Joyful Rebellion Films
I created this film production company with the mindset of bringing my personal vision to life.
To obliterate the boundaries of film-making by challenging what is widely accepted as truth with uncompromising visuals, story-telling, dialogue and structure.
To breathe life into forgotten heroes, martyrs, revolutionaries, eras, stories and movements while creating films with racial, cultural and ethnic honesty, integrity, diversity and depth.
To give a voice to the voiceless and making the powerless feel powerful by sharing stories that need to be told and want to be heard.
We also prioritize quality, complex and unique leading and supporting roles for women and men of color.
We will educate, enlighten and entertain all ages.
We create, develop and produce shorts and features, narrative films and documentaries, original and adapted works spanning all genres.
The vision will never be compromised. The truth shall be told. The possibilities are endless.
Now…let’s go change the world…
James Coney, Creative Director, Owner
James Coney has always been a filmmaker at heart with a love for movies that goes back decades. One of his favorite movies as a child was "Amadeus" because the images, music and story were so captivating. Growing up, he loved all genres of film and always dreamed up his own images, stories and characters that he wanted to see on the big screen.
In late 2001, he finally acknowledged that his love of film should turn into a career and in 2002 he enrolled in Columbia College in Chicago, IL. He received his BA in Film in 2005 to go along with his Associates Degree in Mass Communications he received from Prairie State.
He entered the world of production in 2007 when he began working for the TV Court show Judge Mathis as a production assistant. He continued to work for several other shows as the years went on and in 2014, he decided to make his longtime dream come true and began laying the groundwork for his own film production company where he could make the movies he has always wanted to make and explore the subjects on screen he felt needed to be seen.
He founded Joyful Rebellion Films in 2015 as a production company that would not be afraid to let its voice be heard. A true visionary expresses the innermost workings of his soul no matter what and brings to life his world view and perspective with absolute joy. That is the mantra of the Joyful Rebel and the purpose of Joyful Rebellion Films.
Television Show Credits
Judge Mathis
Judge Jeanine Pirro
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Steve Harvey
Kitchen Crashers
America's Got Talent