Nicole Sylvester

Nicole Sylvester

Director, Producer, Line Producer, Unit Production Manager, Production Coordinator and Screenwriter

Brooklyn, New York

Member Since:
September 2011
Last online:
> 2 weeks ago
Invites sent:
0

About Nicole

Nicole Sylvester is an accomplished filmmaker whose credits include directing the films Layla’s Girl & minor blues. A writer as well as a director, her next feature film is Maya and Her Lover: a sensual story of a failed romance between an older woman and a much younger man.

She made her feature film directorial debut with Layla’s Girl, a heartwarming film about one woman’s journey toward peace and healing after the death of her estranged mother. The film, co-starring Richard Gant (The Big Lebowski) had its premiere at the Museum of African American History, and played to enthusiastic crowds at the Brooklyn Indie House, The Detroit Women of Color Int’l Film Festival, Urban Mediamakers Festival and the Waterfront Film Festival.

Nicole began her career as a Producer/Director at Comcast Cablevision, directing live-action television, call-in talk shows, teen programming and music specials. Her days at the cable company culminated in her documentary Lonely Eagles: Airmen of Tuskegee, being nominated for both a national Cable ACE and a Cable ICE Award.

She transitioned into film production by producing and directing the short film The Stop starring her grandmother. Since that time, she has produced the independent feature films: Cargo (BEF Production) The Dark Rite (Bloodline Productions), The Burning Bride (Arctal Ructive Films) and 17000 Block (First Look Home Entertainment), several short films, web-series and music videos.
She joined forces with 25 filmmakers from 13 countries to produce and direct the first of its kind international collaborative feature film, The Owner. The film, which follows the journey of a “backpack” as it makes its way around the world, screened to packed theaters in all 13 countries.

In addition to her work as a producer/director, Nicole has made a name for herself as a production coordinator on independent and studio productions such as Monster (Harmon Monster Films, Bron Studios), Coco (Lionsgate), 8 Mile (Universal) and *61 (HBO). She has also had the pleasure of working on projects directed by esteemed filmmakers, Jeff Daniels (Escanaba in da Moonlight) and Rob Meyer (Little Boxes).

She has the distinction of being 1 of 25 filmmakers to be included in The Guinness World Records for “Most Directors of a Film” for her contribution to The Owner. She has been a featured guest on FOX 2 News Morning, WXYZ 7 Sunday Morning News and PBS’ American Black Journal. She is a member of New York Women In Film and Television, IATSE local 161 and the Freelancers Union. She has been a panelist at the Mayor’s Film Office open forum in Detroit; the Motor City International Film Festival; the Detroit and Windsor International Festival of Film, the Muskegon Film Festival, the Black Cinema Café Film Screening, and at Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, of which she is also an alumna.

Badges

Photos

Loglines

  • A Man's World

    A Man's World Crime A devoted wife and mother, reluctantly running her husbands crime syndicate, is seduced by the power and transforms into a vicious kingpin.  

  • Maya and Her Lover

    Maya and Her Lover Romance An introvert's life is disrupted when she begins a steamy but contentious affair with a younger man.

Credits

  • iCreep

    iCreep (2018)
    Film (Drama) Producer Gilbert is a portrait of loneliness as he tries to connect with inaccessible women by taking pictures of them with his cellphone. After meeting the girl of his dreams, Gilbert realizes the price of real love and true human connection. But is he able to pay it?

  • Coco

    Coco (2017)
    Film (Drama and Musical) Miscellaneous Crew An aspiring hip-hop artist discovers the world of slam poetry.

  • Monster

    Monster (2017)
    Film (Drama) Miscellaneous Crew Based on the award winning novel by Walter Dean Myers, the film tells the story of Steve Harmon, a 17 yr old honors student and aspiring filmmaker who gets caught up in a robbery where a murder happens. The film follows his dramatic journey through a complex legal battle for his fight to prove his innocence. Written by Andrey Tavera

  • Cigarette Soup

    Cigarette Soup (2017)
    Film (Action) Producer Afghanistan 2006 - A young aspiring journalist gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is embedded with a small band of American soldiers.

