Salena Rochester, Executive Producer of Butterfly Boxing, a short film starring Hill Harper and J. Alphonse Nicholson directed by Joslyn Rose Lyons, reflects on the Importance for Diversity in Storytelling with NY Arts & Cinema. Butterfly Boxing has won numerous awards at festivals including Cine Fern, Filmshort Creative Award, Los Angeles Film Awards, Florence Film Awards, Accolade Global Film Competition, Festigious Los Angeles, LA Independent Women Film Awards
Salena Rochester: The universe has a way of aligning forces together at the right time for a precise outcome. As a successful creative executive for a top 5 cable and streaming network, I was feeling stagnant. Though I oversee and develop some of tv’s biggest reality shows, I felt a redundancy in my day to day...I worked tirelessly to achieve a masters in film and tv production so that I can create dynamic and compelling stories in all genres. When I read Joslyn's script about dreams deferred and being afraid to follow your passion, I knew that I had to step out of my box and work with her. I decided to take on the role of executive producer of both Shadowbox because I can see the vision she has for the film and I want to help execute it. When I read the script, the scenes with magical realism danced off the pages. The story was different and special but still relatable and not too far off into fantasy. Audiences will see themselves in one or all of the characters and relate to the human story. I am so excited to be working with a talented filmmaker like Joslyn. Her writing and directing style is idyllic and dreamy. She has a clear vision and approach to making films. It's hard to come across talented people who are also easy to work with. I can't wait to see this project come to life!"
- Salena Rochester EP, Shadowbox & Butterfly Boxing, Cable & Streaming Television Executive