Red Beret Productions is a Brooklyn-based production company run by film director Susan O’Brien, who’s sole mission is to provide emerging artists with a platform that elevates diverse voices. O’Brien is able to achieve this by collaborating with creative producer and friend Dasha Kova aiming to disprove the myth that artists need to be given permission to create the projects that they want to do, the team is driven by their motto “make things happen.”
After meeting in 2018 through a mutual colleague in New York City, who recommended they work together on one of O’Brien’s directorial projects, the duo immediately became close friends building a connection and immense respect for each other’s work and creative lenses.
They would later discover that they were compatible creatively as they both strived to work on projects that offered meaning and solutions to problems, like the lack of diversity in film and media. In turn, their workspace has become a great example of what “walking the walk” means in this regard.
“It’s starting by hiring a team that is entirely female, or properly representing diversity on screen through gender, age, sexuality, race, culture, and religion,” Kova said.
Kova has also used this belief system in her solo work having created, wrote, produced, and directed her web-series titled, “Sex Cafe”, which is an unapologetic female conversation that features diverse women discussing sexuality, social awareness, and political issues. The show was later picked up by LA-based Queer streaming company REVRY, for its first season.
Most recently the duo completed production on a music video called “Go and Get It” by New York City-based music group Salt Cathedrals. Salt Cathedral, originally from Bogota, Colombia that draw on the sounds of NYC and traditional Colombian music. Salt Cathedral is known for their distinctive look and fashion they feature in their performances and videos.
The music video and song is also a collaboration with Big Freedia, known as the Queen of Bounce, who is a New Orleans-based rapper and ambassador of Bounce music.
The song and video is already getting press with Paper Magazine, Nylon, Remezcla, Man Repeller, World of Wonder, and many more. The song is a hustler’s anthem that celebrates each of the artist’s distinct styles and personality.
The bright and colorful video was directed by O’Brien, who found her inspiration by absorbing Salt Cathedral’s bold and forward choices with fashion, while Kova used her eye for detail and fierceness to bring the production of 30 people together for a quick two-day shoot. “We feel so privileged to have been able to work with her – it literally would have been impossible without her,” Juliana Ronderos, the lead singer of Salt Cathedrals, shared.
The duo has persevered and cited Bushwick as the embodiment of constant celebration for artists. Offering an uplifting experience where validation meets action, Bushwick gives them the chance to widen their horizons whether they are looking at street art on Troutman Street, are moved by local street performers at a show at Bizarre Bushwick, or watching a film at Syndicated!
They seek out potential projects waiting for those days when inspiration suddenly hits them. “There are so many artists per capita. It is so refreshing to create there, and collaborate with others who share the same interests,” the duo said.
Cover image courtesy of Red Beret Productions.
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