''Finding Me'' is a 2009 drama film directed by Roger S. Omeus Jr. The film was released on March 3, 2009, and stars RayMartell Moore as Faybien Allen, a young gay man who must navigate through a series of complex relationships while dealing with everyday struggles.
Plot
Faybien Allen is a young gay man of Haitian descent living in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.
Omeus was inspired to create the film and its followups after viewing gay-themed media such as '' Noah’s Arc'' and ''
Punks
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture ...
''. He also found inspiration from other media such as ''
Degrassi High
''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the Degrassi franchise, ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of ''Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC Telev ...
'', as he felt that the series was not as Americanized as other television series. The movie was filmed on a limited budget, which Omeus found to be a challenge because it necessitated that he perform in roles other than the director and also limited filming to weekends. While filming Omeus tried to capture the "core that the black community seems to have against homosexuality", which he described as "unnerving" and "frightening".
Other media
The film has had several continuations. In 2011 Omeus released '' Finding Me: Truth'', a sequel to the original film. The movie continues to follow Faybien, who has since left his dead end job at the mall, while his friends Amera and Greg have experienced changes in their lives as well.
The following year Omeus began a
webseries
A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
entitled '' Finding Me: The Series'', which also features the characters of Faybien and Greg. Actress J'Nara Corbin, who starred as Amera in the films, did not return for her role in the webseries. Omeus pitched the series to
Logo TV
Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...
and
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...