Say Something wins the Innovative Vertical Award
The series took home the Innovative Vertical Award at the Detroit Black Film Festival.
Photo: Guido Venitucci
Actress | Voiceover Artist | Award-Winning Filmmaker | Writer
Alyssa Cheatham is a Brooklyn-born actress, voiceover artist, writer, award-winning filmmaker, and the co-founder of Emerald Summer Productions. She has been working on set since age three. Today she tells stories from both sides of the camera, creating work that is honest, relatable, and rooted in culture.
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About
Alyssa began acting at age three and has grown into a versatile actress whose career spans feature films, acclaimed television series, and leading voice roles in animated shows loved by young audiences.
Most recently, she starred as Sierra Brooks in the award-winning vertical series Say Something. Her feature film work includes Warner Bros.' Collateral Beauty, playing the daughter of Will Smith's character in an ensemble cast that included Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, and Edward Norton. She made her film debut in Every Secret Thing, playing the daughter of Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, alongside Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, and Dakota Fanning. She voiced the role of Lorelai on Nickelodeon's Emmy-nominated animated series Santiago of the Seas and spent five years as the voice of Amy, the beloved girl bear in the Charmin commercials. She has also had recurring roles on HBO Max's The Flight Attendant and Season 1 of Netflix's Karma's World, to name a few. Today she works across on-camera and voiceover projects while expanding into writing, directing, and producing.
She co-founded Emerald Summer Productions, where she co-created, co-executive produced, co-wrote, and stars in the award-winning vertical series Say Something. She also directed the documentary Seen and Unprotected, recognized by the Speak Truth to Power Video Contest in partnership with Tribeca Festival.
Alyssa is especially drawn to what happens after a story reaches the screen: how audiences read a filmmaker's choices, and how our own experiences shape what we see. That curiosity led her to found the AC Screen Society, a club where teens and young adults watch, discuss, and analyze film, television, and digital media together.
Projects · Original Series
Emerald Summer Productions Co-Founder · Co-Creator · Co-Executive Producer · Co-Writer · Lead Actress as Sierra Brooks
When Sierra Brooks, a normally quiet teen, decides to stop holding back, she begins uncovering hidden relationships and unspoken tensions within her friend group, setting off a chain of confrontations that reveal the truth is far more complicated than anyone expected.
Told through a series of short, cinematic chapters, the story is crafted in a vertical format for a more intimate and immediate viewing experience.
Season 2 is in development.
Shot vertical. Made for your phone.
Projects · Documentary
Documentary · Director
Honorable Mention, Speak Truth to Power Video Contest
Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center · Tribeca Festival
Alyssa directed this documentary on how unhoused people are policed in America, leading the research and conducting the interviews herself.
The film earned national recognition from the Speak Truth to Power Video Contest, which partners with Tribeca Festival to spotlight young filmmakers telling human rights stories.
Recognition
Film Club for Teens & Young Adults
Watch. Talk. See it differently.
Founded by Alyssa, the AC Screen Society brings young people together each month to watch and analyze films, TV series, and digital media, from the choices creators make to the assumptions we bring and how our own experiences shape what we see.
You're invited
Get screening dates, the film of the month, and discussion invites by email.
Latest
The series took home the Innovative Vertical Award at the Detroit Black Film Festival.
Alyssa earned a Best Performance nomination from the Canadian Vertical Film Festival for her role as Sierra Brooks.
Seen and Unprotected, directed by Alyssa, received an Honorable Mention in the national Speak Truth to Power Video Contest, presented with Tribeca Festival.
Alyssa's new film club for teens and young adults is hosting monthly screenings and conversations. Join above.
Contact
For casting, bookings, press, speaking engagements, or collaborations, send a note and her team will get back to you.
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