Gina Carey is an American

independent filmmaker An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

and soul R&B /

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

singer based in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Formerly known as Gina Green, Gina has since remarried and changed her name to Gina Carey.Gico Music
(official site)

Early life

Gina was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Gina Carey has a younger sister Bella Maori who is an actress http://coldheatnews.com/archives/4974 and screenwriter https://medium.com/@markwilliams45/new-tv-show-ugly-unmasks-the-ugly-face-of-colorism-in-hollywood-c02b8b326ae2 https://bellamaori.com/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2394724/. Bella Maori is the creator of the award winning tv show “Ugly,” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12686728/?ref_=nm_knf_i1. Gina grew up with her sister in Los Angeles, CA.

Film career

Gina Carey is currently a filmmaker who manages her own

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

company, Gina Carey Films. The indie film company, which has successfully produced six feature films as of 2019, is based in the

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...

and makes use of local talent and resources. As the first African-American female filmmaker in Palm Springs, Gina had originally started out as a self-taught, self-funded filmmaker who eventually expanded onto building Gina Carey Films. Gina Carey Films' first movie, “The Unexpected”, premiered in 2016. Subsequently, Gina Carey Films has produced other indie films such as “One Year Pact.” In 2017, Gina launched the 1st annual CV (

) Indie Film Awards, which was awarded to independent filmmakers producing low-budget films. The 2nd annual CV Indie Film Awards were continued in 2018.CV Indie Film Awards
(official site)

Filmography

Gina Carey is the director and producer for the following

s. *''Acts of Kindness'' *''Rose England'' *''The One Year Pact'' (2018) *''The Assumptions'' (2017) *''Aspire to Inspire'' (2016) *''The Unexpected'' (2016)

Music career

Gina has recorded three albums as Gina Green, which are ''In His Time'', ''Changes'', and ''Tell 'Um''. She is known for her vibrant spirit and silky-smooth vocal style, and is often compared stylistically to 1980s pop diva

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

. Her music blends elements of contemporary R&B with 1970s soul and modern-day hip hop to create a neo soul gospel flavor. Gina has performed on the same stage with Gospel artists

Tonex Anthony Charles Williams II (born May 16, 1975), better known by his stage name B. Slade, formerly known under the gospel moniker Tonéx ( ), is an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, dancer, producer, and ac ...

, J Moss, TBN's Bill & Rene Morris, The Gospel Gangsters, two-time

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

nominees God's Original Gangstaz, Brent Jones, and many others. Gina Carey is the founder and CEO of Gico Music, an independent music label and entertainment company.

Albums

Gina has produced 14 CD albums (3 gospel and 11 soul CDs), as well as 5 hit singles that have reached number one on the UK charts. Her CD albums include: Gina's debut album, ''In His Time'', was released on

Grapetree Records Grapetree Records was a record label founded by Knolly Williams. It was active from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. History Beginning In 1988, Knolly Williams was anxious enough to avoid the temptations inside Los Angeles to spend a summer ...

in 1997 under her then-legal name, Gina Brown, and sold over 10,000 copies worldwide. The album was received particularly well in Europe, topping out at number two on the U.K. Gospel charts. 2003's ''Changes'' was released independently and sold at a respectable pace. The planned release for ''Tell 'Um'', her third album on Rite-Step Records, fell through in mid-2005 as the label folded before it even got off the ground. The album was later picked up by

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

-based '
Trendency Records
'' and released nationally in July 2006. The singles ''Hiding Place'' and ''Testimony'' received moderate airplay across the U.S. and in Europe. Both the ''Changes'' and ''Tell 'Um'' albums were

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

by Isom Green, Jr., who has worked with Dr. Dre, Whitney Houston,

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

, and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

''Tell 'Um'' (2006)

# "Hiding Place" # "You Are More" # "Take Me" # "Testimony" # "Lift Him" # "Don't Let The Devil Lie To You" # "Glorify" # "Lord I Love You" # "I'm Not Ashamed" # "Tell 'Um" # "Rain On Me" # "Wounded Soldier" # "Thank You Lord" # "Turned Away" # "Are You Ready?"

''Changes'' (2003)

# "Stand Up" # "Sin" # "Changes" # "I Need You" # "This Heart of Mine" # "Fire" # "Lay My Burdens Down" # "Nearer To Thee" # "Thee Highest Praise" # "God Is Love" # "Only Believe"

''In His Time'' (1996)

# "Don't Think You've Arrived" # "I've Fallen In Love" # "You're Not My Husband" # "Centered In Your Love" # "In His Time" # "Come To Jesus" # "We Need To Pray" # "Seek His Face" # "Forgive" # "Make Up Your Mind" # "Choose Life" # " I Surrender All"

Awards

In 2006, Gina was nominated by the Black Music Academy Association of America in two categories: "''Best Gospel Performer - Female''" and "''Gospel Rising Star''". She performed at the event, held at the Cashman Theater, before a full house and won the "''Las Vegas Black Music Awards 2006 Best Gospel Performer - Female''" award. Later that year, she auditioned for NBC's ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

''. In 2008 Gina also auditioned for '' Showtime at the Apollo'' in

, California, and was chosen to be on the show. Gina has won various music awards, including: *Best Gospel Artist (2006) *Rising Stars of the Desert “Best Jazz Music Artist Award” (2012) *Best Single, GHP Virtual Music Awards (song: “Beautiful Music”) (2015) *“Best Contemporary Artist”, Coachella Valley Music Award (2015, 2016, 2017) *Most Influential and Interesting Women in the Coachella Valley, from ''Coachella Valley Weekly'' (2016) Gina's film awards include: *''The One Year Pact'': Cinemafest award winner (October 2, 2017) *''The Assumptions'': Miami Epic Trailer Festival award winner (April 21, 2017) *''The Unexpected'':

Nevada International Film Festival The Nevada International Film Festival (NIFF) is an international film festival granting film awards to independent films in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. In 2011, '' Life! Camera Action...'' directed by Rohit Gupta received the Platinum Reel ...

award winner (November 15, 2016) In addition to being an award recipient, Gina is also the founder and manager of the CV Indie Film Awards.