MUMMA
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama
Mumma tells the story of Donna, a pregnant, newly arrived St. Lucian woman who draws strength from her grandmother’s wisdom as she prepares for motherhood in the summer heat of Brooklyn.
MUMMA
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama
Green Light
This campaign raised $16,752 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
135 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Mumma tells the story of Donna, a pregnant, newly arrived St. Lucian woman who draws strength from her grandmother’s wisdom as she prepares for motherhood in the summer heat of Brooklyn.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Mumma is a heartfelt portrait of impending motherhood, weaving humor, tenderness, and the value of heritage. Set in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean, the film follows Donna, a pregnant St. Lucian woman new to America, as she prepares to give birth. Separated by distance but bound by love, she finds guidance in phone calls with her grandmother, Mumma, whose wisdom and tradition help her navigate this new chapter. Blending memory and reality, Mumma explores what it means to hold onto where you come from while stepping into the unknown.
Why this story?
I'm Shanice Brette, a first-generation Saint Lucian immigrant, Writer/Director, and Art Director, endeavoring to bring my debut short film Mumma to life. This story has been years in the making. It’s a love letter to the immigrant women who raised me: my mom, my sister, my late grandmother, and all the women whose voices are so often left out of the narrative. Mumma follows Donna, a newly arrived St. Lucian woman in Brooklyn, navigating the final weeks of her pregnancy while holding onto the traditions passed down from her matriarchs.
This story is deeply personal. I know what it means to carry multiple identities at once. In this country, we’re often made to feel like we don’t belong, but Mumma speaks to the quiet power of staying rooted, of carrying home with us wherever we go. At a time when immigrant stories are politicized, I believe in the power of storytelling to humanize, to honor, and to connect. For me, telling Donna’s story isn’t just about sharing my own truth, it’s about creating space for others to feel seen and held, too.
Mumma means the world to me because I’ve always been passionate about telling these stories. Stories of migration, resilience, love, and the sacrifices immigrant women make. It’s a perspective that’s underrepresented in the film industry, and I’m excited to bring it to the screen in the most honest and authentic way I know how.
This film reflects a lot of my family’s journey, and I’m hoping it resonates with anyone who’s ever had to fight for a place to belong, whether that’s through family, culture, or the very land they walk on.
Visual Style
In Mumma, the visuals reflect Donna’s experience of settling into her new home - what she sees, what she feels, and what she carries. We will employ subjective camera angles, handheld movement, and shallow depth of field to keep the audience immersed in her world.
We plan to use natural light, warm colors, and intimate framing to create a visual language that feels real, textured, and lived in.
There’s warmth and tenderness in her family’s apartment, in the rhythm of her Caribbean neighborhood. This will be contrasted with the wide, more still shots in places like Central Park or the subway - spaces that feel colder and unfamiliar. These shifts will reflect the tension of being somewhere that doesn’t quite feel like home yet.
World Within: Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York
When I first moved to New York from Saint Lucia, everything felt cold and unfamiliar, so far from the warmth of home. But as I grew up, I found comfort in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean, in neighborhoods like Flatbush, Crown Heights, and Canarsie, where the smells, textures, and sounds brought me right back. The markets, the music, the faces - they all stirred something deep in me, a reminder that home wasn’t lost, just living in a new form.
I remember living on Lincoln Road, near Prospect Park, hanging out with kids from all over the Caribbean diaspora, going to markets filled with food from back home, and spending summers at block parties surrounded by music, families, and that familiar energy. It's a special place.
MUMMA is a snapshot of this world. Even though it’s new and unfamiliar, it becomes a soft place to land for our protagonist, Donna - a place of refuge. It's a portrait of the neighborhoods that hold our memories, offer comfort, and help us feel at home, even when we are far from where we started.
Budget Breakdown
We are excited to have been selected for the WAVE grant from Wavelength productions that gave us a foundation to begin this process.
In addition, we are aiming to raise $20K to cover the minimum shooting costs of our 3-day shoot. These funds will go towards covering the cost of our various locations, equipment rentals, compensating and feeding cast & crew, production design, insurance, and the post production costs that will get the film to the finish line.
What's Next?
MUMMA is my way of planting roots in a place I’ve grown up in. It’s my first real stake in the ground as a filmmaker.
So what happens next?
