The Nacelle Company has partnered with North Maple Productions in a deal intended to broaden Nacelle’s content development strategy with a focus on expanding the company’s reach to historically underrepresented audiences.
Nacelle, founded by Brian Volk-Weiss, is the studio known for developing programs such as “The Movies That Made Us,” “The Toys That Made Us” and “Down to Earth With Zac Efron” for Netflix and “Behind The Attraction” for Disney Plus. North Maple Productions, co-founded by Naisha Arnold and Rushie Perera, focuses on platforming storytellers with diverse backgrounds in regards to race, gender and sexuality. Both women of color, Arnold and Perera work with both emerging and established talent to create both scripted and non-scripted material.
Arnold’s previous experience includes more than a decade of talent management. She also produced Polly Draper’s 2018 film “Stella’s Last Weekend.” Perera has also been working in production and development for over a decade, with a focus on production and development. She has sold Showtime, FX, Nat Geo and more, and most recently worked on the limited series “Hip Hop Uncovered” for FX and “Supervillain” for Showtime.
“There’s been a lot of talk in the last year about diversity and inclusion in our industry, but Nacelle’s partnership with North Maple is more than talk — it’s about action,” Arnold and Perera jointly said. “Together with Nacelle, North Maple is determined to amplify stories and filmmakers about and from historically excluded groups, whose points of view have long been described as ‘niche.’
“Our stories are not ‘niche,’ they’re universal and the more we can reflect the specificity of our experiences in film & TV, the better chance we have to find common ground — something we need now more than ever.”
“From the moment I met Naisha and Rushie, it was obvious their creative and strategic vision aligned with ours. I’m eager to see where this partnership takes us,” said Volk-Weiss, CEO of Nacelle.
Both companies are represented by WME.
(Pictured: Rushie Perera and Naisha Arnold)