Queens Get The Money
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Crime
Brandy and Natavia, two best friends from around the way, are tired of being broke. When Natavia needs to come up with the money for her phlebotomy certification quickly, the girls turn to what they know best: each other—and a hustle.
Queens Get The Money
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Crime
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $8,300 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
79 supporters | followers
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Brandy and Natavia, two best friends from around the way, are tired of being broke. When Natavia needs to come up with the money for her phlebotomy certification quickly, the girls turn to what they know best: each other—and a hustle.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
How would your "City Girl" fantasy play out IRL?
Logline
Initially hoping for some quick cash, two ambitious but clueless best friends botch a simple scam, forcing them into a chaotic robbery-gone-wrong adventure across Queens.
Synopsis
Brandy and Natavia, two best friends from around the way, are tired of being broke. When Natavia needs to come up with some fast cash, the girls turn to what they know best: a hustle.
The plan seems practical enough—get fly, head down to the club, seduce the first man they spot flashing bread, drug him, and disappear with enough cash to cover Natavia’s phlebotomy certification. Except they never expected the trick’s girlfriend to return home mid-scam.
Mayhem ensues as the duo continues across Queens in pursuit of the almighty dollar, all with the girlfriend in hot pursuit.
Alexyss Robinson — Writer–Director
The 2020s have seen the rise and fall of City Girls as both a rap duo and a way of life. Last year, One of Them Days proved that there’s a viable market for Black women-led buddy comedies. Queens Get the Money is the (pop) culturally savvy film this often overlooked audience yearns for. It’s a timely glimpse at hustle culture at its most literal.
With Queens Get the Money, my goal is to direct a cinematic buddy comedy centering two Black girls whose hustler’s mentalities get them in trouble. When our protagonists bite off more than they can chew, they venture far beyond their neck of the woods in a late-night adventure that sprawls across the borough.
Influences
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- One Of Them Days (2025) — Proved there’s a grossly underserved audience for Black, femme-led buddy comedies.
- Hustlers (2019) — Brandy and Natavia’s original plan is so similar, they could’ve been mentored by Jenny From the Block, too.
- Belly (1998) — Probably the coolest-looking crime movie you’ve ever seen that also stars Queens’ own, Nas.
- Booksmart (2019) — Fast-paced, with a heck of a lot of wit. Plus Brandy’s a total Molly.
Pre-Production: September 2025 – April 2026
While Alexyss finalizes how the script's humor and heart will translate visually, the rest of the team is hard at work building out our crew, wrangling locations, and applying for permits. Most importantly, we’re crowdfunding, applying to grants, and stealing* to secure our budget.
*For legal reasons, this is a joke.
Principal Photography: May 2026
Three high-energy days in Queens, filming our queens’ late-night adventure!
Post-Production: June – August 2026
“We’ll fix it in post,” is what we would say, if we were Brandy and Natavia. Thankfully, we’re not! During Post, we’ll turn our raw footage into something sleek and stylized, with booming sound to match.
Festival Submissions: Fall 2026
It’s time for Brandy and Natavia to capture hearts (and wallets) on the festival circuit!
"How will my pledge be spent?"
We're currently crowdfunding for $8,000, which amounts to 36% of our total production budget. The money raised this round will mainly go towards:
- Applying for permits and securing locations
- This shoot will not be possible without two key locations: a nightclub and a late-night restaurant.
- Renting an ARRI Alexa camera package
- Of course we want our film to its best for the festival circuit but, more importantly, we want it to look its best for you! The camera package is the most expensive item on our gear list, so we're starting with that.
- Feeding our wonderful cast and crew
- Everyone on our team has been on a handful of sets with poor quality meals—it certainly never helps morale. We want to ensure our cast and crew is performing their best throughout our three-day shoot!
Any additional funding received beyond our goal this round will go towards making our cast and crew's rates more equitable, renting a better lighting (G&E) package, and helping to offset set design and props expenses.
"How can I help?"
Thank you for your support in working to make Queens Get the Money a reality! To help us along our journey, you can:
Pledge on Seed & Spark
You're already here, after all! Seriously, though, every contribution through Seed & Spark brings us closer to getting greenlit on the platform and closer to making this film!
Attend an In-Person Fundraiser (Dates TBD)
What fun would a film about a night out be without, well, a night out? Throughout pre- and post-production, we'll be hosting in-person events in the NYC-area to bring the Queens Get the Money experience to you!
Offer an In-Kind Contribution
If you have gear, a location, or some other service that you can lend us, we'll thank you for your generosity by sending you a crew wrap gift and putting your name in the credits.
