Nekisa Cooper, producer of the critically acclaimed film Pariah, opens up about how the film’s production impacted her personal journey:

When I read the feature script version of Pariah in 2005, I was blown away by the richness of the worlds, the authenticity, and, more importantly, the vulnerability and fullness of the characters. Right away I was drawn to the lead character, Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old, black lesbian juggling multiple identities in an effort to please her family and friends. I related to her hiding her sexual identity from her parents and struggling so hard to assimilate and fit in with her friends. I’m a military brat raised in Catholicism who moved every two to three years and had to learn quickly how to adapt to new surroundings, to fit in, to perform and meet not only my parent’s expectations but also those of my friends and peers. I, like Alike, became a chameleon whose persona changed to fit the moment and to please those around me so much that I didn’t realize I was losing myself. I knew that I loved women when I was in college, and I struggled royally to reconcile my sexuality with my spirituality and the expectations of my family and friends.

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