From Sundance to The Shade Room: How Angelica Nwandu Built a Media Empire

After a family tragedy landed her in foster care, Angelica “Angie” Nwandu turned to writing and poetry. Her first screenplay, NIGHT COMES ON, co-written with director Jordana Spiro, made her a 2014 Sundance Fellow where her mentors included Quentin Tarantino and Kasi Lemmons. The film starred Dominique Fishback and premiered at the festival in 2018 where it won the NEXT Innovator Award.

But even as a Sundance darling, she faced setbacks including getting fired from two writing jobs. Today, Angie is the founder and CEO of The Shade Room, a leading media platform covering Black culture, entertainment, and news, with over 30 million followers and 43 billion annual impressions. Dubbed by The New York Times as “Instagram’s TMZ”, TSR is no stranger to controversy.

On IN PROXIMITY, Angie joins host Paola Mardo to share her side of the story, opening up about the failures that shaped her, the role of faith and purpose in overcoming rejection, and her journey from aspiring screenwriter to media mogul.

Learn more and read the transcript at ProximityMedia.com
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(00:00) From shame to “Instagram’s TMZ”
(02:00) Voice Memo from Dominique Fishback and filming NIGHT COMES ON
(07:56) From poetry slams to co-writing the screenplay for NIGHT COMES ON
(10:45) 2014 Sundance Lab and advice from mentor Quentin Tarantino
(12:25) The life-changing phone call before going onstage at Sundance
(14:25) Getting the $5,000 writing grant and pursuing her passion
(15:28) From Sundance grant to The Shade Room origin story
(17:50) 3,000 followers in 3 days
(20:30) “I’m about to be the biggest media company!”
(21:21) Being the 23-year-old CEO of what The NYT called “Instagram’s TMZ”
(23:00) George Floyd, audience feedback, investigative journalists, politics, social justice
(24:20) Pressure and what keeps her up at night
(26:00) A humbling writing career: “I’m done in this town!”
(32:00) Proximity and TSR, HURRICANE KATRINA: RACE AGAINST TIME
(34:00) “It took me a long time to get to a place where I was proud.”
(35:15) Celebrity reactions and crazy (scary) stories
(38:50) Depression, vices, finding God
(39:35) Relationship to “gossip” and pop culture news
(41:00) The good and the bad of TSR
(42:32) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Brittani Brown, Ken Nana, A.J. Calomay
Production Assistants: Isabella Miller
Sound Production Assistant: Isabella Miller
Post-Production Coordinator: Celine Mendiola
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Production Intern: Ben Caloza