Little Caribbean Brooklyn has shaped how I see the world and the kinds of stories I want to tell: intimate, character-driven, and rooted in place.
MUMMA lives in that world. It carries the same themes and emotional texture I’m exploring in my other work. These are stories that blend the everyday with a touch of magic, much like the films Do the Right Thing, Mother, His Three Daughters, and Mother of George. We’re using this short to show the world the possibility of these stories. Think of it as the seed.
Our goal is to premiere at filmmaker-focused festivals where personal, culturally specific stories can break through and find their people. We’re aiming for major platforms like Sundance, TIFF, Tribeca, and Berlinale, but just as importantly, we want to share MUMMA in spaces that reflect the soul of the film.
We’re looking at festivals that center Black, Caribbean, and immigrant voices, like the Pan African Film Festival, Third Horizon, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, and BlackStar.
We believe in the power of these dual paths: reaching wide and reaching deep. Showing MUMMA at globally recognized festivals and also in the culturally rooted spaces that speak to where the story comes from.
From there, we’ll:
- Use festival exposure to announce myself as a writer-director telling immigrant and Afro-Caribbean stories, and build momentum in the industry for the work I want to make.
- Find distribution channels that highlight BIPOC voices and indie films
- Use the short as a calling card for labs, fellowships, and film development programs
You’re not just helping one film get made. You’re helping bring a new voice into the landscape of cinema. You’re part of shaping what the next generation of independent filmmaking looks like - and this is your way in.
By backing this short, you’re supporting a filmmaker with a specific perspective and a stake in telling stories that often aren’t centered.
Ways to Help
We are currently in pre-production, laying the groundwork to bring this story to life. Right now, we’re in the process of locking in key collaborators, casting roles, and scouting potential locations that will help shape the world of the film.
After our campaign concludes, we plan to shoot in late August and complete post-production by the end of the year. Supporters will be the first to know when the film is ready to premiere - with an anticipated early 2026 festival run before wider release.
If we’re fortunate enough to surpass our funding goal, additional funds will go toward post-production polish (color grading, sound mix, original score), festival submissions, and community screenings - helping the film reach the widest possible audience.
Your support means the world to us! To support, you can:
Follow -
Follow our campaign and Instagram @Mumma.film stay up to date
Contribute and pledge -
You can contribute to our film by making a pledge. We must raise 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds. You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item that fits your budget. Every contribution makes a real difference!
Spread the word! We can't do it without you :)
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Equipment Costs
Costs $5,650
Lighting and camera equipment rental, transportation for equipment
Catering & Crafty
Costs $1,300
We will be providing the cast and crew with lunch and crafty for our 3 day shoot
Set Dressing, Props, Wardrobe
Costs $2,550
Set dressing for our various locations, wardrobe for the cast, and prosthetic baby bump for our lead actress
Production Costs
Costs $2,300
Helps us to cover expenses like tables and chairs, coolers, printing costs, and vehicles to transport gear and crew from place to place
Post Production
Costs $4,000
An incredibly important part of the movie making process, help us put the finishing touches on our film after our shoot.
Locations
Costs $3,000
The heart of our film takes place in intimate locations spread across the city. Your donation will help source and secure these locations.
Insurance
Costs $1,200
Help keep us and our gear safe.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Shanice Brette is a writer and director from Castries, Saint Lucia, who moved to the U.S as a child. Growing up in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean community, she found her calling in telling authentic, layered stories of immigrant women, especially those from the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. She’s currently developing MUMMA, a short film that explores impending motherhood as a journey of risk, transformation, and resilience, intertwined with familial intimacy and cultural heritage. Based in New York, Shanice works as an art director, where she collaborates with filmmakers to bring their visions to life and shape the worlds of their stories.
Emily Akpan (she/her) is drawn to storytelling that explores and centers healing, ancestry, and justice. Grounded in intentionality, care, and community, her creative practice is shaped by a deep attentiveness to people, environments, and the complexity of lived experience. She believes storytelling can be a powerful step toward understanding, accountability, and transformation, and seeks to amplify stories collaboratively and with authenticity.
Emily is from Brooklyn, NY, and holds a dual degree in Development Sociology and Communications from Cornell University.
