I Am Not Your Token

Ebony Hendrix is a 16-year-old, preppy Black girl attempting to assimilate to her predominantly white high school. She struggles to find her identity in her popular (and more than mildly racist) friend group referred to as Tiffany and Co. When her former best friend and proud Blactivist, Iman confronts her, Ebony is forced to reckon with herself–and her title of Token Black Girl.

  • Isis Gullette
    Writer & Director-in-Training
  • Angellic Ross
    Producer
  • Liliane Calfee
    Producer
  • Shane Simmons
    Executive Producer
  • Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke
    Film Director Mentor
  • Kandace Mack
    Key Cast
    "Ebony"
  • Jasmine Cheri Rush
    Key Cast
    "Iman"
  • Dani Chmielewski
    Key Cast
    "Tiffany"
  • Kaitlyn Piotroski
    Key Cast
    "Sasha"
  • Erika Rose
    Key Cast
    "Emily"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 22, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    45,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    ARRI Amira Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography

Isis Gullette is an 18-year-old aspiring screenwriter and poet
born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. She discovered her passion for screenwriting while attending a CHA summer youth program hosted by DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts.

It was during their Movie & TV Scripts intensive that she initially came up with the idea for "I Am Not Your Token," a deeply personal and almost autobiographical story for her as a Black girl currently attending a predominantly white high school.

When her script was selected to become the program's first narrative short film production, Isis was given the opportunity to also act as director-in-training. She received mentorship from two accomplished POC female directors, McKenzie Chinn and Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke.

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Director Statement

This is not your conventional short film. First off, I wrote the script when I was only 16-years-old. Second, it was produced with professional POC female filmmakers in all key roles including my directing mentors, producer, director of photography, and sound person. It was crewed by a cohort of my peers, twelve aspiring filmmakers primarily from Chicago’s South and West Sides. What makes me most proud is knowing that this film resonates with each of them and likely many others who don’t often see their lived reality on screen. It was also important to me to give some humanity to each character. We don’t live in a world of villains and heroes. We’re all here just trying to figure things out; though some of us are definitely more misguided than others.