Asia Nichols: Writer/Director

Episode Description:

Asia Nichols is a nomadic writer/director and playwright from Vallejo, Calif. Her uncanny works explore Black womanhood and the stuff that makes her squeamish. Since 2011, she’s been vagabonding around the world with her husband in places including India, Kenya, Peru and beyond while watching strange creatures and conjuring up twisted tales.

Her play “The Incredible Darling(s),” about 19th-century conjoined sisters, was a semifinalist in the 2023 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and won an SLF Gulliver Travel Grant. Her screenplay "So Unfair," an anthology of remixed fairy tales, received an SFFILM Rainin Screenwriting Grant and Djerassi Fellowship, and one of its stories won a BlackStar screenplay award. Currently in Central Mexico, she's adapting her award-winning short horror film "Daraluz" into a feature.

TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] Fanshen: Welcome back, Sistas and siblings, to season five of Sista Brunch. We're the podcast that brings you the stories of Black women and gender expansive people [00:00:10] thriving in entertainment and media. We have had a truly beautiful, amazing array of guests this season, so be sure to head to our website.

[00:00:19] [00:00:20] SistaBrunch. com to find all of our previous episodes from this season and from seasons one through four. You can also follow us on Instagram at [00:00:30] SistaBrunch Podcast. Now, if you are a long time listener, you know that I love to share occasionally some stories about how I met our [00:00:40] guests. And I could not wait to tell you about how I met today's guest, Asia Nichols.

[00:00:46] So it actually starts like this. I'm going to take you back [00:00:50] to me being 16 years old. I know it's like what it goes that far back because when I was 16, I unfortunately went to see a [00:01:00] double feature of the shining. And the exorcist. Um, I don't know what God, well, I mean, it was the cool thing to do all the other kids my age were [00:01:10] doing it.

[00:01:10] So I go to see this double feature and basically I am traumatized for much of my adult life afterwards. So. A [00:01:20] few years later, having trouble sleeping, having trouble being alone at night, I see a therapist. And my therapist says, don't watch horror movies. That's the thing. She [00:01:30] helps me unpack that, that, that seeing those double features.

[00:01:34] And then in 2021, I think it was 2021. I get an email asking [00:01:40] me to be a judge for a 48 hour short film competition. I love these. It's this amazing way to find incredibly talented people. I mean, if you [00:01:50] can make a short film in that amount of time, I know you are good. You know, you are good. And so I say yes right away.

[00:01:58] And then it turns out it is a [00:02:00] horror competition, a 48 hour horror competition. I'm like, well, I already said, yes, I'm going to have to do this. I watched this film, [00:02:10] DaraLuz. And already, the fact that I could watch it all the way through and not be scared because I was engrossed in the filmmaking [00:02:20] said so much about this filmmaker.

[00:02:22] But also, none of us, none of the judges could believe that she made this film in 48 hours. And the only way we [00:02:30] knew she had to have is that there were requirements that had to be included in the film, and they didn't get these requirements just until before they made the film. And [00:02:40] I, as soon as I saw it, I knew that I was witnessing brilliance.

[00:02:44] I was witnessing a person whose stories we need. [00:02:50] Um, and then I got to know Asia better and I am now, I've got my claws in her and I'm doing everything I can to support her [00:03:00] career, support her as a writer and a director, she's a playwright and that's. just the beginning of who this woman is because she also is a world traveler.

[00:03:09] So, I [00:03:10] am so excited to bring her on. Welcome to Sista Brunch, Asia Nichols. 

[00:03:15] Asia: Thank you, fans. And that made, I feel like I wanna cry. ALL LAUGHING [00:03:20] So, I really, I had, when you took it back to childhood and I'm like thinking, wow, you have me thinking about my first time watching a horror. And it is traumatizing, so I get [00:03:30] that.

[00:03:30] But I did not know that that was your, your story or your intro to, to the horror room. 

[00:03:35] Fanshen: It was. And, and, you know, I have to draw a line, but [00:03:40] your work is different because first of all, it's about impact and we'll, we'll talk about it more just. Um, you know, you want to say [00:03:50] something with your stories. And I think that really makes a difference.

