Genre
Synopsis
StudioBE is a safe haven for New Orleans’ artist who seek community and solidarity, and a global tourist draw. Since opening, the profiles of StudioBE and its founder BMike have risen with his murals spanning from New York to Palestine and StudioBE hosting celebrities and brands like Stephen Spielberg and Jordan.
Now, StudioBE’s future hangs in the balance. It’s landlord is taking advantage of the art led gentrification that StudioBE ushered in, selling it for an exorbitant price. The once close relationship between BMike and the landlord has soured, leaving BMike with only months to purchase or shudder.
BMike’s journey started ten years ago when he broke into the unoccupied Florida Housing Development that sat idle following Hurricane Katrina and painted murals of Black Revolutionaries as its new tenants. The local developer and future landlord noticed his work and offered him access to his abandoned warehouse. There, StudioBE was born.
Decades of footage will be interspersed throughout as we follow BMike’s race against time. The StudioBE Crew who work with him and the youth artist BMike mentors are also featured. StudioBE’s landlord has recently granted us interview access.
At the conclusion, BMike claims victory, successfully acquiring the building.
Bio
Nailah Jefferson is a New Orleans born filmmaker intrigued and inspired by the enduring human spirit, whose work spans fiction and nonfiction. Her most recent film,
“Commuted,” premiered at the 2023 New Orleans film festival where it won the AudienceAward for Best Documentary and Best Louisiana Documentary. “Commuted”told the story of Danielle Metz, a woman whose triple life drug sentence was commuted by President Obama after serving 23 years. The film is available on PBS. 2023 also saw the debut of Nailah’s acclaimed HBO Original documentary, “Donyale Luna: Supermodel” about the first Black supermodel to grace the covers of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, but whose legacy was lost to history. The film was nominated for a 2024 Grierson Trust Award for Best Arts Documentary.
