Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Katherine Grant.
Hi Stephanie Katherine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I first started acting in Los Angeles in 2009. Shortly after I began, I booked my first guest star role on “Criminal Minds” (which I was very excited about!). I continued auditioning and booked guest spots on several shows over the next few years (Nickelodeon’s Deadtime Stories, NBC’s Save Me, STARZ’s Survivor’s Remorse). In 2013, I booked the recurring role of Emmy Mirsky on “The Goldbergs” (ABC). I’ve loved being able to bring Emmy to life and grow as an artist alongside the other cast members on the show.
Michael Grant, my creative partner/brother, and I founded HarisGrant Productions in 2015 here in Los Angeles. Our goal was to create a production company that is a home for filmmakers and those who believe in the power of film as a vehicle for love and truth. Shortly after starting our company, we wrote and directed our first short film, “Dominion.” It’s a psychological thriller centered a young Wall Street analyst who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
“Dominion” screened at the Calgary International Film Festival, Cannes Short Corner, LA Shorts Film Festival, Orlando Film Festival, Citizen Jane Film Festival, among others.
We were so happy with the success of “Dominion” and were inspired to continue growing our catalog of content!
We then entered the commercial space and directed several fashion campaigns for Brandy Melville and J. Lindeberg under our HarisGrant Productions banner.
After our commercial projects, we pivoted our focus back to narrative film and began pre-production on our latest short film, “Kepley.” “Kepley” is a neo-noir thriller and follows Detective Gillian Kepley as she tracks down a missing persons case. During her investigation, hidden truths from her past are uncovered. The case pushes her beyond her limits and forces her to confront mistakes from her burdened life.
We are so honored to have cast Emmy-nominee (Lost) Elizabeth Mitchell in the title role as Detective Gillian Kepley and Aaron Stanford as her partner, Detective David Logan! Both Elizabeth and Aaron are not only incredibly kind people but are also extremely talented and hard-working in their craft.
So far, “Kepley” has had an amazing festival run! We’ve won Best Short and Best Cinematography at the Montreal Independent Film Festival, Best Screenwriting at the Prague International Indie Film Festival, and have screened in competition as semi-finalists at Flickers’ Rhode Island Film Festival and Burbank International Film Festival, among others. We just returned back to LA from Orlando, where “Kepley” screened in the official selection of the Orlando Film Festival and was nominated for Best Short Film.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have definitely been a few bumps along the way as we continue to grow our production company. From shooting our first short film in 2015, we’ve come so far with our craft. We have continued to hone our filmmaking style on every project and hope to continue growing as we work on our next productions.
One of the challenges we faced early on was dealing with the logistical side of filmmaking. Having started our careers as actors, we understood how a set was run, but in stepping behind the camera we uncovered a whole new set of responsibilities. We definitely faced a learning curve in securing permits, handling contracts, and coordinating crew schedules.
I think the most important lesson we’ve learned is how to be true to our unique filmmaking voice and style. Every story can be told in many different ways. For us, the most important part of this process has been learning how to tell our stories in a way that feels genuine to us and representative of our perspective as filmmakers.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Outside of our narrative work, we’ve also directed commercial campaigns for Brandy Melville and the Swedish active-wear brand, J. Lindeberg. Those spots were really fun to work on and allowed us to be playful and experiment with vibrant cinematography and locations. The entire process of location scouting, collaborating with the wardrobe team, and editing was really just a joy on these projects.
We also directed and edited a documentary in 2018 titled “Ekota,” which means strength and unity in love in Bengali. The documentary follows a nun who runs an orphanage and school in Kolkata, India and has been saving girls from human trafficking for over 25 years. We were brought on by the organization that funds the orphanage/school in India to film a documentary in order to raise funds to build a fully-accredited high school on the orphanage grounds. We filmed for about a week in India and then spent about 5 months in post-production, editing, scoring, and mixing in Los Angeles.
Films:
Dominion (2016)
Kepley (2021)
Commercials:
Brandy Melville
J. Lindeberg
Documentaries:
Ekota
Who else deserves credit in your story?
HarisGrant Productions would not be anything without my brother and creative partner, Michael Grant! We are a true team and have a very collaborative and unified approach to all the projects we develop and produce. I think what makes HarisGrant so strong is the different areas of expertise we individually bring to the table. Michael is really knowledgeable about cinematography and has a gift to tell stories in a visually captivating fashion. He is also a classically trained pianist and has composed the score for all our projects to date. I tend more towards script/plot development and love finding the nuances in storytelling through editing.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: harisgrantproductions.com
- Instagram: @stephkathgrant / @harisgrantproductions
- Facebook: @HarisGrantProductions
- Twitter: @HarisGrantProd
- YouTube: KEPLEY – Teaser: https://vimeo.com/638916381
Image Credits:
Paul Smith Photography “Kepley” – Behind the Scenes
