Diverse Crew

I kind of stumbled into filmmaking. I’ve always loved acting and was doing a lot of acting with my local theater. I overheard some theater friends talking about film acting gigs that they’d been a part of, and I asked them, “How do I get my foot in the door with the film world?” They suggested going the “background extra” route, which I did. I landed my first film gig (without an agent) as a parolee extra on TNT’s “Good Behavior,” which was filmed at Screen Gem Studio in Wilmington, NC. As soon as I had that experience, I knew this was something I wanted to continue being a part of. I’ve been a writer all my life, but I started off writing novels, which I have 2 published on Amazon, both urban romance novels (Confessions of a Diva and This Time is Forever).

I was working on my 3rd novel, “Elle Rose,” but got stuck writing it for three years. Then, one night, I had an idea to turn the book into a movie, which I did, and in 2 weeks, the movie had written itself. I let a few film friends read it, and they loved it. They told me I should produce it myself, and because I already had a network built through my film gigs, I reached out to people I knew, asking for help and guidance, and the next thing I knew, I had produced my movie, and I was headed to the theaters to watch my romantic-comedy movie premiere. It was an amazing experience. And after writing the Elle Rose movie, I still kept hearing more of the characters’ stories in my head, so I started writing again and ended up with a whole series. I decided to produce the series as well, and here I am now, just days away from the series premiering on Amazon Prime. It’s really just an amazing journey, from beginning to end.

Sheila is an award-winning filmmaker. She is currently developing her feature script BIRDSONG with BBC Films/BFI, story consulting on ‘A TOWN CALLED MALICE’ for SKY and Vertigo Films and developing original pilots with Sky Studios, Fully Focused and Home Team.

Sheila has written, produced and directed several internationally renowned projects including ZION, VICTIM and the feature film DAVID IS DYING. Sheila founded Kingdom Drama School in 2011, now run by Ashley Walters.

In 2014 her film LIMBO was shot in Norfolk, Virginia and selected at various international festivals included Cannes Pan-African Film Festival. Following her invitation to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister, 2018 saw her become an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society for her determination in committing to the Society’s mission of promoting the values of the Commonwealth. She ended the year in Writer’s Rooms for an exciting new Netflix comedy and a Channel 4 drama.

In 2020 she directed the short films I AM MARY and JOY. She also wrote the short film SOMETIMES I FEEL, which was selected for the Oscar qualifying PAFF festival in LA 2020.

I'm a writer, publisher & owner of my independent company Inspire Books.

As an author of books for adults and children, I have created a number of stories that can be adapted to film, regardless of any intended demographic. My next step is working within film, helping bring stories to life or adding 'reality' to existing scripts, where and if needed.