Writer, director, and photographer Sontenish Myers has joined the roster of Great Guns USA for representation in the U.S.
A Jamaican-American writer-director, Myers graduated from NYU’s Graduate Film program where she is now an adjunct professor. Ranging across genres from drama to fantasy to dark comedy, her work often explores racial identity, womanhood, power dynamics, and the heroic journey.
Among Myers’ latest work is the music video for “Stolen Fruit” by Tank and the Bangas, which she both directed and edited in a collaboration with the Great Guns USA team. The video has garnered over 4 million views within the first few days of its Facebook premiere. To complement the ethereal song, which contemplates the displacement of the African diaspora, Sontenish crafted a symbolic ancestral fairytale set in a realm where people are frozen in place. When a little boy awakens there, he finds that the characters spring to life at his touch, taking him on a journey of dance and memory.
Myers’ short film, Cross My Heart, follows an American teen who, upon visiting family in Jamaica, discovers a secret that alters how she sees her loved ones. The film has screened all around the globe and boasts a list of accolades: it won the Vimeo Staff Pick Award at Hamptons International Film Festival, and the Alexis Award for Best Emerging Student Filmmaker at Palm Springs International Shortfest.
A 2021 Sundance Fellow, Myers is now developing her first feature, Stampede. Set on a plantation in the early 1800s, the sci-fi film follows a young girl with telekinetic powers she cannot yet control. When she is separated from her mother and moved into close quarters with the volatile Master’s wife, she must grapple with the danger of her gift as well as its potential power. Already the film has been accepted into the 2021 Sundance Screenwriting and Directors Labs, 2019 HIFF Screenwriting Lab, Film Independent Screenwriting Lab and IFP Week 2019. In addition, it is also a selected script on this year’s Black List, and a recipient of SFFILM’s Rainin Grant and Tribeca All Access Grant.
Myers said, “What I love about the Great Guns team is how beautifully they adapt to different directors’ visual and working style. The company is filled with thoughtful, experienced reps that know how to work with up-and-coming directors. They offer so much support, while demonstrating trust in me and my creative process. It’s been wonderful developing a working rapport with everyone.”
Oliver Fuselier, managing director and EP of Great Guns USA, added, “Sontenish brings her own brand of storytelling. It’s full of emotional undertones and overtones, granting the audience a glimpse into her characters’ real lives, with a fluid, visual, and compelling style. It’s clear that she has a true passion for all things ‘film’, while being well-rounded and grounded in story: she is a teacher at NYU, a painter, a director of music videos and commercials, and is working on her first feature to begin prep later this year.”
