Private Project

LA, I Kinda Like You

I traveled around Europe and Great Britain and people asked me, "What's it like to live in L.A." My answer was a filmed homage to Berlin, I love You; Paris J'Taime, & New York, I love You. It's about actors, writers, producers, sketch artists, stunt people and podcasters living in LA and what their daily grind is about. The music is also composed by LA artists. I present, LA, I Kinda Like You.

  • ALEISHA A BROOKS
    Director
  • ALEISHA A BROOKS
    Producer
  • Henry Tuason
    Cinematography
  • Martin Sherman
    Key Cast
  • Rebecca Whitman
    Key Cast
  • Samuel Mokelu
    Key Cast
  • Linda Paice
    Key Cast
  • Sandra Santiago
    Key Cast
  • Leigh Pollitt
    Key Cast
  • Laurie Love
    Key Cast
  • James Elden
    Key Cast
  • Reuven Herman
    Composers
  • Jiyeon Julie Lee
    Composers
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    documentary, comedy, drama
  • Runtime:
    39 minutes 42 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 16, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - ALEISHA A BROOKS

Two facts about me: When I was seven I knew I wanted to be a writer. And, I loved cameras. By the age of 12 I had written a dozen short stories and over 300 pages of poetry and lyrics. I even wrote a short screenplay. During family vacations, I took over the video recorder and made experimental and artistic family videos, ECUs galore. I also filmed a child birth for a baby that my mom, a midwife, helped bring into the world. I was raised, along with my 5 brothers and sister, to be independent, strong and full of expression.
The path to writing and directing was fraught with obstacles. I was a young mother with a premie baby and worked hard to build a beautiful family life. I worked to make a living, with my art only on the side. I found myself drawn to theatre and directed several plays in San Diego. One day I found my calling at the San Diego film festival and knew I wanted to write and direct features. But another setback shattered my world as I suffered a heartbreaking divorce and I became a single mother. I decided to go to college then and get my film degree. This I did in Los Angeles. Still making art part-time, I raised my daughter and worked hard to discover myself again. I filmed several internet shorts, and then I created a sketch comedy series called Saturday Night YouTube which aired to over half a million viewers. I loved making people laugh.
The life of the artist can be difficult to sustain, so I wanted to pay homage to the LA artist, their struggles and their highlights. Below is the story of how I came to create LA, I Kinda Like You (AKA LA True Stories).

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Director Statement

I traveled to Dublin, Ireland and while there at a Youth Hostel, I was writing a screenplay via SKYPE with my co-writing partner in South Africa. And the many foreign nationals in the hostel asked me where I was from. When I said, LA, their eyes lit up and they asked, "What's it Like to Live in LA?" That moment, LA True Stories was born. It later became LA, I Kinda Like You, as an homage to Berlin, I Love You; Paris, J'Taime, and New York, I Love You. I started shooting this film in 2019, and yet, I continued to work office management and marketing. When covid turned the world upside down in 2020, I quit my job, went back into the film industry, this time headfirst and full time and never looked back. While, I continued to shoot my short film, I became a covid officer and gradually transitioned back into Script Supervisor work, which I had done before on a part-time basis. We finally finished the film in 2023 after so much love and labor went into it from the LA cast and crew to the LA editor and musicians. It's a labor of love, the love of LA and the love of the LA artists who made it happen.