Yellow is a short film written and co-produced by Penda L. James and Selena Burks Rentchsler. It was filmed in Huber Heights, Ohio, from July 30, 2026, through August 2, 2026, by a dedicated team of people from Ohio (Dayton, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus) and Maryland. Industry professionals, college students, and film enthusiasts came together to make the script come to life.
About The Director:
Selena Burks-Rentschler is an award-winning documentary director/producer and screenwriter. Her documentary film Saving Jackie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and continues to screen across the country in state and county child services organizations, high schools, and universities. She’s a recipient of multiple state and national arts grants for her documentary work, including the highly competitive Rockefeller Foundation Media Arts Fellowship Grant, Ohio Arts Council Fellowship Grant, Fledgling Fund, and Chicken & Egg grants.
Selena earned her M.F.A. in screenwriting from David Lynch Cinematic Arts graduate program at the Maharishi International University. Her script, Rose from Concrete, was a PAGE International Screenwriting quarterfinalist and second-place winner in the Socially Relevant Film Festival screenwriter’s competition. Selena was an Austin Film Festival Pitch Fest Finalist for her horror screenplay House of Smoke.
She’s an Emmy-award-winning associate producer of a ThinkTV PBS affiliate documentary about the history of redlining and housing inequality in southwest Ohio entitled Mapping Inequality: Redlining in Dayton & Springfield.
Selena is a professor of film production at her alma mater, Wright State University and has worked in supporting positions on feature films including W, Carol, Miles Ahead, Donnybrook, Dark Waters, Hillbilly Elegy, and the upcoming Alto Nights.
Logline:
A woman must confront her unspoken anger towards her mother in order to prepare for the birth of her own child.
Summary:
Anita “Nitty” Pitts has carefully built a facade of strength and grit to keep others from seeing her vulnerability. Although she nurtures and trains women in leadership, Nitty doesn’t make herself a priority.
When she’s placed on bed rest due to an at-risk pregnancy, her hard shell begins to crack, and self-care becomes necessary. Nitty is forced to stop keeping people at arm’s length and accept help, or lose her child. A conversation with her mother reveals an unspoken anger that threatens to cause her carefully curated life to fall apart. She needs her mother’s help, but will her unspoken anger keep her from receiving it?
Tentative Release Date:
May 2027
Behind the scenes footage and photos
ANT Floyd -RLF Publishing
Selena and Penda on set
Explore The Inspirational Collection
In 2016 Penda's mom died. In 2022, she lost her father. Her memoir, Remember Your Strength, was written to capture the wisdom her parents shared with her about strength. That led to her penning Yellow, her first short film, with the help of Selena, which inspired a novel, Running Between Dandelions, and a coloring book,
