When sibling filmmakers Justen and Julien Turner sent in their comedy pilot \u201cFreeLance\u201d for consideration at the <\/span>Sundance Film Festival<\/span><\/a> last year, the duo thought they had everything in order. Everything except one crucial detail.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a funny story,\u201d Justen told celebrity.land. \u201cWhen we submitted, we didn\u2019t have any of our personal or contact information on the submission.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fairly new to the process, the brothers weren\u2019t entirely sure how representatives from the renowned film festival <\/span>would<\/span> get in touch if their scripted project was selected. Justen said he turned to Reddit for guidance (\u201cIt was like, they call you\u201d) and even double-checked to make sure everything on their cold submission appeared complete. Still, that missing piece of information nearly derailed their golden opportunity. Fortunately, the duo received a phone call one day in late November \u2014 though it wasn\u2019t from the festival just yet.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThey ended up reaching out to our mom first, because her number is on our website, and she called us,\u201d Justen explained. \u201cShe was like, \u2019Call this number <\/span>right now<\/span>, it\u2019s Sundance.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAt the time, Justen and I were on the phone when our mom told us to call those people back,\u201d added his older brother, Julien. \u201cWe were like, \u2019Oh, we\u2019re about to ring them in <\/span>right now<\/span>.\u2019 We called them back, merged the call and one of the programmers picked up and said, \u2019We just wanted to let you know that we want [\u2018FreeLance\u2019] to premiere at Sundance.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe played it so cool,\u201d he continued with a laugh. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Ohhh, cool.\u2019 Then we muted our phones, and I started running around. I was outside, just running in circles \u2026 It was definitely surreal. It didn\u2019t feel real. I think for the rest of the night, we were on cloud nine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtesy of DreadHead Films<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s easy to see why, after years of dreaming of a moment like this. Fast forward to today, and the Turner Brothers are heading to Sundance for the first time to unveil their pilot \u201cFreeLance,\u201d a hilarious, candid ode to their journey as filmmakers trying to break into the business.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Selected for the Park City festival\u2019s episodic pilot showcase, the show follows an aspiring filmmaker from Ohio named Lance (Spence Moore II) as he documents the pursuit of making his first movie after moving in with a bunch of creative friends. Together, the tight-knit yet inexperienced crew of 20-somethings tries to help one another chase their dreams in today\u2019s overcrowded creator market, taking on offbeat gigs to grow their brands and doing their best to stay afloat.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The series boasts a cast of familiar faces, including comedians and internet personalities such as <\/span>Lou Young III<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Lou Ratchett<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Bernard \u201cB Nard\u201d Clark<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Ren\u00e9 Vaca<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Mel Mitchell<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Christianee Porter<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Kyle Flood<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Jaren Bretz<\/span><\/a>. Elijah Cooper and London Arrington also star.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s a bit of a surprise that an episodic project like \u201cFreeLance\u201d found its way into Sundance. The film festival has long been known for spotlighting weighty indie dramas and buzzy documentaries, with comedic projects \u2014 particularly Black-led ones like \u201cFreeLance\u201d \u2014 not always garnering the same visibility. And with a Gen-Z\/Zillennial-focused story centered on the realities facing young Black and brown creatives, the Turner Brothers\u2019 pilot is an obvious standout on this year\u2019s lineup. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even so, \u201cit means the world\u201d for the pair to bring an unconventional story like \u201cFreeLance\u201d so aligned with the festival\u2019s mission to such a huge audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt very much matches the ethos of Sundance in terms of uplifting independent creators,\u201d Justen said. \u201cThat\u2019s what \u2018FreeLance\u2019 is about. In this new world, where it can feel really lonely, and there\u2019s so much saturation in the market, it\u2019s easy to lose yourself in the crowd.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe just wanted to show other creators and filmmakers that they are seen and heard, and there is levity to the situation,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s not all dark.