Our Origin
Comfrey Films was founded in Durham, NC
by Joie Lou Shakur who utilized their personal resources to fuel their vision that the lives and stories of Black Trans people become unforgettable.
We began with a simple mission: To train the next generation of Black Trans storytellers and filmmakers, leverage our brand to get Black Trans filmmakers paid to produce media projects in their communities, and pay Black Trans film fellows to work on internal media projects that further the stories of Black Trans people globally.
Scope of Work
Our scope of work includes serving our communities through partnering with trained healing justice practitioners and organizations to increase the healing capacity of Black Genderqueer storytellers and filmmakers.
We’re utilizing the filmmaking process to bring access to healing justice services and opportunities for individual and collective healing to our Black genderqueer community. We are committed to a three pronged approach of land-based strategy, embodiment and bodily wisdom, and the power of individual storytelling as a landscape for growth and filmmaking.
This looks like utilizing services such as individual and group talk therapy, reiki, yoga, horticultural healing, meditation, and somatic body work during pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution phases of our filmmaking process.
We’re hiring!
check out our open positions here:
Our Team &
Digital Security
At Comfrey Films, we believe that storytelling is a powerful act of resistance, remembrance, and liberation. As an organization dedicated to uplifting Black trans, gender nonconforming, and intersex storytellers, we recognize that protecting the people who make this work possible is an essential part of our commitment to collective care.
In a political climate where Black trans communities, artists, and organizers face increasing surveillance, harassment, and targeted violence, we make intentional choices about how we share information about our team. For the safety and digital security of our staff and collaborators, we do not publicly list individual team members on our website. This decision reflects our commitment to protecting the privacy, autonomy, and well-being of the people who sustain our work.
While our team may not be individually named here, our work remains deeply rooted in community, collaboration, and accountability. We invite you to get to know us through the stories we tell, the artists we support, and the communities we build alongside.
If you’d like to learn more about Comfrey Films team, our work, and ways to work together, email us at admin@comfreyfilms.org