband – Adyako – fled into the forest. When Ma Paanza and Adyako reached the safety of the Amazon, they cultivated the rice.
Today, not far downstream from where Ma Paanza found refuge, there is a woman who protects the rice that Ma Paanza planted centuries ago.
Tall trees watch over Albertina’s farm. The sun rises in Brokopondo as her three young children help her put on her rubber boots before she goes to the field. Albertina knew that her rice was special – a descendant of Ma Paanza’s rice – but it wasn’t until researchers analyzed specimens from her plot that she began to understand how precious these rices were.
Albertina and the trees were protecting some of the rarest rices in the world.
On the other side of Suriname in Nickerie, there’s a seed bank at ADRON, the country’s rice research institute. Researchers study the rice samples found throughout the country, including those from Albertina’s plot. They’re searching for a variety of rice that is more resilient to climate change, saltier water, and a fungi preying on the commercial rice cultivated throughout the region.
Will Ma Paanza’s // Albertina’s dry land aleisi get them closer to what they’re seeking?
Suriname is culturally and ecologically beautiful, and like many other societies (and most other colonies), its people continue to grapple with what it means to be “Surinamese.” In Aleisi // Rijst, the comparison between the rice in Nickerie and Brokopondo symbolizes that quest of identity.
Albertina Adyako looking out over her plot.
Project stages and timeline
The current stage(s) in bold type.
Pre-production: Oct 2023 - May 2024
Production: Aug 2024
Post-production: Feb 2025 - Jun 2025
Premiere: Late Oct - Early Nov 2025
Distribution: Jan 2026+
Artistic approach
Aleisi // Rijst will be a short documentary film with a total runtime of 15 - 35 minutes that will include the following creative elements:
Classic follow-me documentary filmmaking
Classic documentary interview setups
Experimental artistic interpretation using collages and animation
Full custom musical score
We hope to feature an element of hair art in the film and at the premiere.
Courtesy of The Folklore Group.
Premiere
We hope to premiere this film in Paramaribo, Suriname, in late October 2025 or early November. The premiere will be in collaboration with the Social Media Conference Suriname, hosted by INEFFABLE NV. It’s very important that the subjects and contributors of the film are in attendance.
Distribution & intended social impact
We will begin with local distribution. We would like this film to be screened in Albertina’s community before being screened anywhere else. Details TBD.
We will follow the premiere and screenings in Suriname with screenings in places with notable Surinamese diaspora: Netherlands and parts of the United States.
While these screenings take place, we will be submitting the film to several film festivals before submitting it for SVOD distribution.
The intended social impact of this project has two stages to it. First, at the premiere, we would like to present both Albertina and ADRON with financial contributions. These contributions further ADRON’s research into resilient rice, and funds Albertina’s efforts to organize women cultivators around Ma Paanza’s rice.
Budget & fundraising
The budget for the post-production and distribution of this film are TBD. To learn more about how to contribute to this project, please contact me here.
Characters & creators of Aleisi // Rijst
Javan and Shellen filming Albertina in her plot.
Main characters
Albertina Adyako
A mother, wife, farmer, and cultural advocate cultivating fruits and dry land rice.
Yves Diran
Leader of the Crop Management Program at ADRON, Suriname’s rice research institute.
Key creatives
Javan, Jair, and Shellen resting after a day in the field.
Shellen Arga
Co-director & Co-producer
Shellen is a Surinamese filmmaker currently studying in Belgium.
Jair Kertodikromo (left)
Javan Martokarijo (right)
Camera Operator & Director of Photography (respectively)
Jair & Javan are multi-disciplinary creators based in Suriname.
Jean-luc van Charante
Executive Producer
Jean-luc is the founder of INEFFABLE NV and a community leader based in Suriname.
Jay W. Austin
Co-director, Co-producer, & Writer
I’m a documentarian currently creating out of Atlanta, Georgia.
A note from Jay
Suriname is a beautiful, warm place.
