The Story

This short film was born through a classic millennial tale–Stevee-Rayne and Tyler met on Twitter. In 2022, we briefly bumped into each other at American Black Film Festival and again the following year at Tribeca Film Festival. This second meeting would spawn several ideas as we discovered many similarities: our undying love of the South, our love of romantic comedies, and our love of being an auntie. As we went our separate ways at the airport, we made a pact to make a movie together.

Fast forward to September 2024. First came Hurricane Francine for Stevee-Rayne in Louisiana, and later came Hurricane Helene for Tyler in South Carolina. Coincidentally, we both found ourselves as guardians for our nephews during the storm. Naturally, we developed Emergency Contact, a short film about surrogate motherhood through the lens of an auntie. Our protagonist, Troy, is a child of Hurricane Katrina, now in her 30s, who rides out the storm with an unexpected visitor–her niece, a 4th grader anxious about the family's fate. This comedic drama is filled with fantasy in a heartwarming 10-minute short. 

Tyler and Stevee have rallied several New Orleans and Baton Rouge filmmakers to bring Emergency Contact to film festivals in 2025.