Check Out Honesty Gant’s Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Honesty Gant.

Honesty, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Thank you for having me. My name is Honesty Gant, but I professionally go by Honesty Taszhé. I am a writer, director, and producer based in Kansas City who self-identifies as a black disabled woman. I suppose you could say my story begins during my younger years. As a child, I developed a deep love for reading, writing, and watching films.

This love was nurtured by my mother, who often took me to the local library, to her film courses when she went back to college, and bought me every movie I could put my hands on. I spent most of my childhood writing lyrics, poetry, short stories, and taking pictures. These mediums helped me explore and refine my creativity. From there, my passion and knowledge for film grew tremendously.

I eventually went to college, earning a BS in Digital Film and Television Production and a MFA in Dramatic Writing at Missouri State University. As a working-class filmmaker, I have been honored with film festival selections and awards for a few of my shorts in college. These selections and awards range from, but are not limited to, Best Heartland Narrative Short for the Kansas City Film Festival International, short film winner for Missouri Broadcast Educators Association, and public screening on STL-TV.

As a writer-director, I strive to tell the authentic, vulnerable, and relatable stories of black women and girls and their relationships with others. Drawing inspiration from my personal experience and the women around me, I have developed stories that have resonated with communities beyond my own.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Filmmaking has definitely been a bumpy road for me as an independent filmmaker. As creatives, we’re often taught that it will take time to be recognized for our talents, we’ll be starving artists, and more. As a black woman, I’m required to have this extra level of working twice as hard for what I hope to achieve. I must produce an engaging body of work with half as many resources as my counterparts, which can become disheartening at times.

There have been numerous times when I’ve struggled to raise funds to produce my shorts or web series; I’ve dealt with sexist filmmakers and racial bias on set, regardless of my above or below-line position. There’s also a level of exclusivity within the film industry. If you don’t know certain people or operate in a certain way, you can be left on the outside.

That is why it’s important to reevaluate yourself and the people you surround yourself with. What has helped me is surrounding myself with a supportive community, continuing to work hard, and having faith that I am telling the right stories for everyone to enjoy.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Outside of being a filmmaker, I enjoy photography in my free time. It’s a nod back to my earlier passions. Photography lets me grab a camera and create something unique without many financial or physical constraints.

I took a break from photography for a while due to burnout. I was accepting so many freelance photography opportunities that I was doing so much for so little return, all the while still growing as a photographer. I’m excited to take on more clients’ requests now that I have discovered my look and style.

Right now, my books are open, and I charge $175 for portrait photography, $225 for commercial photography, and $350 for event photography, but I’m also very flexible with rates. I accept bookings via Instagram messages or my website.

Are any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I give the most credit to my education at Missouri State University. Attaining a Master of Fine Art in Dramatic Writing evolved my writing into compelling and competitive bodies of work.

Some of my professors who consistently believed in me poured into me and encouraged me even when I struggled to believe in myself. I also learned a lot from trial and error. Getting to a professional level of filmmaking required me to experience things firsthand with my own sets and learn from them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.honestytaszhe.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honestytaszhe/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/honesty-gant
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@honestytaszhe

Image Credits
Jaylen Early, STILLS, Jen and Spark, & Kickback Chronicles