Showtime Launches New Half-Hour Anthology “Spotlights: A Showtime Short Film Series”

SHOWTIME has announced that the new half-hour anthology series SPOTLIGHTS: A SHOWTIME SHORT FILM SERIES will roll out Sunday, June 12 with all five episodes available on streaming and on-demand for SHOWTIME subscribers. The episodes will also debut on-air weekly on Sundays @ 7:30PM ET/PT. Produced for SHOWTIME by JAX Media (DESUS & MERO, Emily in Paris, Russian Doll), the episodic anthology series features the bold works of various emerging filmmakers, with each episode featuring two to three short films that vary in timely subject matter, tone and perspective. SPOTLIGHTS offers a curated approach to support emerging filmmakers, as well as mentorship opportunities for each filmmaker to engage with creatives and executives across Paramount Global. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

“SHOWTIME has long been a home for breakthrough voices, and we’re excited to share these inspired and revelatory shorts from the next generation of distinctive filmmakers,” said Amy Israel, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, Global Scripted. “This collection of shorts in SPOTLIGHTS represents some of the very best emerging creators working today, and we hope our audience finds them as funny, moving and provocative as we do. There is nothing more exciting than the sense of discovery you feel when a new voice breaks on the scene, and SPOTLIGHTS will give our audiences a front-row seat to meet these creators who are sure to make their mark.”

Episode one:

· Pozole, by Jessica Mendez Siqueiros: A woman sets out to reconnect with her Mexican-American roots on her Nana’s birthday, only for things to go terribly wrong.

· Tea Time On Hip Hop Nation, by Kelly Fulton: After losing her long-time job at Classical FM, a radio show host interviews for a new gig at Hip Hop Nation.

· Broken Bird, by Rachel Harrison Gordon: This story follows Birdie, a biracial girl raised by her Jewish mother in a New Jersey suburb, as she spends a rare day with her father while preparing for her Bat Mitzvah.

Episode two:

· Raspberry, by Julian Doan: A son struggles to say goodbye to his dead father.

· Benevolent Ba, by Diffan Norman: A devout woman’s lust for virtue thrusts her family into a sacrificial slaughter of biblical proportion.

· In France Michelle Is A Man’s Name, by Em Weinstein: Set against the backdrop of the American West, this short explores fatherhood, rituals of male bonding and what it means to identify as a trans man in contemporary America.

Episode three:

· Meats, by Ashley Willams: A pregnant vegan wrestles with her newfound craving for meat.

· Cross My Heart, by Sontenish Myers: An American teenage girl visits her family in Jamaica and learns a secret that changes the way she sees the people she loves.

· Sebastian, by Sam Fragoso: In a reimagining of an immigrant story, an emigrating father writes home to his son, based on the letters Fragoso’s grandfather sent and received when he emigrated from Mexico to America in 1948.

Episode four:

· Sweatheart Dancers, by Ben-Alex Dupris: Sean and Adrian are a Two-Spirit couple determined to rewrite the rules of Native American culture through their participation in the “Sweetheart Dance,” a celebratory contest held at powwows across the country, primarily for men and women couples, until now.

· The South Is My Sister’s Skin, by Zenzele Ojore: A short documentary that follow Zenzele’s coming of age with the American South as her backdrop.

· Sales Per Hour, by Michelle Uranowitz & Daniel Jaffe: A young woman faces a moral dilemma when she witnesses a sexual encounter in a dressing room at the clothing store where she works.

Episode five:

· He Wants To Know My Number, by Sakinah Iman: A powerful and entertaining spoken-word piece that takes on the issue of sex and promiscuity.

· Ponyboi, by River Gallo & Sadé Clacken Joseph: An Intersex sex worker named Ponyboi looks for love and a way out of his seedy life in New Jersey. Through a magical encounter with the man of his dreams, Ponyboi discovers his worth.

SPOTLIGHTS is one of the initiatives that supports emerging creators. Other Paramount Global programs that develop under-represented creators include Content for Change Academy, the Paramount Writers Mentoring Program, Directing Initiative, ViewFinder Emerging Directors Program, Nickelodeon’s Writing Program and Artist Program, BET’s Project CRE8, MTV Entertainment Group’s First Time Directors Program, and the annual talent SHOWCASE.