I’ve visited every year for several years now (except for 2020), and on one of my recent visits, I approached Jean-luc with an intention to make a Surinamese film.
He was down.
While I’m many things, I’m not Surinamese. To make a Surinamese film would require Surinamese crew who bring themselves to a Surinamese story. My hope was not to make a film about Suriname, as much as it was to make a story from Suriname, of Suriname. To accomplish that, the initial team and I felt that we should tap into the Surinamese diaspora to create the film, and to find a story that might include that diaspora in some way.
Rice gave us that storyline.
People have been “brought” to Suriname by colonial powers for hundreds of years, and their descendants now make up nearly the entire population of the country. Africans were kidnapped and trafficked from their lands. The Hindustani and Javanese were deceived and indentured, similar to many of the Chinese to this very day.
Other than arriving to Suriname in order to work, one thing these peoples share with each other was a staple food: rice. And this happens to be something that was not shared with their colonizers.
Rice gave us an opportunity to approach an important question that sometimes remains unanswered in the hearts and minds of my friends in SU: What does it really mean to be Surinamese?
Thanks to all the people who have supported this project already. If you would like to know how you can contribute to the project, please contact me here.
Aftermath
Jay grapples with the aftermath of gun violence in Kansas City, MO — his hometown. With the help of his closest homies, he sets out to photograph more than 1000 locations around the city where people were killed by guns between 2019 - 2024. The further the project goes, the closer Jay comes to reaching out to a friend awaiting trial for murder.
Jay grapples with the aftermath of gun violence in Kansas City, MO — his hometown. With the help of his closest homies, he sets out to photograph more than 1000 locations around the city where people were killed by guns between 2019 - 2024. The further the project goes, the closer Jay comes to reaching out to a friend awaiting trial for murder.
The concept trailer for Aftermath.
At a glance
Project scope: 60-120 minute documentary film, photo exhibition, & impact campaign
Target premiere date: April 2026
Fundraising goal: $TBD
Current phase: Production
Beneath 40 Highway, near a creek.
Synopsis of the film: Aftermath
A documentarian grapples with the aftermath of gun violence in Kansas City, MO — his hometown. With the help of his closest homies, Jay sets out to photograph more than 1000 locations around the city where people were killed by guns between 2019 - 2024. They’re working on an exhibit. The further the project goes, the closer Jay comes to reaching out to a friend awaiting trial for murder.
Despite Jay’s intimate knowledge of the city and news reports listing out KC’s murders, it turns out that it’s not that easy to find where things went down. In addition to that, they must put boundaries on what types of gun violence they could include in the project.
Jay interviews survivors, witnesses, first responders, funeral home directors, lawyers, spiritual leaders, and people who pulled the trigger, leading him to form a nuanced comprehension of gun violence; a view that does not make things simpler, but may make things clearer.
It ultimately becomes apparent that Jay is not just an artist with a vision. He’s navigating his own way through the aftermath of gun violence. And the further the project goes, the closer Jay comes to reaching out to a friend awaiting trial for murder.
Aftermath is about more than gun violence in one Midwestern city. It is a project that asks, Is restoration possible in the aftermath of gun violence? Even if it is, is it even worth it to try?
A memorial where a personal dispute on a basketball court led to gun violence.
Project stage & timeline
The timeline for the overall project is listed in the first line. Film & Premiere- and Photo Exhibition- specific timelines are listed in the sub-points.
Pre-production: February 2024 - as needed
Film & Premiere: February 2024 - as needed
Photo Exhibition: February 2024 - as needed
Production: May 2024 - Late 2026
Film & Premiere: May 2024 - April 2026
Photo Exhibition: May 2024 - Late 2026
Post-production: October 2024 - Late 2026
Film & Premiere: May 2025 - April 2026
Photo Exhibition: October 2024 - Late 2026
Premiere: April 2026+
Film & Premiere: April 2026
Photo Exhibition: Late 2026
Distribution: April 2026+
Film: April 2026+
Photo Exhibition: Late 2026+
Project description & background
This project has 2 primary creative components:
A documentary film.
