HOLY HUSTLE
Short Film
Project Type: Short Film
Project Status: Pre-Production
Director / Writer / Composer: Iman June Blackwell
Producer: Pierce Carmichael Whitney
Associate Producer: Calvin Ryerse
Casting Director: Devon James Winston
Lead Wardrobe: Nessie Kelly
LOGLINE
In the sweltering summer of 1971, a restless Bible salesman teams up with a sharp-tongued hijabi in the Arkansas Delta to save his college dreams–one porch pitch at a time.
SYNOPSIS
Summer of 1979. The Arkansas Delta swelters under the sun. MARVIN JONES, a first-generation college student from St. Louis, turns to a door-to-door Bible selling program in the deep South to raise tuition money. It’s one week before the fall semester begins, and Marvin has two options: sell the rest of his Bibles or forfeit his spot at school. With every slammed door and shotgun pointed at his chest, Marvin’s dream grows dimmer.
Enter NUR TURNER, a local hijabi teen with a sharp tongue and a knack for reading her neighbors, thanks to her experience running her family’s diner. Reluctantly, they partner up. She helps him rework his pitch and perspective. They make strides to make the sale deadline, but after a disastrous visit to a local preacher’s house, Marvin realizes that not every sale is worth the price.
In the end, Marvin makes a choice that sacrifices his mission but earns him something deeper: clarity, humility, and loyalty to an unlikely friendship. The Delta sun rises the next morning, and Marvin bids farewell to Nur. On his way out of town, he finds Nur’s tip pouch in his glove compartment. Back at the diner, we see Nur offering free Bibles to her morning regulars.
Three hundred miles away, Marvin takes a moment to give thanks to the unexpected angel looking over him. At last, he revs his engine into St. Louis.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT ABOUT THE PROJECT
HOLY HUSTLE is a gritty and vulnerable “hoot” intending to distinguish faith from religion, particularly within the Deep South. Inspired by writer-director Iman Blackwell's father, who spent decades selling Bibles throughout the South during the 1970s and 1980s, the film also draws from her parents' marriage, which united two opposing faith traditions: Sunni Islam and Southern Baptism. The combination of these two religions created friction between two large families that eventually became one, but not at first, providing the thematic foundation for the story.
Like Iman, I was also raised in the South within a large Black Christian family, where faith and religion were treated as the same. And that lack of distinction complicated my own relationship with both, leading to me currently becoming agnostic. Working on HOLY HUSTLE is an opportunity to explore the conversations I wish I had been exposed to growing up, ones that embrace nuance, question inherited beliefs, and recognize that faith can exist beyond the institutions that want to define it solely.
HOLY HUSTLE critically examines the institutions and traditions through which conversations about faith and religion are shaped, while emphasizing the importance of preserving space for individual interpretation and spiritual autonomy. This is especially relevant as America's current cabinet continues to impede on individuality and freedom in faith.
Meet The Filmmakers
-
Iman June Blackwell
Director
Iman June Blackwell is a Malay-American film director, writer, producer, and composer with a mission to use audiovisual media as an agent of social and environmental justice. She has worked in production and post-production at studios including National Geographic, FX Networks, and 20th Television. As director-composer, Blackwell premiered her debut short film, Sharps & Flats, at the 2025 Bentonville Film Festival. She speaks 4 languages, graduated Cum Laude from Georgetown University, and continues her studies at UCLA Extension in Film and Music. Holy Hustle is Blackwell's ode to her home state of Arkansas and the interfaith communities that raised her. -
Pierce Carmichael Whitney
Producer
Pierce Carmichael Whitney is a social-first writer & producer raised between the polar opposite lands of St. Louis and San Francisco. She’s worked for renowned companies such as Sony Pictures, FX Networks, and EA Games on projects like Welcome To Wrexham and an unannounced Star Wars: Jedi video game title. As of 2026, Pierce was named a Winner in the Shore Scripts: Script to Screen Initiative and a Semifinalist in the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship. She earned her BFA in Dramatic Writing and Producing from NYU Tisch. -
Calvin Ryerse
Associate Producer
Calvin (they/them) is a filmmaker and organizer based in Brooklyn and originally from Springdale, Arkansas. They have experience in everything from nuclear weapons deterrence, arts education, resistance to Christian Nationalism, program coordination, and online content creation, but have found a home helming productions as an assistant director and producer. Their filmmaking work has screened at Film at Lincoln Center, Anthology Film Archives, DCTV, Millennium Film Workshop, The Roxy Cinema, and more. -
Devon Winston
Casting Director
Devon James Winston is a casting director, filmmaker, and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. A graduate of Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, he has cast Dodge College thesis films, numerous short films, and a web series pilot. Professionally, he supports senior leadership at The Walt Disney Company, contributing to casting initiatives and productions including the 2025 and 2026 Disney Television Discovers Talent Showcase. His experience also includes development and production roles at Campfire Studios, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, and Citizen Skull Productions. As a writer and director, Devon is drawn to bold, character-driven stories rooted in genre and history. -
Nessie Kelly
Lead Wardrobe
Nessie Kelly is a Production Designer based out of Northwest Arkansas. Originally hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, she grew up in close proximity to the second largest theatre district in the States, sparking a love for visual storytelling that developed into a life-long passion. Nessie has a B.A. in Theatre from Harding University, and is pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design at the University of Arkansas. Across theatre and film, their favorite production she has worked on up to this point has been the period short film Tennyson's Maud. With a flair for the impactful, a dedication to historical accuracy, and a passion for immersive storytelling, Nessie is thrilled to be a part of sharing Holy Hustle with the world.
Your Help
HOLY HUSTLE is a fiscally sponsored project of Cinematography for Actors, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donation will be tax-deductible!