"Vengeance Is Mine” A visceral ride that sees the main character Nemina played by Tisa Key transformed by the need for vengeance and Tisa Key's Directorial Debut.
Tisa has had an interest since childhood to be an actress. Born and raised in New York City she developed several different talents at a tender young age. She studied dance and was involved in various plays while still in elementary school. Her childhood wasn't glamorous, by no means at all and that’s when she started to write. It was like therapy for her, to put all her feeling and emotions on paper.
School Days
In High School her attention went to playing varsity basketball full time and she had little time to act or write. She was one of the stars of her team as well as the captain. She always displayed some kind of leadership wherever she went. Then one year she was invited to participate in the Wheelchair Basketball Classic, in which as a requirement every player had to visit a hospital, spend time with disabled children and write an essay about their experience. Needless to say Tisa Key won for best essay in Manhattan and from that moment on her writing continued.
While attending college in Florida on a basketball scholarship Tisa always felt something was missing and wasn't happy. So after two years she returned back to New York City to fulfill her dream of being an actress. She went on to do several independent films, plays, as well as commercials.
Her break out commercial was introducing the new nike sneaker for WNBA player Cheryl Swoopes and was directed by Spike Lee. Watching the way Spike was and his interactions with all the actors sparked something in Tisa and she knew that was something she could and would do soon.
Pursuing Her Dream
In 2000 she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dream. It wasn’t an easy road for Tisa but she hung in there to fulfill what she had a passion for. After working for Disney a few years and getting minor gigs here and there she decided to take matters into her own hands and started writing screenplays.
Although some people didn’t believe in Tisa she never gave up no matter what! She directed and produced a few small videos, while she shopped her scripts and ideas around. After becoming frustrated and disgusted with the countless promises, limited roles for minorities, and the non willingness to give her a chance she came back to New York City to produce a horror film “Evil Has A Face” and to finally get one of her short films off the ground. “Vengeance Is Mine” is a short film written, directed, produced, and starring Tisa Key. This time she was in control of her own destiny.
“Vengeance Is Mine” was Tisa’s directorial debt. From a first time director “Vengeance Is Mine” is both gritty and surreal, with a kinetic force that grabs you from it's opening scene and carries you on a short roller coaster ride to the shocking finale. The musical score and editing are both flawless. It gave the film a Zen quality seldom experienced in short movies.
For a little over eight minutes it packs a wallop. A visceral ride that sees the main character Nemina played by Tisa Key transformed by the need for vengeance. One scene in particular was so realistic while shooting it someone almost called 911. This is a powerful and controversial film that will stir emotions, and leave the viewer with a sense of awe.
“Vengeance Is Mine” is the first of many to come from Tisa Key. Currently she has several projects in the works under her company T Key Filmz LLC. One is an action drama TV pilot for cable titled “ZENOBIA” and a web-series that’s due to come out soon titled “TRAINED.” Her goal is to take her acting and filmmaking to places no one has dared to try to explore and her time is now!