[00:03:53] It's why then the first feature I saw once I decided I would be okay was get out. And it was another reason because it was [00:04:00] this, there's a message there. There are things for, and so when I can focus on that and not the eerie elements, um, and we should also say, you're not, [00:04:10] you're really, it's horror is, is too small of a label to put you in.

[00:04:15] Um, so. What I'm going to do first is ask you to [00:04:20] take us back. We always do this with our guests in the beginning, is to take us as far back as you want to take us and talk to us about your journey as a storyteller. What [00:04:30] brought you to sitting here today where you are as a storyteller? 

[00:04:34] Asia: Wow. Okay. I'm going to go back to, [00:04:40] um, just right before I started talking, Screenplay writing.

[00:04:45] My husband and I were doing a blog called Our First 100 Days, [00:04:50] and we started blogging right after our, our wedding from St. Lucia, where we were married, and um, It, it, it was, uh, every day we had to do a his [00:05:00] and her blog. He's blogging about our day. I'm blogging about it. People are calling me up like, girl, did you read your husband's blog?

[00:05:06] And then you call it, you know, like, it was fun to see our [00:05:10] various perspectives on, on a single day. And that kind of got me in the habit of writing daily because before that I was, um, [00:05:20] I was, uh, you know, I, I. was into, I'm messing up, but I was into, um, a lot of [00:05:30] different things. I kind of like to explore a lot of different arts and crafts, but I'd never thought that I would really take on writing full time.

[00:05:38] We took that first [00:05:40] 100 days idea to the road when we decided we wanted to travel and be no, well, we didn't say we wanted to be nomads at that time, but we did want to, to, to experience adventure in [00:05:50] our relationship. So we were doing our first 100 days of vagabonding and then from there, from there, we ended [00:06:00] up vagabonding into RAsiasthan in India and met an amazing, uh, couple from, from, um, from [00:06:10] Mumbai.

[00:06:11] And we ended up staying up all night talking with that couple. They were filmmakers. And honestly, I can't remember what our conversation was about because we hadn't drinks that night, [00:06:20] but it was, um, amazing. Just good times with people. We were meeting for the first time, just an amazing instant connection.

[00:06:28] And two weeks later, I get a [00:06:30] call from one of the people that I met. Um, one of the, one of the, the couples, one of the, the, the guy in the relationship, and he, he connected me to a director [00:06:40] who was from Ghana, who was looking for a screenwriter. And he said that he thought that I would be a really good fit.

[00:06:45] Now, I don't know what we were talking about, but at the time I was not a screenwriter. [00:06:50] 

[00:06:50] Fanshen: And 

[00:06:50] Asia: so she wanted to explore mental health in Ghana. This is, I do have a background in, um, social work and work for like [00:07:00] women's empowerment organizations and things like that. Okay. See, 

[00:07:02] Fanshen: see Asia, you, you started right with the vagabonding and I'm like, who was little Asia in Vallejo, [00:07:10] California?

[00:07:11] Like, What was your life like that you ended up deciding to be world travelers together? Like, yeah, well, who [00:07:20] was little Asia? That's what I want to know. 

[00:07:22] Asia: It's so crazy because I have so many different phases of my life. And with this lifestyle, it just seems like, you know, you're kind of being reborn in each country.

[00:07:30] Let's see, little Asia grew up in a very devout. Christian home, you know, and I was in church [00:07:40] plays and, you know, did the welcome and everything you could think of. Cause it was a very small church that I grew up in. And, um, I met my husband, [00:07:50] um, at in high school. school. So I was in, um, in high school when we met and we, you know, dated for a little bit and then we ended up going, [00:08:00] uh, our separate ways.

[00:08:01] I ended up studying for, uh, law to be a paralegal and then to see if I wanted to explore, uh, being an attorney. I worked for [00:08:10] a family law firm and, um, I decided. That I liked, and I enjoyed talking to people a lot more than And I [00:08:20] enjoyed working in that, but it just didn't feed me. It did not 

[00:08:24] Fanshen: feed me. You weren't going to have any friends as an attorney.

[00:08:26] That's, that we know. The attorneys don't have friends. [00:08:30] Yeah. 