A photography exhibition.
The film will premiere before the photography exhibition opens.
Filming a location in the West Bottoms.
Artistic approach
Aftermath will be a feature-length documentary film with a total runtime of 75-120 minutes that will include the following creative elements:
Classic follow-me documentary filmmaking
Classic documentary interview setups*
Except in special circumstances, we will not feature footage of interviewees whose stories are featured in vignettes of violence.
Artistic representations of difficult truths
Animated sequences
Full custom musical score
Public art
Narrative voiceover from Jay
Premiere
We’re looking to premiere the film to a hometown audience in Kansas City, MO, in the Spring of 2026 in conjunction with a soft opening of the exhibit.
Distribution & intended social impact
The premiere will be followed by a well-planned series of local public and private screenings, followed by a short film festival run, and ultimately distributed on streaming platforms.
Getting picked up by a reputable streaming platform is cool, but I care most about the Kansas City distribution of the film. Here’s the vision:
Living room screenings – At the premiere, I will invite the audience to host small screenings at their homes with their neighbors, family, and friends. I’ll join them for those screenings, and would love to include others from the film.
High schools, alt schools, and universities – Screen the film in high/alt schools & universities in the Kansas City Metro, providing clear routes to restorative support at each stop.
Carceral and transitional facilities – Screenings and visitations at carceral and transitional facilities in KC, followed by processing and conversation.
The local screenings will be followed by a 3-6 month festival run. Unless the film is picked up by representatives through the film festival process, Aftermath will then be submitted to an aggregator for wider distribution.
Regarding the project’s impact, my vision is to leverage the film, photos, and exhibition into creating real life opportunities for people to seek personal and communal restoration in the aftermath of gun violence.
Budget & fundraising
The overall budget is TBD. To contribute to the project, please contact me.
Characters & creators of Aftermath
Main characters
Jay W. Austin
A documentarian and son of Kansas City grappling with the consequences of gun violence.
That’s me. This is the first time I’ve been my own protagonist (in a film, anyways).
As someone forever living in the aftermath of gun violence, I felt a responsibility to show myself on screen as I attempt to heal. My attempt involves — and possibly requires — creative expression.
I’m an artist, not an investigative journalist. And I approach my journey in this way. My hope is that my journey is useful to others grappling with the aftermath of violence in their own lives.
Other notable features
Casondra Foster
A licensed counselor.
Don Carter
A former police officer, and a mentor of Jay’s.
Key creatives
Cody Boston
Producer & Director of Photography
Cody’s an award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Kansas City, MO.
Mark Serrano
Asst. Photographer & Data Manager
Mark is a photographer and technologist based in Boston, MA.
Jay W. Austin
Director & Writer
I’m a documentarian currently creating out of Atlanta, Georgia.
A note from Jay
This is not only a film about the possibility of restoration — it is an honest attempt at it.
After I filmed the concept trailer, I understood how important it would be that every person involved with the creation of this film to have had experience with gun violence. That required some adjustments, but it is proving to be the best decision. Everyone working on this project has been invited to this exploration of restoration, and they’ve accepted.
This is the most difficult project I’ve ever taken on.
Emotionally, spiritually, creatively, thematically, and logistically, it’s just complicated. Sometimes it does not feel worth the toll, but we feel a deeply compelling sense of responsibility to finish this thing.
We must continue. I know that one day we will feel fulfilled that we dealt with our fear, doubt, and the hurt of healing as this turns into an invitation to others to continue through whatever aftermath they are wading through.
Thanks to all the people who have supported this project already. If you would like to know how you can contribute to the project, please contact me here.
Ruby Jean’s Garden
As Chris puts the final touches on his children’s book about his grandmother Ruby Jean and her fictitious community garden, an unexpected opportunity arises to turn the mythical ending into reality.
As Chris puts the final touches on his children’s book about his grandmother Ruby Jean and her fictitious community garden, an unexpected opportunity arises to turn the mythical ending into reality.