Jaelyn Ellis is a NYC-based producer and director dedicated to bringing stories to the screen that uplift marginalized and underrepresented voices while decentering trauma and transcending narrow definitions of identity. She received the Future of Film is Female Grant in 2022 and has produced short films and music videos that have premiered at festivals such as Palm Springs International ShortFest, NewFest, Frameline, and NFFTY. Jaelyn is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts and currently works as a freelance Production Manager on independent feature films.
Travaé Davis is a NYC-based filmmaker. His original work has screened at festivals such as TIFF, ABFF, Screamfest, and more. His most recent commercial producing project earned numerous awards, including three Cannes Grand Prix awards for Creative Business Transformation, Design, and Brand Activation for Microsoft AD-LaM. His latest creative work was recognized among Ad Age’s Best Holiday Ads of 2025.
With a career spanning both creative and production, Travae has delivered over 3,000 assets across various media. A Navy veteran, he holds a BFA in Motion Picture Production from Florida State University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Media Producing at NYU Tisch.
Kyvon Edwin is a native Saint Lucian award winning Director, Producer, Writer and Actor currently based in New York. He is an alumnus of the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute as an Eleanora Duse Scholar. His work has been featured at Academy Award qualifying festivals including American Black Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, Hip Hop Film Festival, Essence Film Festival, Bronzelens Film Festival and the Festival de Cannes among others. His writing work has been workshopped at the likes of Black Film Space and Sundance Collective Kitchen.
The primary focus of his work is to give voice to the underrepresented West-Indian diaspora. In pursuit of that mission, Kyvon founded Roots Productions, a multi-media production company authentically championing stories of the diaspora. The company’s debut project Lettre La premiered at Chelsea Film Festival and is currently continuing its festival run to critical acclaim. Currently, as a Black TV and Film Collective member, Kyvon is actively developing film and TV projects to build on his portfolio. He is repped by Artists & Representatives and Tash Moseley Management
Awa Bousso is a producer by day and an African music archivist by night. A storyteller and experiential curator born and bred in Brooklyn, she is a first-generation American of Malian-Nigerian descent. She sees her community as a portal into a world of deep and rich sites of experiential memory, ancestral wisdom, and transformative stories that have significantly influenced her passions and professional projects.
She has done this work through her background as a post-producer in commercials and music videos, and her skills in managing clients and ensuring smooth project workflows. She has also worked as a production runner, office manager, PA on film sets, and freelancer/volunteer in programming for film festivals.
She is particularly passionate about Black films that center on Afrofuturism, psychological thrillers, and coming-of-age stories that delve into cultural and ancestral memory.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Mumma is a heartfelt portrait of impending motherhood, weaving humor, tenderness, and the value of heritage. Set in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean, the film follows Donna, a pregnant St. Lucian woman new to America, as she prepares to give birth. Separated by distance but bound by love, she finds guidance in phone calls with her grandmother, Mumma, whose wisdom and tradition help her navigate this new chapter. Blending memory and reality, Mumma explores what it means to hold onto where you come from while stepping into the unknown.
Why this story?
I'm Shanice Brette, a first-generation Saint Lucian immigrant, Writer/Director, and Art Director, endeavoring to bring my debut short film Mumma to life. This story has been years in the making. It’s a love letter to the immigrant women who raised me: my mom, my sister, my late grandmother, and all the women whose voices are so often left out of the narrative. Mumma follows Donna, a newly arrived St. Lucian woman in Brooklyn, navigating the final weeks of her pregnancy while holding onto the traditions passed down from her matriarchs.
This story is deeply personal. I know what it means to carry multiple identities at once. In this country, we’re often made to feel like we don’t belong, but Mumma speaks to the quiet power of staying rooted, of carrying home with us wherever we go. At a time when immigrant stories are politicized, I believe in the power of storytelling to humanize, to honor, and to connect. For me, telling Donna’s story isn’t just about sharing my own truth, it’s about creating space for others to feel seen and held, too.
Mumma means the world to me because I’ve always been passionate about telling these stories. Stories of migration, resilience, love, and the sacrifices immigrant women make. It’s a perspective that’s underrepresented in the film industry, and I’m excited to bring it to the screen in the most honest and authentic way I know how.
This film reflects a lot of my family’s journey, and I’m hoping it resonates with anyone who’s ever had to fight for a place to belong, whether that’s through family, culture, or the very land they walk on.
Visual Style
In Mumma, the visuals reflect Donna’s experience of settling into her new home - what she sees, what she feels, and what she carries. We will employ subjective camera angles, handheld movement, and shallow depth of field to keep the audience immersed in her world.