Follow & Share
Follow us on Instagram @qgtm.film for updates and behind-the-scenes content, then share us with your family, friends, lovers, and potential robbery victims everyone in between!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera Package
Costs $3,000
Our queens are ready for their closeup!
Locations & Permits
Costs $3,475
Help us secure the locations central to our story!
Catering
Costs $1,525
Keep our wonderful cast and crew fueled throughout the three-day shoot!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Alexyss Robinson (Writer/Director) is a writer-director hailing from Long Island and working in the vibrant borough of Queens. She attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts' undergraduate Film & Television program on a full scholarship, where she cut her teeth producing her peers' projects—most notably Natalie Jasmine Harris’ Pure, which is now streaming on HBO Max. Inspired by the likely outcome, should she ever take her City Girls fantasy seriously, Queens Get the Money is the laugh-out-loud crime-comedy short film that marks her narrative directorial debut.
Rikki Porter (Director of Photography) is a Southern California native who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is an alumna of Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, where she obtained her MFA in Cinematography. As a Director of Photography, Rikki has created an eclectic and outstanding body of work spanning short films, documentaries, and experimental films. Her cinematography has been featured in multiple short films that have been honored at prestigious festivals including the New York Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, and New Orleans Film Festival.
In addition to her expertise as a Cinematographer, Rikki has an extensive background in lighting, sound, and electronic music.
Born and raised in San Antonio,Texas, Camille Chambers (Producer) spent most of her time listening to the hood chronicles on her grandma’s porch. Later on she would retell the stories to anyone who would listen. Of course her young mind misconstrued every fact and told something completely different. Now based in LA, as a writer-producer this is her chance to get those stories right, or wrong in the right way. Camille's projects have made an appearance at a number of film festivals including SFFILM, ABFF, NYLFF, and The SacredUnderground Film Festival where she took home Best Picture. Camille uplifts authentic, unheard of, and good-feeling stories by exploring underrepresented communities and the unique, one of a kind people within them that you wouldn’t know unless you were there.
Jasmine Elshamy (Producer) is an NYC-based comedian, writer and producer. She currently works as a Coordinating Producer for several MTV Entertainment Digital Productions (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ink Master, Dexter) and previously worked as an Associate Producer on ZIWE Season 2. She has written for two podcasts: Lethal Lit S2 (iHeart Media) and Childish: A Podcast Musical (Whalebus). Jasmine graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (’19) with a BFA in Television Writing and has also studied with the LaughtHER Collective and UCB.
Sara Nishimura (Producer) is an NYC based producer and director. She currently works as a Production Manager for Paramount working on projects including Yellowstone, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Tulsa King and more. She studied Film at Bard College.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
How would your "City Girl" fantasy play out IRL?
Logline
Initially hoping for some quick cash, two ambitious but clueless best friends botch a simple scam, forcing them into a chaotic robbery-gone-wrong adventure across Queens.
Synopsis
Brandy and Natavia, two best friends from around the way, are tired of being broke. When Natavia needs to come up with some fast cash, the girls turn to what they know best: a hustle.
The plan seems practical enough—get fly, head down to the club, seduce the first man they spot flashing bread, drug him, and disappear with enough cash to cover Natavia’s phlebotomy certification. Except they never expected the trick’s girlfriend to return home mid-scam.
Mayhem ensues as the duo continues across Queens in pursuit of the almighty dollar, all with the girlfriend in hot pursuit.
Alexyss Robinson — Writer–Director
The 2020s have seen the rise and fall of City Girls as both a rap duo and a way of life. Last year, One of Them Days proved that there’s a viable market for Black women-led buddy comedies. Queens Get the Money is the (pop) culturally savvy film this often overlooked audience yearns for. It’s a timely glimpse at hustle culture at its most literal.
With Queens Get the Money, my goal is to direct a cinematic buddy comedy centering two Black girls whose hustler’s mentalities get them in trouble. When our protagonists bite off more than they can chew, they venture far beyond their neck of the woods in a late-night adventure that sprawls across the borough.
Influences
- One Of Them Days (2025) — Proved there’s a grossly underserved audience for Black, femme-led buddy comedies.
- Hustlers (2019) — Brandy and Natavia’s original plan is so similar, they could’ve been mentored by Jenny From the Block, too.
- Belly (1998) — Probably the coolest-looking crime movie you’ve ever seen that also stars Queens’ own, Nas.
- Booksmart (2019) — Fast-paced, with a heck of a lot of wit. Plus Brandy’s a total Molly.
Pre-Production: September 2025 – April 2026
While Alexyss finalizes how the script's humor and heart will translate visually, the rest of the team is hard at work building out our crew, wrangling locations, and applying for permits. Most importantly, we’re crowdfunding, applying to grants, and stealing* to secure our budget.
