the triiilogy
an archive
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
EST. 2021
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
the triiilogy
an archive
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
EST. 2021
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
diiirections not included
a series
PREMIERED 2022
DIR. JOHNATHAN BROWN & NEIL PAUL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
created by Johnathan Brown as Lightwood Studios’ inaugural production.
The series follows the personal growth of three college roommates–Jordan
Cooper (Brown), Kendall Wood, and Channing Parker (Kaden Russell)–as
they navigate modern-day dating. Niam Kothari, Rita Kibicho, and Van
Adamson-Thompson also star as students of the fictional Evander University.
The series premiered on Lightwood’s YouTube channel on March 11, 2022 after an
in-house screening at the Mary Lou Williams Center;
though an entire season was developed, to date, only the pilot has aired.
Development on the series coincided with the conception of Lightwood,
dating back to Spring of 2021. The show’s content and title refer to a lack of
queer Black visibility, within both contemporary social models for dating,
and television itself. After the establishment of a writer’s room that Fall,
principal photography took place across Chapel Hill, North Carolina in
February of 2022.
Now Streaming
see how we fly
a fiiilm
“REMARKABLE...STELLAR CONCEPT” “TRULY INCREDIBLE”
PREMIERED 2023
DIR. JOHNATHAN BROWN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Brown, produced and distributed through Lightwood Studios. Set in Atlanta, the film follows
Flex (The Chi’s Ashton Hutchinson) reuniting with his childhood best friends (Truman Chamberlin
and Julliard’s Nijal Morgan) as they negotiate freedom and agency within emerging adulthood. Alexia Bryan
and Ella-Grace Wolfe co-star.
Lightwood’s first film, Fly adopts a verité shooting style, drawing inspiration from the
ephemerality in the 2016 limited-edition magazine Boys Don’t Cry and the 2018 documentary Minding the Gap.
It also references Italian Neorealist cinema, drawing parallels between the movement’s socioeconomic commentary and
Flex, Boots, and Dizzy’s plights under the modern-day societal constraints of capitalism and white supremacy.
Emotional responses of nostalgia, realism, and idealism in the wake of these hardships form the thematic core of Fly.
Brown adapted the film from a feature-length screenplay conceived during production of “Directions Not Included,”
reworking the narrative across travels to Germany, the Netherlands, and France during Summer of 2022; upon
researching cultural archives in Brixton, he began to incorporate the concept of decoloniality into the story’s framework.
The initial concept behind 2024’s EYES EYES EYES EYES was also devised during these sessions. Lightwood announced
a codenamed project for their 2023 slate that Fall, wrapping principal photography by November.
Following a series of post-production delays, See How We Fly premiered with a red carpet event at Peabody Hall on
November 9, 2023, being released on Lightwood’s YouTube channel a day later. The film received positive reviews from
audiences, who lauded the writing, performances, character development, cinematography, and use
of color theory. FLYradio, a companion playlist curated in collaboration with Earthtones, was released on November 8.
Now Streaming
eyes eyes eyes eyes
a narratiiive universe
“BRILLIANT, GENRE-BLENDING, BOUNDARY-PUSHING WORK” “UNREAL”
PREMIERED 2024
CREATIVE DIRECTION FROM JOHNATHAN BROWN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
and produced in association with Lightwood Studios and DukeArts Studio. Previewed at Lightwood’s
one-night fictional nightclub NERVAHN on April 21, 2024, EYES is comprised of three movements: an
ethnographic photobook (“ACCESS”), a concept anthology film (EYES EYES EYES EYES), and a
bespoke DJ mix (“AMEN”).
Presented as a “narrative universe capsule,” the project examines the impact of digital culture
on personal identity and social dynamics in the Internet Age, relating Generation Z’s emotional journey
towards self-realization within a digital and oppositional context. EYES EYES EYES EYES features an ensemble cast
including Manny Collazo, Nijal Morgan, Harmony McMullen, Aryan Kale and Camille Dunn, who star as a fracturing
friend group confronting digital perceptions while seeking forms of social access. Didier Exantus, Simone McFarlane,
Aisha Baiocchi, and more appear in “ACCESS” as guest contributors and longtime friends of Brown.
Brown began work on the project in late 2022 during principal photography of See How We Fly, conceiving it as
the final installment in a retroactive trilogy; development across the capsule lasted for eighteen months and overlapped
with Fly’s 2023 release. Initial drafts for a series that spawned the film began in January 2023 at the University of Southern California,
and, after a period of relocation, in Harlem and Chapel Hill throughout Summer and Fall of that year.
Primarily a dramatic coming-of-age film, the central EYES narrative exercises a hyper-real directing style, referencing
satirical, documentary, psychological thriller, and neo-noir formats. The film features four sequences that toggle
through the perspectives of each of the main characters: “Whiskey, or his Dagger,” (Dominic); “ACCESS_01,” (Pierre);
“Flight of Bird,” (Stephanie) and “Apollo’s Nervahn” (Leo). The film interrogates contemporary social theories such as the gaze,
double consciousness, and modern masculinity, particularly emphasizing liberation in an Afrofuturist reimagining of social dynamics.
EYES features an abstract and experimental narrative structure, marking a departure from Brown’s previous efforts,
and boasts soundtrack composition features from Chisom Uzokwe, Dalia Marquez, Kidnxtdoor, and Donovan
Moore. Filming spanned nineteen days in February 2024, involving twice the crew of standard Lightwood
productions. Honey Dijon, Baby Keem, Little Simz, DJ MikeQ, Pharrell, and Donna Summer appear on
“AMEN,” whose juxtaposition of classic funk, disco, and soul-infused dance floor movements with
contemporary hip-hop and R&B concluded the capsule.
The film opened to critical acclaim at NERVAHN’s “Night of the Eyes,” drawing particular praise for its narrative and stylistic audacity,
examination of subject matter, and emotional depth; the capsule itself was warmly received as a satisfying climax to the trilogy.
EYES anticipates a limited release circuit at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill in Fall of 2024 before enjoying a wide release this Winter.
Trailer