[00:08:30] Asia: Sorry. Exactly. No, that's real. That's real. I mean, like, you know, the attorney, she kept to herself and I would have like all these conversations with the clients to help them [00:08:40] to prepare for getting up there and saying what they need to say. And it just always felt, I felt fed there.

[00:08:46] So then I decided to explore social work and I went and moved to [00:08:50] from Vallejo to, um, Um, I don't know if I mentioned that I grew up, um, raised by, um, uh, my mother. She was a single mother. My father [00:09:00] was, um, you know, he was in and outta the picture. He's very active now. , you know, checking in, , 

[00:09:06] Fanshen: interesting 

[00:09:07] Asia: checking in.

[00:09:07] But he, um, he led a lifestyle that kind of [00:09:10] changed, um, his, our, the path of our, you know, our family. So my Sista and I, we were, my mom had a daycare, so it was always a lot of kids running around. [00:09:20] There was always, um. Fairy tales being played in the background, you know, cause my mama had this whole collection of Shelley Duvall's fairy tale theater.

[00:09:29] So, you know, we had that on for the kids. We would pull, you know, we would play around, dress up and all that. So that was, um, that was pretty, that was pretty consistent in our household. So [00:09:40] from there, I ended up leaving, um, to go to Sacramento and explore. I explored, um, Working for nonprofits, um, women's [00:09:50] empowerment and, and, and things like that.

[00:09:51] And then I decided my husband and I ended up reconnecting and we decided we were getting married. We decided to get planned this big [00:10:00] wedding, decided to get married in St. Lucia and, or have our honeymoon in St. Lucia. And in the planning phase, we saw how much money it was costing. So we ended up. You know, it was [00:10:10] costly.

[00:10:10] So we ended up having to, I ended up making a choice. Like I can spend all, we can spend all our money here, or I can decide that where we are honeymooning is where [00:10:20] we are going to get married. I will see you guys later. The moment we got to St. Lucia, I, you know, and we really just went with [00:10:30] nothing. I went with a dress.

[00:10:31] I had no shoes. He bought a suit out there. And that kind of was the beginning of our traveling experience. I knew I wanted to stay. [00:10:40] I knew I went, that's like, I can stay and sell rum punch. That's cool with me. There was just an energy. There was just the energy. It was a shift inside of me. So we [00:10:50] ended up going to, um, after that, I, we had to sit down and say, okay, what are our core values?

[00:10:55] Do you know, do we want to go get the house? Do we want to have children, all this stuff? And at the end of the day, our [00:11:00] core value at. The top of that list was adventure and we're like, okay, are we living adventurously right now? No. So what do we need to do? [00:11:10] Yes. We ended up, um, I ended up doing a lot of research to see where's the best place to travel if you're going to do a year, round the year, I [00:11:20] mean, round the, round the world trip for one year.

[00:11:22] And. And it became clear to me that Thailand is where we needed to begin. It was the easiest place, usually the [00:11:30] easiest place where a lot of people have, uh, retired, where people go from the States, the States and retired. So that's, it was a lot of that. 

[00:11:38] Fanshen: Cause there's kind of communities already [00:11:40] established there that can help you get acclimated.

[00:11:43] Okay. Exactly. 

[00:11:44] Asia: Exactly. So we ended up going to Chiang Mai. I, um, Was [00:11:50] trying to find my way there because I knew I couldn't do anything in the, the, the nonprofit or social working realm when we're, when I know we're going to be leaving a community that usually has a lot to do with [00:12:00] when you're working in like those nonprofits, you do need to know the community.

[00:12:04] You need to stay around to be able to, you know, make the moves that you need to make. And I knew I couldn't do that. I tried. I went [00:12:10] to, um. Buddhist temple to help out. There was a Buddhist temple for, um, stray dogs. Cause at Thailand, you see so many stray dogs at the Buddhist temple. So I went to help out [00:12:20] there, um, and realized that it's just not something that I can sustain.

[00:12:24] So how can I, what do, how do I, um, give to, of, of [00:12:30] what, what I am and, and contribute to the world on this journey, you know, I tried painting, but it was too hard to carry all those things in our backpack without it messing up every time we hopped on a [00:12:40] new. plane. So then, because we were doing our blog, our first 100 days of Vagabond, I just continued to write.