We plan to use natural light, warm colors, and intimate framing to create a visual language that feels real, textured, and lived in.
There’s warmth and tenderness in her family’s apartment, in the rhythm of her Caribbean neighborhood. This will be contrasted with the wide, more still shots in places like Central Park or the subway - spaces that feel colder and unfamiliar. These shifts will reflect the tension of being somewhere that doesn’t quite feel like home yet.
World Within: Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York
When I first moved to New York from Saint Lucia, everything felt cold and unfamiliar, so far from the warmth of home. But as I grew up, I found comfort in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean, in neighborhoods like Flatbush, Crown Heights, and Canarsie, where the smells, textures, and sounds brought me right back. The markets, the music, the faces - they all stirred something deep in me, a reminder that home wasn’t lost, just living in a new form.
I remember living on Lincoln Road, near Prospect Park, hanging out with kids from all over the Caribbean diaspora, going to markets filled with food from back home, and spending summers at block parties surrounded by music, families, and that familiar energy. It's a special place.
MUMMA is a snapshot of this world. Even though it’s new and unfamiliar, it becomes a soft place to land for our protagonist, Donna - a place of refuge. It's a portrait of the neighborhoods that hold our memories, offer comfort, and help us feel at home, even when we are far from where we started.
Budget Breakdown
We are excited to have been selected for the WAVE grant from Wavelength productions that gave us a foundation to begin this process.
In addition, we are aiming to raise $20K to cover the minimum shooting costs of our 3-day shoot. These funds will go towards covering the cost of our various locations, equipment rentals, compensating and feeding cast & crew, production design, insurance, and the post production costs that will get the film to the finish line.
What's Next?
MUMMA is my way of planting roots in a place I’ve grown up in. It’s my first real stake in the ground as a filmmaker.
So what happens next?
Little Caribbean Brooklyn has shaped how I see the world and the kinds of stories I want to tell: intimate, character-driven, and rooted in place.
MUMMA lives in that world. It carries the same themes and emotional texture I’m exploring in my other work. These are stories that blend the everyday with a touch of magic, much like the films Do the Right Thing, Mother, His Three Daughters, and Mother of George. We’re using this short to show the world the possibility of these stories. Think of it as the seed.
Our goal is to premiere at filmmaker-focused festivals where personal, culturally specific stories can break through and find their people. We’re aiming for major platforms like Sundance, TIFF, Tribeca, and Berlinale, but just as importantly, we want to share MUMMA in spaces that reflect the soul of the film.
We’re looking at festivals that center Black, Caribbean, and immigrant voices, like the Pan African Film Festival, Third Horizon, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, and BlackStar.
We believe in the power of these dual paths: reaching wide and reaching deep. Showing MUMMA at globally recognized festivals and also in the culturally rooted spaces that speak to where the story comes from.
From there, we’ll:
- Use festival exposure to announce myself as a writer-director telling immigrant and Afro-Caribbean stories, and build momentum in the industry for the work I want to make.
- Find distribution channels that highlight BIPOC voices and indie films
- Use the short as a calling card for labs, fellowships, and film development programs
You’re not just helping one film get made. You’re helping bring a new voice into the landscape of cinema. You’re part of shaping what the next generation of independent filmmaking looks like - and this is your way in.
By backing this short, you’re supporting a filmmaker with a specific perspective and a stake in telling stories that often aren’t centered.
Ways to Help
We are currently in pre-production, laying the groundwork to bring this story to life. Right now, we’re in the process of locking in key collaborators, casting roles, and scouting potential locations that will help shape the world of the film.
After our campaign concludes, we plan to shoot in late August and complete post-production by the end of the year. Supporters will be the first to know when the film is ready to premiere - with an anticipated early 2026 festival run before wider release.
If we’re fortunate enough to surpass our funding goal, additional funds will go toward post-production polish (color grading, sound mix, original score), festival submissions, and community screenings - helping the film reach the widest possible audience.
Your support means the world to us! To support, you can:
Follow -
Follow our campaign and Instagram @Mumma.film stay up to date
Contribute and pledge -
You can contribute to our film by making a pledge. We must raise 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds. You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item that fits your budget. Every contribution makes a real difference!