  • Cargo

    Cargo (2017)
    Film (Drama) Producer An exiled American with a gambling addiction in Nassau takes a job smuggling Haitians to Florida in a desperate ploy to support his family.

  • The History of Love

    The History of Love (2016)
    Film (Drama, Fantasy and Romance) Miscellaneous Crew The story of a long-lost book that mysteriously reappears and connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness.

  • Little Boxes

    Little Boxes (2016)
    Film (Comedy and Drama) Miscellaneous Crew An interracial family struggles to adjust when they move from New York City to a small, predominately white town in Washington State.

  • Roxë15

    Roxë15 (2016)
    Film (Short, Sci-Fi and Thriller) Producer A virtual reality programmer bets everything on technology. She wins the bet --- but loses herself.

  • Jack of the Red Hearts

    Jack of the Red Hearts (2015)
    Film (Drama and Family) Miscellaneous Crew A streetwise teenage runaway is on the lam from her probation officer. Her name is Jacquelyn, but if you call her anything but Jack, she'll cut you. Needing to lay low, earn money, and gain adequate stability to rescue her 11-year-old sister Coke from foster care, Jack cons her way into a suburban home as live-in helper for their autistic 11-year-old daughter, Glory. Much to her surprise, Jack has a unique ability to connect with the nonverbal little girl. As she positively impacts Glory, the family impacts Jack. Particularly Kay, Glory's mother. As these two scrappy survivors find an affinity with each other, Kay finds in Jack a daughter she can talk to. When romantic sparks fly between Jack and Robert, Glory's 17-year-old brother, we see a group of wounded people poignantly and surprisingly begin to heal each other-just a little bit. But the law catches up, the truth comes out, and Jack is forced to make a choice-to save her own hide, or save someone else. Written by Dan Baptist

  • The Dark Rite

    The Dark Rite (2015)
    Film (Horror, Sci-Fi and Thriller) Producer Every 25 years, it begins. Bound to an ancient pact, a family of unlimited power descend upon a small rural town to sacrifice 4 human lives, one being a member of their own family. The ritual starts with the rape of a local girl, 18 year old Kerry. Finding herself pregnant, she realizes her unborn baby is the target of a sinister plot. As the months pass and people around her begin to turn up dead, she desperately searches for a way out of this unthinkable situation. The family must perform this ritual to maintain their power or die. In charge of carrying out each sacrifice as his initiation is David, a young man conflicted with his destiny. He unexpectedly begins to fall for Kerry, which weighs on his conscience as they get closer to the final sacrifice. What starts off as a thriller soon descends into the realm of horror as occult rituals and ancient pacts take hold of one girls life, binding her to a fate she cannot possibly fathom. ROSEMARY'S BABY meets DRAG ME TO HELL in this ... Written by Source: GardenHouseEntertainment.com

  • Burning Down

    Burning Down (2015)
    Film (Short and Drama) Production manager When a decorated firefighter's son is diagnosed with autism, he struggles not to become the abusive parent from his past

  • The Funeral Guest

    The Funeral Guest (2015)
    Film (Comedy, Drama and Family) Production manager A lonely girl seeks love, connection and family by crashing funerals.

  • The Story

    The Story (2014)
    Film (Short, Drama and Mystery) Production manager In the aftermath of a mysterious murder - and in a single, breathtaking shot - a winding trail of clues unravels a tale of tragedy, betrayal, and violence.

  • Compromised

    Compromised (2014)
    Television (Short, Drama, Mystery and Thriller) Production manager Shortly after the U.S. mandated human chip program, an elite group of specialists known as The Liberty Team, uncover a breach in the system and must fight a new technology based form of terrorism.