[00:12:48] After our first 100 days [00:12:50] of Vagabond, the 100 day, 100 days was over and I wanted to continue to share my stories. So I did some [00:13:00] travel writing and Then I realized that it was, it takes, it took a lot out of me to [00:13:10] continue to write about our lifestyle while I'm trying to experience it. 

[00:13:15] Fanshen: Oh, interesting. 

[00:13:17] Asia: I didn't want to take any pictures anymore.

[00:13:18] I got tired of taking [00:13:20] pictures. I got tired of writing about our lifestyle. We are starting to like really live and we are immersing into these different communities and cultures. You know, we lived in the, uh, backwaters of [00:13:30] Kerala and India. We lived in the village in Tam Nadu. And, and, and things just started to feel a lot more sacred to me than to share in every article.

[00:13:39] Fanshen: And you couldn't [00:13:40] be present with, with the experiences because you were having to think about, how am I gonna write about this, right? How am I gonna share this with someone else? But then you couldn't be [00:13:50] present to, to experience it. How 

[00:13:52] Asia: long? And, 

[00:13:53] Fanshen: and, 

[00:13:54] Asia: and I couldn't be present with the pictures, taking the photo, the photos.

[00:13:57] So I got tired of taking the photos. I just [00:14:00] started to feel, you know, it just didn't feel good anymore to do. It wasn't for me anymore. And so I needed to take a break. And it might have been because we did our first 100 days. So it was like, every day I'm writing about [00:14:10] my experience. That's a lot. But I needed to take a break.

[00:14:14] But, um, I, yeah, I ended up deciding That I wanted to just [00:14:20] experience it and, and, and let these moments that I find most fascinating be sacred to me because there's messages in here for me, you know, well, I'm trying to write and find a message, you know, to wrap, make a, make a [00:14:30] full story to share in a publication.

[00:14:32] There's a whole separate message here for me. And I wanted to just have that, um, experience that. [00:14:40] So then I just said, okay, if I'm not going to be travel writing, what is it? And then I guess it ended, it turned up to, turned out to be fiction writing. And, and weaving in some of those [00:14:50] experiences. This is Asia, and you're listening to Sista Brunch.

[00:14:54] Fanshen: I want you to describe your genre. One, because, you know, [00:15:00] You don't fit into any one particular genre, and it's another thing that I love about you. We can say unconventional, but that doesn't do [00:15:10] it. It doesn't do it for me, for sure. It does not grasp who you are and what you do. So, how do you describe your writing?

[00:15:19] Asia: It [00:15:20] is. I mean, I agree with you. It's tricky. I mean, I'm always like rewriting bios. Like, how do I say this? But I would say it is offbeat. It's [00:15:30] uncanny. There was a term in short fiction writing when I started writing short fiction, and I'm a lover of Neil Gaiman, so he, his short, works inspired a lot of my, my style [00:15:40] too.

[00:15:40] It was, um, slipstream was what I, what I came across. And that was like a hodgepodge of like, um, all the genres, [00:15:50] um, together, but then it's the underlying drama, you know, genre with the, uh, fantasy, little moments of [00:16:00] surrealism, moments of horror moments of science fiction. And, um, but it's really, it is hard to.

[00:16:07] I don't know, contain. I would say weird [00:16:10] fiction. Uh, but I would say uncanny is a good way to say it. It's an uncanny style. It's a very offbeat, uncanny, absurdist sometimes style 

[00:16:19] Fanshen: [00:16:20] and, um And then you take that and it is within a Black identity, right? Like, a Black woman identity. And so, it's [00:16:30] already, it's already kind of unconventional again, or uncanny, and it's already, But also within a, you know, within an identity group where I think, you [00:16:40] know, we just haven't had the opportunities or the encouragement or the inspiration to tell those stories.

[00:16:45] Even when we think about. Uh, your references to the kinds of [00:16:50] authors that you like. It's hard to find author, Black women authors, Black gender expansive authors to say it's like this kind of [00:17:00] writing. And, and again, it's why I love you because you are that person. You are now that author that other people I think can, can refer to.