The concept trailer for Ruby Jean’s Garden.
At a glance
Project scope: 60-75 minute documentary film and impact campaign
Target premiere date: Nov 2025
Fundraising goal: $201,000
This project is currently in production.
Synopsis: Ruby Jean’s Garden
As Chris Goode, Kansas City native and community leader, puts the final touches on his children’s book about his grandmother Ruby Jean and her fictitious community garden, an unexpected opportunity arises to turn the mythical ending into reality when a plot of land just down the street from where Ruby Jean had helped raise him becomes available.
As with most of Chris’ pursuits in life, he sees this as a particularly divine opportunity to reclaim a part of his past and to write a different reality for a part of the city historically plagued by disinvestment and lack of access to fresh, healthy food. On this empty plot of land at 29th & Wabash, he sets out to improve the material conditions of the neighborhood his grandmother called home.
One major obstacle stands in Chris’ way however: he has no experience no operating a community garden or growing a damn thing. “My gardening skills terrify me,” he says, “because they are non-existent.” Thankfully, a Master Gardener named Phillip agrees to help. Together, Chris and Phillip take on the development of Ruby Jean’s Garden.
Guarded and hyper vigilant, Phillip (a retired combat veteran) finds peace in the garden. Or, we should say, the gardens, because he’s integrated into many urban growing sites on the East side of Kansas City.
Unlike developers and definitions placed by city ordinances, Phillip does not see plots of land like this as “vacant”, but rather, as a place with history, both long and recent. The land has memory and significant meaning to those who have grown up next to it like himself.
The land remembers segregation and liberation and incarceration and a time before colonization. And it’s more recent memory — one that Chris must decide to face — is of a person who came to 29th & Wabash with a promise to feed the community with the food that he would produce on the plot.
Neighbors around the plot remember that popular project well, primarily because it all fell apart. For the new garden to be successful, the duo has to figure out how to regain the neighborhood’s trust and make good on their promise to provide free, fresh food to the community.
Along the way, we hear from some of the people who have shaped Chris and Phillip. We will learn about the contemporary urban growing scene in Kansas City, paying homage to its origins and sorting through the food legacy it has left us.
Ruby Jean’s Garden is about more than the construction of a community garden. It’s a story about mythology and identity, of restoration and reclamation, and of the expectations placed on Chris and Phillip when they try to give back to the places they’re from.
Project stages and timeline
The current stage(s) in bold type.
Pre-production: Nov 2023 - Apr 2024
Production: Feb 2024 - Nov 2025
Post-production: Sep 2025 - Dec 2025
Premiere: Nov 2025
Distribution: Jan 2026+
Project inception & background
This film project began innocently enough.
Chris and Jay were neighbors when Jay lived in KC. On a walk one day in late 2023, Chris shared an update on his children’s book. He’d been working on this book about his grandmother Ruby Jean for a while.
“How does the book end?” asked Jay.
In the book, a kind nurse convinces Ruby to shift her diet from soul food to something else, and the results are so impressive that Ruby decides to create a community garden to grow healthy food, right there on Wabash.
In reality outside of the children’s book, Ruby Jean never made it out of the hospital. She didn’t survive the complications brought by her diabetes nor did she ever start a community garden.
But this didn’t seem to complicate things for Chris.
Because in Chris’s mind and heart, Ruby did make it out of the hospital, she did recover from her diabetes, and she did begin that garden on Wabash. It’s just that now, she was doing these things through him.
Ruby Jean’s Garden is in many ways a look at the usefulness of mythology.
Yes, Chris and Phillip are simply constructing a community garden. But they’re actually engaging in a serious act of reclamation. Reclamation of a memory, reclamation of a reality, and reclamation of a healthy future.
An illustration sample to be featured in the film.