  • Cass

    Cass (2013)
    Film (Drama) Production manager Cass is the story of a middle class family in Detroit - a single father, his fifteen-year old daughter and eleven-year old son - whose lives are changed when a mysterious artist takes up residence in the abandoned building next door. From the brilliant murals of the Diego Rivera courtyard to the hollowed-eyed homes in Detroit neighborhoods, the film explores issues of passion - of what and who we long for - as well as the secrets we keep to protect ourselves and the ones we love. Written by Hugh Schulze

  • The Next

    The Next (2012)
    Television (Game-Show and Music) Miscellaneous Crew Add a Plot »

  • The Owner

    The Owner (2012)
    Film (Drama) Producer The film follows a backpack on a journey around the world, intersecting the lives of dozens of fascinating characters along the way. Written and directed by 25 different directors on 5 continents in an unprecedented online collaboration, the film brings together a variety of cultures, languages and film styles into a singular narrative plot. As the story progresses, we learn details about the mysterious man to whom the bag belongs. Written by Marty Shea

  • Queen Hussy

    Queen Hussy (2011 - 2012)
    Television (Comedy) Producer Add a Plot »

  • Detroit

    Detroit (2006)
    Film Miscellaneous Crew The action crime-thriller, CORRUPTED MINDS, revolves around a gang of revolutionaries who are about to cause mayhem for the citizens and cops of the Motor City.

  • 17000 Block

    17000 Block (2005)
    Film (Drama) Producer Set against the backdrop of Detroit's underworld, 17000 Block tells the story of Buck, a young man trapped in the middle of a street family rivalry - he is coerced, by his unscrupulous Uncle Eddie, to pull a robbery. When the job goes bad Buck finds himself running from the law, and the streets. Written by Anonymous

  • Layla's Girl

    Layla's Girl (2005)
    Film (Drama) Director Carla has been estranged from her family for seven years when she gets the call that her mother has died. She must now return home and deal with her past.

  • Standing in the Shadows of Motown

    Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)
    Film (Documentary and Music) Miscellaneous Crew In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers. Written by Anonymous

  • 8 Mile

    8 Mile (2002)
    Film (Drama and Music) Art department This is the inspiring captivating story of the legendary rapper Eminem. The troubled young aspiring rapper from a ghetto in Michigan must exert his last chances to become successful while dealing with his life in ruins. All is seemingly lost. He is now single, has only a few friends, an insane/alcoholic mother, and is dealt with poverty and living in a violent city on 8 mile. His only way out of the ghetto and torturous life he's living in is with his talent in rapping. Will B-Rabbit prevail and seize the shot he's given or will he let it slip? Written by ojmessier23

  • Hardball

    Hardball (2001)
    Film (Drama and Sport) Miscellaneous Crew Bright, well-educated, handsome Conor O'Neill's promising future was wrecked by his gambling addiction, which dragged him into heavy drinking and petty crime, but worst of all, the stifling grip of loan-shark bookies. Desperate for a loan, he accepts to stand in for lawyer friend Jimmy Fleming as coach of a Chicago black 'projects' ghetto Little League baseball team. His sense of pride, becoming the boys' sole idol, and competition, plus their attractive teacher, motivate Conor. But the crushing loan problem rather requires leaving town. Written by KGF Vissers

  • 61*

    61* (2001)
    TV Movie (Biography, Drama, History and Sport) Miscellaneous Crew Aiming for one of the most famed records in sports history, a pair of very different baseball players hit home runs at an impressive rate. Roger Maris, a reserved sort, is much less popular than his hard-partying New York Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle, the player who many observers think will be the one to challenge Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in one season. But in the summer of 1961, Maris surges ahead of Mantle, making a run at Ruth's mark. Written by Jwelch5742

  • Timequest

    Timequest (2000)
    Film (Sci-Fi) Miscellaneous Crew A story about a man who travels back in time to Fort Worth, Texas on November 22, 1963 and prevents the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

  • Chasing Sleep

    Chasing Sleep (2000)
    Film (Horror, Mystery and Thriller) Miscellaneous Crew A college professor wakes up to find his wife has not returned home, then struggles to understand her disappearance.

  • Minor Blues

    Minor Blues (2000)
    Film (Drama) Producer Add a Plot »

Share This Profile

register for stage 32 Register / Log In