Spread the word! We can't do it without you :)
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Equipment Costs
Costs $5,650
Lighting and camera equipment rental, transportation for equipment
Catering & Crafty
Costs $1,300
We will be providing the cast and crew with lunch and crafty for our 3 day shoot
Set Dressing, Props, Wardrobe
Costs $2,550
Set dressing for our various locations, wardrobe for the cast, and prosthetic baby bump for our lead actress
Production Costs
Costs $2,300
Helps us to cover expenses like tables and chairs, coolers, printing costs, and vehicles to transport gear and crew from place to place
Post Production
Costs $4,000
An incredibly important part of the movie making process, help us put the finishing touches on our film after our shoot.
Locations
Costs $3,000
The heart of our film takes place in intimate locations spread across the city. Your donation will help source and secure these locations.
Insurance
Costs $1,200
Help keep us and our gear safe.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Shanice Brette is a writer and director from Castries, Saint Lucia, who moved to the U.S as a child. Growing up in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean community, she found her calling in telling authentic, layered stories of immigrant women, especially those from the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. She’s currently developing MUMMA, a short film that explores impending motherhood as a journey of risk, transformation, and resilience, intertwined with familial intimacy and cultural heritage. Based in New York, Shanice works as an art director, where she collaborates with filmmakers to bring their visions to life and shape the worlds of their stories.
Emily Akpan (she/her) is drawn to storytelling that explores and centers healing, ancestry, and justice. Grounded in intentionality, care, and community, her creative practice is shaped by a deep attentiveness to people, environments, and the complexity of lived experience. She believes storytelling can be a powerful step toward understanding, accountability, and transformation, and seeks to amplify stories collaboratively and with authenticity.
Emily is from Brooklyn, NY, and holds a dual degree in Development Sociology and Communications from Cornell University.
Jaelyn Ellis is a NYC-based producer and director dedicated to bringing stories to the screen that uplift marginalized and underrepresented voices while decentering trauma and transcending narrow definitions of identity. She received the Future of Film is Female Grant in 2022 and has produced short films and music videos that have premiered at festivals such as Palm Springs International ShortFest, NewFest, Frameline, and NFFTY. Jaelyn is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts and currently works as a freelance Production Manager on independent feature films.
Travaé Davis is a NYC-based filmmaker. His original work has screened at festivals such as TIFF, ABFF, Screamfest, and more. His most recent commercial producing project earned numerous awards, including three Cannes Grand Prix awards for Creative Business Transformation, Design, and Brand Activation for Microsoft AD-LaM. His latest creative work was recognized among Ad Age’s Best Holiday Ads of 2025.
With a career spanning both creative and production, Travae has delivered over 3,000 assets across various media. A Navy veteran, he holds a BFA in Motion Picture Production from Florida State University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Media Producing at NYU Tisch.
Kyvon Edwin is a native Saint Lucian award winning Director, Producer, Writer and Actor currently based in New York. He is an alumnus of the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute as an Eleanora Duse Scholar. His work has been featured at Academy Award qualifying festivals including American Black Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, Hip Hop Film Festival, Essence Film Festival, Bronzelens Film Festival and the Festival de Cannes among others. His writing work has been workshopped at the likes of Black Film Space and Sundance Collective Kitchen.
The primary focus of his work is to give voice to the underrepresented West-Indian diaspora. In pursuit of that mission, Kyvon founded Roots Productions, a multi-media production company authentically championing stories of the diaspora. The company’s debut project Lettre La premiered at Chelsea Film Festival and is currently continuing its festival run to critical acclaim. Currently, as a Black TV and Film Collective member, Kyvon is actively developing film and TV projects to build on his portfolio. He is repped by Artists & Representatives and Tash Moseley Management
Awa Bousso is a producer by day and an African music archivist by night. A storyteller and experiential curator born and bred in Brooklyn, she is a first-generation American of Malian-Nigerian descent. She sees her community as a portal into a world of deep and rich sites of experiential memory, ancestral wisdom, and transformative stories that have significantly influenced her passions and professional projects.
She has done this work through her background as a post-producer in commercials and music videos, and her skills in managing clients and ensuring smooth project workflows. She has also worked as a production runner, office manager, PA on film sets, and freelancer/volunteer in programming for film festivals.
She is particularly passionate about Black films that center on Afrofuturism, psychological thrillers, and coming-of-age stories that delve into cultural and ancestral memory.