*For legal reasons, this is a joke.
Principal Photography: May 2026
Three high-energy days in Queens, filming our queens’ late-night adventure!
Post-Production: June – August 2026
“We’ll fix it in post,” is what we would say, if we were Brandy and Natavia. Thankfully, we’re not! During Post, we’ll turn our raw footage into something sleek and stylized, with booming sound to match.
Festival Submissions: Fall 2026
It’s time for Brandy and Natavia to capture hearts (and wallets) on the festival circuit!
"How will my pledge be spent?"
We're currently crowdfunding for $8,000, which amounts to 36% of our total production budget. The money raised this round will mainly go towards:
- Applying for permits and securing locations
- This shoot will not be possible without two key locations: a nightclub and a late-night restaurant.
- Renting an ARRI Alexa camera package
- Of course we want our film to its best for the festival circuit but, more importantly, we want it to look its best for you! The camera package is the most expensive item on our gear list, so we're starting with that.
- Feeding our wonderful cast and crew
- Everyone on our team has been on a handful of sets with poor quality meals—it certainly never helps morale. We want to ensure our cast and crew is performing their best throughout our three-day shoot!
Any additional funding received beyond our goal this round will go towards making our cast and crew's rates more equitable, renting a better lighting (G&E) package, and helping to offset set design and props expenses.
"How can I help?"
Thank you for your support in working to make Queens Get the Money a reality! To help us along our journey, you can:
Pledge on Seed & Spark
You're already here, after all! Seriously, though, every contribution through Seed & Spark brings us closer to getting greenlit on the platform and closer to making this film!
Attend an In-Person Fundraiser (Dates TBD)
What fun would a film about a night out be without, well, a night out? Throughout pre- and post-production, we'll be hosting in-person events in the NYC-area to bring the Queens Get the Money experience to you!
Offer an In-Kind Contribution
If you have gear, a location, or some other service that you can lend us, we'll thank you for your generosity by sending you a crew wrap gift and putting your name in the credits.
Follow & Share
Follow us on Instagram @qgtm.film for updates and behind-the-scenes content, then share us with your family, friends, lovers, and potential robbery victims everyone in between!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera Package
Costs $3,000
Our queens are ready for their closeup!
Locations & Permits
Costs $3,475
Help us secure the locations central to our story!
Catering
Costs $1,525
Keep our wonderful cast and crew fueled throughout the three-day shoot!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Alexyss Robinson (Writer/Director) is a writer-director hailing from Long Island and working in the vibrant borough of Queens. She attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts' undergraduate Film & Television program on a full scholarship, where she cut her teeth producing her peers' projects—most notably Natalie Jasmine Harris’ Pure, which is now streaming on HBO Max. Inspired by the likely outcome, should she ever take her City Girls fantasy seriously, Queens Get the Money is the laugh-out-loud crime-comedy short film that marks her narrative directorial debut.
Rikki Porter (Director of Photography) is a Southern California native who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is an alumna of Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, where she obtained her MFA in Cinematography. As a Director of Photography, Rikki has created an eclectic and outstanding body of work spanning short films, documentaries, and experimental films. Her cinematography has been featured in multiple short films that have been honored at prestigious festivals including the New York Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, and New Orleans Film Festival.
In addition to her expertise as a Cinematographer, Rikki has an extensive background in lighting, sound, and electronic music.
Born and raised in San Antonio,Texas, Camille Chambers (Producer) spent most of her time listening to the hood chronicles on her grandma’s porch. Later on she would retell the stories to anyone who would listen. Of course her young mind misconstrued every fact and told something completely different. Now based in LA, as a writer-producer this is her chance to get those stories right, or wrong in the right way. Camille's projects have made an appearance at a number of film festivals including SFFILM, ABFF, NYLFF, and The SacredUnderground Film Festival where she took home Best Picture. Camille uplifts authentic, unheard of, and good-feeling stories by exploring underrepresented communities and the unique, one of a kind people within them that you wouldn’t know unless you were there.
Jasmine Elshamy (Producer) is an NYC-based comedian, writer and producer. She currently works as a Coordinating Producer for several MTV Entertainment Digital Productions (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ink Master, Dexter) and previously worked as an Associate Producer on ZIWE Season 2. She has written for two podcasts: Lethal Lit S2 (iHeart Media) and Childish: A Podcast Musical (Whalebus). Jasmine graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (’19) with a BFA in Television Writing and has also studied with the LaughtHER Collective and UCB.
Sara Nishimura (Producer) is an NYC based producer and director. She currently works as a Production Manager for Paramount working on projects including Yellowstone, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Tulsa King and more. She studied Film at Bard College.