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n For Julien, Sundance\u2019s embrace of the pilot also seems to signal a broader \u201cshift in the landscape of filmmaking,\u201d particularly as it relates to opportunities arising from the rapidly booming creator economy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in a world where there\u2019s value to your social cache, your personal brand, your DIY journey, and so even Sundance recognizing that that exists is huge,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to see \u2019<\/span>The Studio<\/span><\/a>\u2019 and be like, \u2018All right, we all see that top-down perspective,\u2019 but for [Sundance] to shed a light on that bottom-up perspective from ground zero, from hundreds of miles away from the industry, is a huge step forward, I feel like, for the new generation of creators.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtesy of DreadHead Films<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In many respects, \u201cFreeLance\u201d is an homage to the place where the Turner Brothers\u2019 filmmaking dreams were first born. Unlike most industry-focused shows that take place in larger metropolitan cities, the duo thought it best to set their pilot in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio, a place that doesn\u2019t often get the spotlight.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYou see a lot of the Gen-Z ensemble cast trying to figure out life together. Stories like that are not anything new, but you typically see that in New York, Los Angeles or Atlanta,\u201d Julien said. \u201cBut we felt like there\u2019s a huge market in the Midwest that no one\u2019s really tapped into.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cEven middle America as a whole,\u201d added Justen. \u201cYou only really ever see two or three cities [about the entertainment industry], if we\u2019re talking about mainstream television. Us setting \u2018FreeLance\u2019 in Ohio provides a base point for a lot of people all over the U.S. who can relate to not being in one of those big hubs and trying to figure it out when it doesn\u2019t seem like there\u2019s necessarily that many opportunities where you are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtesy of DreadHead Films<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Co-directed by the Turner Brothers through their DreadHead Films production banner, \u201cFreeLance\u201d essentially serves as a \u201croadmap\u201d of their journey in the industry, highlighting the \u201cunpredictable\u201d realities of today\u2019s freelance world and turning them into rich comedic material.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s written based on our experiences,\u201d said Justen, adding that turning those into a \u201ccohesive story was one of our most fun challenges of this project.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOf course, it\u2019s still fiction, still narrative,\u201d he added. \u201cWe love telling stories and building a universe, so there are a lot of stories that are pulled from our life, but also pulled from things that we\u2019ve seen, especially with our friends, the things that they go through.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Initially, the pilot didn\u2019t have a fully concrete premise. According to the brothers, it was just a collection of bits and pieces pulled from funny situations on film sets or lessons learned, things they felt compelled to share with others who could similarly relate.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe idea was that, once we decided to sit down and really carve this out, we wanted \u2018FreeLance\u2019 to serve as that model that we didn\u2019t have growing up,\u201d Julien explained. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have access to the schooling or people who had done it before, so everything we were doing, we were figuring out as we went.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe always talk about filmmaking as like getting a Cub Scout patch,\u201d he added. \u201cYou gotta learn how to tie a knot, how to fish, how to make a fire, and that\u2019s kind of how filmmaking was for us. It\u2019s supposed to connect with that other 90% of the world that\u2019s trying to break into the industry and really doesn\u2019t know how. Just to get rid of the stigma and show that you need to make mistakes in order to learn and get to that next level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtesy of DreadHead Films<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The creator-driven concept certainly struck a chord with comedian, actor and social media star <\/span>Kevin \u201cKevOnStage\u201d Fredericks<\/span><\/a>, an executive producer of \u201cFreeLance\u201d who also appears in the pilot as Lance\u2019s father. Despite having never collaborated with the \u201cincredibly talented\u201d Turner Brothers and only being vaguely familiar with their work \u2014 without realizing it was theirs \u2014 a cold reach-out to Fredericks\u2019 team, along with their r\u00e9sum\u00e9, reel and vision for the project, was enough to catch his attention.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n What ultimately brought the producer on board, though, was the brothers\u2019 \u201cfresh, honest take on the creative hustle,\u201d a perspective Fredericks hadn\u2019t truly seen represented in media before, but one he immediately connected to, on account of his own experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe deadlines, the uncertainty, taking jobs because you love them but not getting paid yet \u2014 that was my entire early career,\u201d Fredericks told celebrity.land over email. \u201cEspecially as a comedian, I spent years just doing it for the love of the game, making mistakes, figuring things out as I went. That grind, that in-between stage where you believe in yourself but nothing is guaranteed yet \u2014 that is exactly what \u2018FreeLance\u2019 captures so well, and why it felt so real to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That same early-career grind also resonated with leading star Moore II \u2014 best known for roles in \u201cAll American,\u201d \u201cBrilliant Minds\u201d and \u201cCreed III\u201d \u2014 who, after 12 years of acting, knows firsthand the dedication it takes to keep pursuing a passion, even when the journey gets difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI completely relate to how committed my character, Lance, is to making his dreams come true,\u201d Moore II, also an executive producer on \u201cFreeLance,\u201d shared with celebrity.land. \u201cI resonated with this journey he\u2019s on with his close friends, who are just as dedicated as he is, by his side.