Our Mission
Founded in 2023, The Henley Content Lab (HCL) is a development and production company for content creators, who are over 45 and from underserved communities. Our mission is to facilitate the true diversification of content across multiple platforms by identifying, developing, facilitating, and supporting the production and distribution of viable content in all genres from creators in underserved communities. Through our extensive search for talented creatives coupled with our key industry and corporate partnerships, content creators — who were marginalized and excluded in their early careers — will finally have a chance to create and work in the Film, TV, streaming, podcasting, and advertising industries.
The Why
Reversing a century of inequity in content creation for film/television and other media requires bold, innovative, and comprehensive solutions.
Content creators from underserved communities need full support coupled with proper financing from conception to release, in order to truly create level playing fields.
Areas Of Focus
The Henley Content Lab will first focus on content creators in all genres for film, TV, streaming, and podcasting platforms. Future expansion will include assistance for content creators in theater, immersive, and gaming. In addition, HCL talent will partner with ad agencies to create commercials and other ad content.
The Plan
Development
During this phase, the HCL will fully assist content creators with the development process. For example, TV/Film content creators, will be paired with experienced screenwriters to either create scripts or polish the existing scripts for their projects, producers to help them calculate their budgets and hire staff, and casting agents and key creatives to help them determine the best locations to film or create their projects.
Financing
The Henley Creative Equity Fund will be set up to help fund the chosen projects. In addition, to eliminate lengthy turnaround times and ensure the chosen projects get made, the goal is to have partnerships and first-look deals with studios, streaming platforms, TV networks, and distributors, in place from the start.
Production Consulting/Support
The team at the HCL will be Executive Producers on all of the projects and assist our participants throughout the physical production and all other aspects of the creation, distribution, marketing, and release of their projects.
Community
The HCL will offer a lifelong support system to our content creators. Participants will be able to contact HCL advisors at any
time throughout their creative process and also, if they choose to, pitch their future projects for collaborative consideration.
In addition, a HCL interactive site and social media networks will be set up for networking and collaborating with other
HCL participants and the content creating community, at large. Special HCL events will include a presence at major
film festivals and special screenings and talks throughout the year.
10x10 Short Film Series
The 10x10 Short Film Series is a yearly sponsored series of themed 10-minute shorts created by directors from underserved communities to be premiered over 3 nights at film festivals. More than just screenings, we will create memorable and entertaining movie fest experiences for attendees.
Henley Studios
A future goal for the Henley Content Lab is to bring everyone under one roof into a state-of-the-art production
facility equipped with everything our content creators will need including production offices, rehearsal and audition rooms,
sound stages, post production suites, and wellness amenities in either New York or California.
This will create hundreds of jobs for the chosen state.
About The Founder
Courtney Henley
An Executive Producer in Film and TV, Courtney Henley has more than 25 years
of experience in content creation on multiple platforms. She created and piloted
"Hot Wheels" a reality series for USA Networks featuring the US women’s roller derby leagues and has produced documentary features and shorts.
She is currently developing numerous projects for TV and film including:
"Upsetting The Apple Cart: The Fight For US Suffrage" a documentary on the Black Suffragettes and the ongoing fight for full US suffrage,"Jackie and Joe" a series on Jackie Robinson and Joe Lewis,"5/13/85" a film on the tragic 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia, a black cowboy series, the Gary Tyler story, an AI horror experience,
and more.
Courtney is also a lifelong Activist working to right numerous American injustices.
Her current focuses are ensuring voting rights for all Americans and securing
American democracy, freeing the wrongfully incarcerated, combatting climate
change, and achieving income equality for all. In addition, she is launching the
Lift Every Voice (LEV) online school to ensure all American children learn true American and world history.
Board Of Advisors (so far)
Keith Beauchamp
Keith Beauchamp
Keith Beauchamp
A veteran Director/Executive Producer and civil rights activist, Keith Beauchamp has been featured on: 60 Minutes, ABC World News Tonight as 'Person of the Week,'Court TV, MSNBC, Good Morning America, CNN, and the BBC. Keith has also been spotlighted in hundreds of publications around the world including: The New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Associated Press, and the Chicago Sun Times.
Keith is an expert on the case of Emmett Till and in 2005 directed “The Untold Story of Emmett Till,” a documentary that helped get the case reopened. In 2022, he executive produced the critically acclaimed
feature film“Till,” which
was co-produced by Fred Zollo,
Whoopi Goldberg, and Barbara Broccoli.
Beauchamp’s past works include: TV One’s “Murder in Black and White” hosted by Reverend Al Sharpton,“Wanted Justice: Johnnie Mae Chappell” on the History Channel, and BET’s “Exceptional Black Women.” Beauchamp is the former Executive Producer and Host of Investigation Discovery’s award-winning crime reality series,“The Injustice Files.” He is in development on numerous projects, including this project and the MOVE film, with Courtney. In addition, he is developing and producing his first Broadway show.
Keith also travels the country and the world lecturing at colleges on the topic of
civil rights and the Emmett Till case.
Jen Weiss
Keith Beauchamp
Keith Beauchamp
Jess Weiss is a Producer who cares deeply about the art of storytelling. With her masterful budgetary skills, she loves the logistical puzzle of making a project happen.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Jess is used to finding resources in different parts of the world and loves collaborating with new teams - though New York is her home. She has produced projects all over the United States, as well as, internationally in Latin America and Europe. With over 10 years of production experience, Jess has worked in narrative and documentary feature films, TV shows, commercials, branded campaigns, theatre, immersive, experiential, and live events. She has produced content for Instagram, Diet Coke, Smartwater, Panera Bread, among many others. Her films have been selected for international festivals worldwide — most recently Tribeca Fest and Camerimage.
Jess ia a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Television Academy. Recent producer credits include “The Honeymoon Phase” starring François Chau and Tara Westwood, “The Subject” starring Jason Biggs, Aunjanue Ellis and Anabelle Acosta and “American Insurrection” starring
Nadine Malouf, Michael Raymond James, and Toby Leonard Moore.
Stephen Winter
Keith Beauchamp
Stephen Winter
Stephen Winter is an award-winning Filmmaker, Producer, and Writer. His 1996 debut feature film “Chocolate Babies” was restored by UCLA/Outfest in 4K, is currently touring the world, and is featured on the Criterion Channel. In 2023 Stephen directed the science-fiction drama podcast “The Space Within” starring and produced by Jessica Chastain, with Michael Shannon and Ellen Burstyn for Topic Studios and Audible. Stephen co-created and directed the 2019 Afro-futuristic political satire podcast: “Adventures in New America” which the New York Times compared to the works of
Boots Riley and Jordan Peele.
In 2024, Stephen produced Jonathan Caouette’s documentary “Tarnation”
which premiered at Sundance and
screened at Cannes and the NYFF. Other
film collaborators include Lee Daniels,
John Cameron Mitchell, Allan Hughes,
Gus Van Sant, Xan Cassavetes, Patrik
Ian Polk, and Bridey Elliott.
As a story editor, Stephen worked with
David France on “How To Survive A Plague (2013)” which earned an Oscar nomination for Outstanding Documentary. Playwright Jeremy O. Harris dubbed Stephen
“the father of modern Black Queer cinema.”