We had the good fortune of connecting with Ciara Franklin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ciara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I quit my restaurant industry position for the first time as a second year in film school, I did not know I would become a business owner so quickly. I just knew that I wanted to work freelance as a filmmaker, videographer, and photographer. I wanted my freelance work in the film and entertainment industry to provide a lifestyle and freedom that fulfilled me. As I educated myself on what it takes to be financially independent as a freelance worker, incorporating my business on paper was the next logical step to creating a foundation of financial success for my future. I did not think I would have to make that step so quickly or if I was ready. I started finally in 2020 because no one was going to put it on paper and materialize it for me. I had to realize that to be my own boss I had to be running something more than just my personal goals and aspirations.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an interdisciplinary artist and documentarian using emerging technologies and performance to reclaim marred narratives. As a rising senior at Spelman College, I set myself apart by using my art to vulnerably explore my own experiences of this wild world. I resist competing with others or comparing my work to my contemporaries. I am supportive of my peers in all of the spaces I inhabit. I am the proudest of the work I have done to document the life and struggles that I’ve witnessed in the past year and a half during the pandemic and the 2020 election cycle. My thesis film Grandma’s Gender Ninjas will be my newest obsession for the upcoming year as I fuse my disciplines to retell my grandmother’s story of her life and travels as a pioneer in the data science industry and how that impacted the construction of my gender and identity as a young intersex black women today. Despite the cliche, I am here today professionally because I humble my ego and take the road less traveled. Many young filmmakers believe a great idea, script, or crew is enough to win awards when in actuality many genius filmmakers are slept on for a myriad of minuscule reasons. I owe my success to my ability to quiet my desires for immediate success and to give myself wholly to the production or vision that has my attention at the moment. Daily, I overcome the buzz and whirr of the very digital world around me that feels entitled to my focus. Like the infamous words of James Baldwin, when I can quiet my mind to focus on what I want to see in my work, the flow comes naturally. This is the biggest challenge I face and overcome with every passing moment. When the world and creatives of the African Diaspora see Duality Productions or Ciara Franklin, I want the words “empower, employ, and invest” to come to mind.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was not from Atlanta and wanted to get put on, I would scare them with a tiny cabin experience somewhere outside of the metro Atlanta area to show them the reality and beauty of Georgia. Some time to ground us in nature and unplug helps to balance out the high-paced lifestyle of the city. The first night I would have to take them to Duluth for some authentic cultural food where we would stay the night in Jeju 24hour spa steaming in a gold sauna and relaxing Korean style. After our admission expires there, we would get breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe and spend the day shopping with the Mystic Beauty at her intimate thrift boutique in midtown. During the week we’d spend the days at pop-ups, parks, museums, and plant-based eats like Wadada, SoulVegetarian, and LocalGreen Atlanta. I would have to take them south on the weekend to TritonYards to taste my favorite Mom and Pop vegan burger food truck G.A.S. Food Truck ATL and to sit outside and watch a movie on the projection screen. Once Friday night hits, we’d spend their last days in ballrooms, kickbacks, and dancing at Caribbean clubs and rooftop bars. There are a lot of great experiences in Atlanta if you’re on social media and willing to explore new areas but I find the best places are the ones owned by people like me with minimal waitlists.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would not have found the humble success I have found without the work of my two parents who support me in pursuing my passions and the work of Anjanette Levert at the Spelman College Documentary Film program. Young entrepreneurs like me rarely acknowledge their privileges so I’d love to highlight that my parents are a loving, hardworking, and human foundation on which I rely without having to ask. They paved a way for me to see the light in education and encouraged me to attend Spelman College when we did not have the money nor the foresight to see the resounding blessings that would pour from the relationships I have cultivated. Professor Levert who I affectionately refer to as “Teach” saw my passion for storytelling and social justice. She connected me with women like me who were inspired and confident enough not to see me as a threat. She shares her feedback and praise wholeheartedly and honestly. If it were not for Spelman College’s Documentary Film Program and the community I’ve been able to cultivate, I don’t think a theatre nerd like me would have ever seen myself where I am today.

Website: https://pelican-sphere-7rrf.squarespace.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theycreate/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ciarazhanef

Youtube: https://www.instagram.com/theycreate/

Image Credits
1 On my mind: taken by Ciara 2 Black backdrop: taken by Ciara 3 Stranger portrait: taken by Ciara 4 Spelman couple: taken by Ciara 5 Ring & Hand: taken by Ciara 6 BTS Ciara: taken by Yusuke Sato 7 BMASE Promo Package: taken by Tasha Walters, edited by Gabrielle Morse, creative dir. Ciara Franklin 8 Ciara at Morehouse: taken by Amari Arrindell

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.