[00:17:08] That screenwriter others [00:17:10] can refer to. That director that others can refer to. Um, but right. And. And you don't shy away from the Blackness of it. Like, in the [00:17:20] most beautiful, and also the kind of most, um, all the ways that Blackness comes with resilience, and joy, and challenges. [00:17:30] You find ways to pepper that into a lot of your work also.

[00:17:34] I just wanna add that that's also what makes it so, [00:17:40] um, beautiful and unusual. 

[00:17:43] Asia: I mean, you know, I mean, I definitely cannot write these tell, like, I love twisting tales, right? And I cannot do, [00:17:50] there's no possible way to do that without doing it through my Black woman, living all out of one backpack on the road, gays, like at the end of the day, my experience with this, [00:18:00] um, this lifestyle, it, it, it's going to be very different than, people I'll meet on the road.

[00:18:08] I'll meet a lot of white people on the road and their [00:18:10] whole experience is very different. When we're talking about we, they're meeting people and immersing into communities, I'm hearing a very different perspective than what it is that my experiences [00:18:20] when I go into these different communities, because they're not, a lot of times people have not, I mean, we're living really off the grid, right?

[00:18:27] And they haven't, they'll tell me they haven't ever met a [00:18:30] black American. Didn't know that there were black Americans. So it's something that. Um, a lot of, even from how I ended up having [00:18:40] to change my, my hair along the journey, because, you know, when I started out, I had a grandmother who was a hair presser and I was slick, you know, and then when I [00:18:50] started out on the road and got rid of the products and all that stuff, um, maybe I had, I had an experience where a young girl would see pictures from my past [00:19:00] and, um, on Facebook and tell me that she liked the straight hair better when I was pointing out my fro and I was realizing she hadn't seen a fro ever.

[00:19:09] She [00:19:10] never seen, you know, locks or anything. And I just, those types of experiences, um, were just part of this journey into [00:19:20] writing the, um, Uh, versions of tales that explore hair, like subverting ideas of Rapunzel and all of that, because this is, but from, [00:19:30] from a Black woman's perspective, because this is, it, that was uncanny, like, to see how the conditioning is so, so blatant around the [00:19:40] world.

[00:19:40] That was my first experience with just global conditioning. And I'm like, there's no way I'm going to ever, I mean, there's no way that I can contribute to that. [00:19:50] So I need to figure out how to, how to flip that, that idea, how to change his perspective and add more to the story because the people are not getting [00:20:00] that, that, you know, we were staying in villages where there was one TV.

[00:20:02] And I'm like, And we all got around that one tv and whatever images are shown on that one tv is what you think the rest of the world 

[00:20:09] Fanshen: [00:20:10] is and then you show up and russ shows up and They have to rethink and and so this is what I love too is that [00:20:20] you're just two people, right? So the ways you reflect it when you're traveling is through these two people, which is huge, right?

[00:20:27] Because they're seeing this You know In person, [00:20:30] they're seeing two people that they have heard or only seen extremely limited representations of, but then we couple that with your work, which can [00:20:40] and will be known worldwide. Then you're also, it's this opportunity to give of yourselves, you know, as storytellers.

[00:20:49] to a [00:20:50] wider audience. I love that you gained Deep attention from Terrence Nance, which makes complete sense I mean, I think if we do think about [00:21:00] a filmmaker who we might label his his work as uncanny um that we you know that you've gained this attention from black star film festival, [00:21:10] which also is one of our best and and also I think appreciates um You non essentialist depictions of blackness, which, which [00:21:20] is what you do as well.

[00:21:21] So let's talk about So Unfair. And actually, I think, I think it'd be great to even give an example of, of one of your stories that has gained attention, [00:21:30] whatever you want to choose. I mean, you've gotten the SF film. Rain and Grant, you've, uh, you know, you, you did really well at, at Blackstar. So whatever you want to [00:21:40] choose.

[00:21:40] And I think it'd be beautiful to like, actually go into one of your stories. Talk about what happens in one of your stories. 

[00:21:47] Asia: Okay. So, So Unfair [00:21:50] came from, um, this, uh, one of my stories that I, that I wrote called Beautiful Beneath the Sun. It was a short fiction story for an [00:22:00] anthology looking for, uh, Black and brown creators to re imagine these very familiar tales.

