‘Flatbush’ filmmakers ink deal with Crystal Ship Artists agency
Lifelong Haitian friends and now multi-award-winning filmmaking trio Samuel Ladouceur, Harry Jeudy, and Yanatha Desouvre, have signed with Manhattan-based Crystal Ship Artists (CSA) agency for representation ahead of their long-awaited feature film, “Flatbush.”
“Flatbush” is a true crime thriller, inspired by true events, written by prolific screenwriter Jeudy and set in the unforgiving streets of 1990 Brooklyn.
The close and loving relationship between Haitian American teenager Harold and his mother are tested when they are caught between two worlds: survival or loyalty.
Faced with insurmountable obstacles that put their lives in imminent danger, they are forced to find unorthodox ways to survive.
“’Flatbush’ is a coming-of-age story showcasing the overt xenophobia exhibited towards the Haitian community in New York throughout the 1990s,” Desouvre told Caribbean Life on Wednesday. “With Flatbush, experience a community with no choice but to fight back, reclaim their dignity and uphold their sense of self-worth by any means necessary.”
Desouvre said the film tells the true story of how the Haitian American community rose above stigmatization, and thrived against all odds.
The dynamic trio of filmmakers will reunite on this next project after shooting their 2020 short film, “The Sweetest Girl,” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in August 2020.
Desouvre said “The Sweetest Girl” has won several awards already, including Best Picture at the 2021 South Florida International Film Festival, and is in the work for 2022 Oscar nominations.
The Sweetest Girl, written by Jeudy and acclaimed author Desouvre (“Revelations: Roads to Redemption”) follows a loving marriage of 25 years that comes to a tragic end when a husband is compelled to tell his most heart-shattering secret beside his wife’s deathbed.
The three filmmakers, bonded by a friendship spanning over 30 years, said they are committed to making authentic films that feature characters who bounce back from traumatic moments, with strength and resilience, to face better days ahead.
Ladouceur, Jeudy, and Desouvre’s signing marks another set of rising names in Crystal Ship Artists Agency’s growing roster.
Ladouceur was born in Brooklyn to parents who migrated from Haiti and has worked on countless short films, major films and television shows, including “Person of Interest”, “Unstoppable”, “Power” and “Boardwalk Empire”.
In 2018, Ladouceur directed and produced the short film, “A Great Day in Harlem”, written by Jeudy, which illustrates three generations of African American men coming together in Harlem to revisit old wounds and make peace with their pasts.
The film is currently airing in major national markets on ABC, Fox, CBS, and other network affiliates.
Ladouceur is the founder of LA PhiLA Productions and vice president of Backdoor Entertainment LLC.
Jeudy, who was also born in Brooklyn to Haitian immigrants, has over a decade of experience in English, African and African American literature.
He is a prolific screenwriter, currently working as a project manager for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and is the founder and principal owner of Backdoor Entertainment LLC.
Desouvre was born in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, and raised in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, PA.
A modern-day renaissance man, he’s a best-selling Amazon.com author, professor of entrepreneurship at Miami Dade College and public speaker.
His latest novella, “Revelations: Roads to Redemption”, pays homage to Wyclef Jean’s discography.
Desouvre is also the author of the 2016 novella “To Whom Much is Given”, the first of the Goodman Chronicles series.
Desouvre, who also serves as a vice president of Backdoor Entertainment LLC, has been featured in various print publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, The New York Daily News, South Florida Caribbean News, Miami Herald, Miami New Times, The Haitian Times, The Haiti Sentinel, HuffPost and Black Enterprise, and on television outlets such as South Florida PBS, ABC, CBS and NBC.
A unique agency in an ever-changing market, CSA agency is a premiere artists agency located in the heart of New York City, with partners in Los Angeles and London representing actors, filmmakers, directors, writers and content creators.
The agency was co-created by Francesca Francois-Grimaldi and Sharon Parker-Frazier as Plaza 7 NYC Inc. and rebranded in 2020 to Crystal Ship Artists, housing highly experienced agents in film, television and theatre.
In addition to actors and filmmakers, CSA agency also represents comedians and celebrity artists.
“It is a wholly-owned minority agency whose number one priority is to help artists achieve their goals and provide representation services of the highest quality,” Desouvre said.
CSA is headed by veteran agent Francesca Francois-Grimaldi, along with Senior Agent and Executive Vice President of Talent Richard Murphy, Agent Christine Tyson-De Jesus, and Company Executives Sharon Parker Frazier and Paisley Karen Parks.
For more information, visit www.crystalshipartists.com.