Artistic approach
Ruby Jean’s Garden will be a feature-length documentary film with a total runtime of 60-75 minutes that will include the following creative elements:
Observational documentary filmmaking
Classic documentary interview setups
Animated sequences by the same artist that illustrated Chris’s children’s book
Full custom musical score
Narrative voiceover
Premiere
Ruby Jean’s Garden is tentatively set to premiere with a hometown audience in Kansas City, MO, in November 2025 in conjunction with a fundraising event at the garden.
Distribution & intended social impact
The premiere and distribution plan will be made in partnership with Ruby Jean’s Foundation which will oversee the daily operations of the community garden.
Official distribution of the film will begin in 2026. We intend to submit the film to a small handful of festivals for 3-6 months, then ultimately package it for digital distribution on reputable streaming platforms.
The most apparent impact of this film will be to promote the garden and its programs. The creators hope the film will be used by the organization to gather support for daily operations. Beyond that, the creators intend for this film to be used as a compelling way for Black urban growers to start conversations at the municipal, state and federal policy level.
Budget & fundraising
The film’s producers are currently seeking to raise a total of $201,000 for this project. To learn more about how to contribute to this project, please contact Jay here.
Characters & creators of Ruby Jean’s Garden
Rocky, Phillip Ramsey, and Chris Goode at the future site of Ruby Jean’s Garden.
Main characters
Chris Goode
A father, husband, respected business owner, and trusted community leader in Kansas City, MO. Chris begins projects before knowing where they might lead.
Throughout the film, Chris attempts to juggle many things at once. Sometimes he’s able to keep it all in the air, but sometimes he’s not.
This new garden is not his only project. He’s the founder and CEO of a prestigious juicery,Ruby Jean’s Juicery, and he is active in entrepreneurial circles stretching across Missouri. He’s involved with several non-profit organizations in addition to his own Ruby Jean’s Foundation, including Operation Breakthrough, which now operates the school Chris attended as a child. Chris is also a frequent guest speaker at schools and universities in Kansas City.
Phillip Ramsey
A combat veteran, neighborhood cornerstone, and Master Gardener. Phillip operates observantly behind the urban growing scene in Kansas City, MO.
Phillip is introduced in the film the way he introduces himself in everyday life: methodically and a bit mysteriously. The more the project comes along, the more we understand who Phillip is behind his initial presentation.
After retiring from the military, Phillip came back home to the historic Santa Fe Neighborhood. Many of the other Black urban growers were surprised at first to see someone his age as involved as he was. Many growers were in their sunset years, having worked their whole lives and, now that they’re retired, finally helped cultivate small gardens.
Phillip too, was retired, but not exactly like them. His military retirement benefits provided stability, and his childhood home became his.
Now, Phillip has time. Time to cultivate today, and time to think about what cultivation could look like tomorrow. He may have less experience than the older growers, but his passion for sharing his knowledge to a younger generation breathes a needed energy into the educational space. Philip recognizes that his position comes with certain privileges and, if he accepts them, responsibilities to the future.
Other notable characters
Ruby Jean
Chris’s grandmother and inspiration for the garden.
Dr. Barbara K. Johnson
A Master Gardener, leader of Urban Green Dreams, and one of Phillip’s mentors.
Key creatives
Cody Boston
Co-director, Co-producer, DoP, & Editor
Cody’s an award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Kansas City, MO.
Ketu Ikediuba
Illustrator & Animator
Ketu is an illustrator, animator, and musician based in Los Angeles, CA.
Brian Kennedy
Composer
Brian is a muti-Grammy Award winning producer and composer splitting time between Kansas City, MO, and LA.
Jay W. Austin
Co-director, Co-producer, & Writer
I’m a documentarian currently creating out of Atlanta, Georgia.
A note from Jay
I love this project. Chris and Phillip are inspirational people with contrasting styles and complementing motivations.
What was clear from the beginning of this project was that, sure, they might face obstacles building the garden, but construction wouldn’t be the main challenge. The primary challenge would be more spiritual and psychological.
Journeys of restoration and reclamation are just that way.
Thanks to all the people who have supported this project already. If you would like to know how you can contribute to the project, please contact me here.