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But Moore II\u2019s connection to \u201cFreeLance\u201d went beyond the story itself. With both the actor and the Turner Brothers having family roots in Ohio, and a connection forged years earlier at a college workshop for young, aspiring creatives \u2014 where they promised to work together someday \u2014 \u201cFreeLance\u201d became the ideal opportunity to finally make that collaboration happen. As he tells it, making their Sundance debut together has made the occasion all the more special.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis is a festival you eagerly hope to have a chance to showcase your craft, and the cherry on top is being able to do it with two filmmakers that I\u2019m excited about producing more projects with in the future,\u201d Moore II said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n He added, \u201cI look forward to what\u2019s next\u2026 Justen and Julien are what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtesy of DreadHead Films<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As intentional as the Turner Brothers were about making a series that spoke to a broader creative community, \u201cFreeLance\u201d also mirrors much of their own personal journeys, dating back to the early 2010s when they began experimenting with filmmaking software on their mom\u2019s old Mac computer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe would just play around with iMovie and make it look like we had superpowers,\u201d Justen shared of what first got the pair into directing. \u201cWe grew up on superheroes and action heroes \u2014 Power Rangers, Marvel, all that stuff \u2014 so that\u2019s kind of what inspired us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Four years apart in age, the sibling duo was raised in a creatively inclined household with artist parents, which naturally drew them into that world and sparked a desire to take filmmaking seriously. What started as casual, one-off short films made with friends around the neighborhood, they said, gradually evolved into a hobby that helped the brothers discover a seamless collaborative rhythm.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cJulian would write stories, we would come make them together, and then I would edit,\u201d explained Justen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely something we\u2019ve built, that relationship and understanding where our strengths are and where we lean into each other,\u201d Julien remarked, adding, \u201cSometimes Justen\u2019s my eyes, and I\u2019m Justen\u2019s ears.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat\u2019s been an ongoing process,\u201d he continued, \u201cand now it\u2019s at the point where we know exactly what we\u2019re thinking and we can finish each other\u2019s sentences. We know where to trust each other, and that was cultivated by our parents.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Along with filmmaking, Julien also grew up immersed in sports, playing football throughout high school and college \u2014 a path that inspired both brothers to merge their passions, which led to Justen\u2019s first official gig that put a camera in his hands. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI would go to his games, and that got us into this sports adjacent place with filmmaking on the business and advertising side, which really resonated well with these sports brands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Eventually, Julien landed a content creator internship at Adidas\u2019 headquarters in Portland \u2014 quietly enlisting Justen\u2019s help along the way \u2014 which put the brothers in front of Zion Armstrong, then-president of the North America division, who connected them with James Whitner, founder of the retail and cultural collective The Whitaker Group, known for high-end collaborations with brands like Nike, Air Jordan, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The life-changing opportunity came about in the early years of the pandemic, after the brothers were forced to abandon plans to move to LA together following graduation \u2014 Justen was set to attend the University of Southern California as an undergrad, while Julien, a Morehouse grad, planned to enroll in USC\u2019s film school \u2014 and instead move back in with their parents.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe were in Ohio just putting on shoots and trying to keep ourselves entertained during COVID,\u201d Julien said. \u201cThat kind of got us into really doing this as a career choice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n From there, the brothers spent the next few years shooting sneaker-focused short films, earning recognition from The Webby Awards and landing on the <\/span>Forbes 30 Under 30 list<\/span><\/a> in 2023 before expanding into other brand endeavors. Now, they\u2019re channeling that experience into their latest passion project.