CHICAGO — Arnetta Randall has always adored romantic comedies.
She grew up loving “While You Were Sleeping”, the 1995 Chicago-based amnesia L-train love affair starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. Then there was “Serendipity,” the 2001 Christmas romance with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale.
She watched “Hav Plenty”, a ‘90s deep cut about an aspiring writer who gets one weekend to woo his college crush before chaos ensues, “so many times it’s crazy,” Randall said.
But the genre she loved most rarely centered on lesbian couples, Randall said. If it did, they were “really sad movies or coming out stories,” Randall said. The women were often thin, white and appealing to a “certain aesthetic.” They didn’t look like her or the Black women she knew growing up in Chicago.
Randall combined the whimsy and love she’d seen in her favorite romantic comedies to write and direct “Kismet” — a short film about a Black lesbian couple that finds love after sudden heartbreak.
Arnetta Randall (left) hopes to raise $50,000 to turn her short film, “Kismet”, into a feature-length production. Credit: Provided
“Kismet” was an official selection for the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and NewFest, New York’s Queer Film Festival, in 2017. Today, the short film has over 9.5 million views on YouTube.
Randall is raising $50,000 to make “Kismet” a feature-length film. Her first fundraising goal is $8,000, and she’s raised $1,515 as of Wednesday. You can donate here.
Randall hopes to introduce more audiences to queer romantic comedies with Black women leads, she said. If all goes as planned, “Kismet” will make its feature premiere on the big screen by summer 2026.
“I’m a hopeless romantic who wants to read love stories and watch love stories on TV because it’s fun and low stakes,” Randall said. “With ‘Kismet’, I want people to smile. I want people to come away happy and laughing.”
Randall always knew she wanted to be a writer, she said.
Growing up in Englewood, she read fiction constantly and participated in her school’s Young Authors program, Randall said. She furthered her education in fiction writing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Columbia University in New York City.
Most of her writing was about historical events or political activism, Randall said.
“Then I got older and started dating, and I started writing more stories about relationships,” Randall said.
In 2016, her cousin asked for help writing a web series he wanted to get off the ground. The series never entered production, but through the experience, she “got the bug for writing scripts,” Randall said. That same year, she wrote “Kismet.”
Randall finished writing the script for her short film in a few weeks, she said. Next came scouting for locations and building out a cast to bring her words to life.
“Kismet” tells the story of Jessica, an ambitious Black woman who is laser-focused on having a well-rounded, successful life with a career, family and friends.
After an unexpected breakup — her former partner leaves her in a letter — Jessica bumps into Jada, a laid-back barber and graduate student, on the street before Jessica’s rambunctious mother arranges for the two to go on a date. After an ex-flame crashes a passionate night, the two have to find their way back to each other.
Randall used Backstage, a platform for hiring rising talent, and Craigslist to cast Jessica, portrayed by Alexandria Franklin, and the surrounding cast. But finding someone to portray Jada, a masc-identifying woman, was a challenge, Randall said.
“Growing up and being in Chicago and in our culture, there’s a lot of masc-identifying lesbians,” Randall said. “I wanted to highlight that and Black women. I never feel like I watch these movies and Black women are at the center.”
A friend suggested she contact Milon V. Parker, a Chicago-based performer with a few independent films already on her resume.
“At that point, she’d done a few movies in Chicago and was well known, so I didn’t know if Milon would want to do my small short,” Randall said. “But I contacted her, and she was down.”
“Kismet,” a short film that centers a Black lesbian couple, has received over 9 million views on YouTube. Milon V. Parker (left) plays Jada and Alexandria Franklin (right) plays Jessica in the film. Credit: Provided
Randall filmed “Kismet” in one weekend in 2017, she said. Scenes were shot in her friend’s apartments, a mentor’s home and Simone’s Bar in Pilsen. She released it in August 2017 on her YouTube page.
“Kismet” made its festival debut in 2017 and sat on her YouTube page for years, Randall said.
Six years later, in 2023, she came across OML TV, a platform spotlighting LGBTQ+ content, and a recent post asking people to submit content for their YouTube page.
Randall submitted “Kismet” and watched the views for her short film climb from 1 million views to over 9.5 million views, she said.
“It made me think that maybe there is something here,” Randall said. “Maybe I can make a feature film.”
It’s been eight years since Randall first shared her short film, but audiences today continue to connect to the story, she said.
“Kismet” the feature-length film will expand on the characters and world she built in her short film. It’ll be the light romantic comedy audiences have been longing for, she said.
“People tell me they watched it and it was great or they see two Black women and tell me they’re going to watch it right away,” Randall said. “Just knowing what I’m making is resonating with an audience is wonderful.”
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