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cEverything\u2019s been like an avalanche up to this point,\u201d Julien said. \u201cOne thing has led to another, and opportunities have come that we couldn\u2019t have predicted, and that\u2019s all filmmaking. We have tried to be consistent, and regardless if somebody was paying for it or not, we said we were going to shoot something any time we got together. We\u2019ve kept that mindset, and that ultimately became \u2018Freelance.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n He added, \u201cAgain, it was like, we\u2019re here, we got a little change, so let\u2019s try to put something together and see if we can self-fund or get this off the ground ourselves and start bringing in people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtesy of DreadHead Films<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For the brothers, casting \u201cFreeLance\u201d was one of the more enjoyable parts of the process that allowed them to find \u201cyoung, hungry\u201d talent, including some they already had long-standing relationships with \u2014 like former NFL cornerback Lou Young III, with whom they\u2019d collaborated on several projects with Whitner and The Whitaker Group, as well as comedian Mel Mitchell.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cA lot of our focus when it came to casting was like, \u2018Who do we know that\u2019s the most talented and has been able to show it?\u2019\u201d Justen shared. \u201cAnd so it came down to people who we were generally fans of who we followed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That approach led the pair to recruit other talent like Lou Ratchett, stand-up comedian Ren\u00e9 Vaca, and Bernard \u201cB Nard\u201d Clark of the viral comedy collective Lean Squad \u2014 the latter of whom the brothers were \u201csuper fans of back in the early YouTube and Vine days.\u201d Along with Young and Mitchell, that core group helped the brothers assemble a cast that they felt would \u201ccomplement each other\u2019s humor\u201d and give their pilot a natural, more organic feel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want people to act,\u201d said Julien, noting that they encouraged the cast to \u201cmake the characters their own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe cool thing about the social comedians is that they have their bits and characters already baked, which allows us to iterate off of that,\u201d he added. \u201cSo, as we were thinking about how these characters are distinct and have different humor styles, cadences and personalities, we really wanted to pull from different corners of the internet and use people in bits that they\u2019ve already kind of embraced.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to the brothers, everything clicked quickly once most of the cast was onboard, and the concept alone was all the buy-in they needed to get everyone excited to rally around their close-to-home story.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cEverybody was in it and bought into the project,\u201d Julien said. \u201cIt was a couple of people\u2019s first time in Columbus, in Ohio, and they were able to experience the Midwest and lock in. You always hear about those projects where the full cast and crew were lockstep and really invested in the story, and nobody\u2019s ego was in the way. This really felt like what that was for a magical four-day shoot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n If all goes well after their Sundance premiere, the Turner Brothers hope to secure a distribution partner for \u201cFreeLance\u201d that \u201csees the vision\u201d and can help bring the remainder of the season to life. The duo has already mapped out the show\u2019s storyboard and where they want to take it next. Now, they just need the behind-the-scenes support to push it over the finish line.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe vision is that we show this sample size of what we can do with our city, this team, this cast, and what the potential is with the whole creator economy and ecosystem of social creators and personalities,\u201d Julien said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Their ultimate goal is to amplify the show\u2019s message as widely as possible, specifically so it reaches more aspiring creators who, hopefully, see themselves in the story. With any luck, \u201cFreeLance\u201d will resonate in a way that makes a real difference for the future of the creator economy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI hope it makes people feel less alone,\u201d Fredericks said of the pilot\u2019s potential impact. \u201cSometimes life doesn\u2019t get easier, but realizing you\u2019re not the only one struggling, doubting or trying to figure it out, is powerful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI want \u2018FreeLance\u2019 to feel like a mirror and a beacon for creatives \u2014 a reminder that this messy, uncertain phase is part of the process,\u201d he added, \u201cthat it won\u2019t always look like this and that you\u2019re not behind \u2014 you\u2019re just becoming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFreeLance\u201d premieres at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 27. Tickets for in-person and online screenings are available to order <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Julien](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/69765d6b1b0000d5256fddd8.jpg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale\")
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