[00:22:08] And I decided to take [00:22:10] Rapunzel and re imagine that because that was the first time that I was experiencing, um, my, my natural hair, because I grew up in a hair salon that my grandma was a [00:22:20] hair, my grandmother was a hair presser, and I never really got to learn how to, to, to, um, you know, To manage my hair and 

[00:22:29] Fanshen: manage and [00:22:30] love up on the thing that was coming.

[00:22:33] Yes, 

[00:22:34] Asia: it was a beautiful experience, but being on the road with the way we have, it's not [00:22:40] always that I can find the products. So, you know, we in India and I'm making, figuring out how to, you know, get neem and make something that can give me the moisture that I [00:22:50] need. It was a journey and I ended up doing it.

[00:22:53] writing this tale that was, um, based on a lot of just living in these very natural [00:23:00] settings and the young girl had forest hair, you know? And so there was a lot of, um, it's a very planty tale where she ends up having to [00:23:10] maintain and contain her forest hair so that she doesn't break the rules of this land and break this, this, um, glass ceiling, which her grandma would have to pay for if she [00:23:20] did.

[00:23:20] So her grandma tells her to keep that under wraps. And she has to, you know, fight back against these ideas and, and go on this solo journey of self [00:23:30] discovery and self exploration and self love to then break free through, literally, through this world that she, that had been [00:23:40] contained in. Um, so it sounds like a terrarium, you know, like if you picture a terrarium and I, and I, and, and that is pretty much the tale, right?

[00:23:47] She's living in a terrarium. And, [00:23:50] uh, yeah, so that tale ended up, I ended up adapting it into a short film when I saw the opportunity that, um, Blackstar to get, [00:24:00] to create a, to, or to submit short film or short screenplays, to submit short screenplays. I adapted into a short screen, screenplay and it ended up lucking up and [00:24:10] winning the Black, I mean, Blackstar.

[00:24:11] I 

[00:24:11] Fanshen: know you didn't just say lucking, that, that was not luck. I know you didn't just say that. It was my first time. Yes. [00:24:20] Yes. Other people recognize the brilliance. Yes. 

[00:24:25] Asia: Well, it was, it was a beautiful experience because I had been on the road. I mean, like the way I traveled just with the [00:24:30] backpack and wearing the same outfit every day, you know, I had like, I just came home, um, to, for a visit home and that was its own culture shock [00:24:40] because we had been around so many people, we, we weren't used to hearing English, right?

[00:24:44] Like it became very interesting because the first person person we be connected with on the [00:24:50] road, um, a friend of ours in Thailand. He's a black guy and he's been out there for a minute and he was like just trying to, you know, he's learning Thai and he's, he's, he's pretty fluent in Thai, [00:25:00] but he didn't go home as frequently.

[00:25:02] So he didn't know Um, when he went home, it felt weird to communicate in English because he almost felt like he was forgetting his words. That's what [00:25:10] he was saying, because you have shorthand to actually communicate, you know, so, you know, big words out the door. So ended up, um, he was telling us that experience.

[00:25:19] And at the [00:25:20] time we were so new to the world, we were like, Oh, okay. That's interesting. I didn't, you know, I didn't relate to it, but I definitely did after about a year. [00:25:30] 

[00:25:30] Fanshen: You're like words. What are they? What language am I? 

[00:25:34] Asia: It felt weird. It felt very weird. And also just hearing, cause we came back around Christmas time.

[00:25:39] So hearing the [00:25:40] values, um, after having to shed so much hearing, like how everyone's trying to buy, you know, everything for everyone and their mama, you know, and I'm like, [00:25:50] come on now. Like, you know, Um, I don't even, and I didn't, we were living off of savings, so we really didn't have very much. So then I felt the pressure of, okay, um, do I need to [00:26:00] like, you know, I mean, I just didn't feel like I fit in there anymore.

[00:26:02] I think we're living very minimally. It's not like I'm going to buy a bunch of gifts for Christmas for anybody. My mom laughed and said, you know, y'all [00:26:10] came back, and I feel like if y'all have a kid, I can buy that kid a pencil and they'll be happy. 

[00:26:16] Fanshen: That's a, well, how is that not a beautiful thing? And I was going to say, [00:26:20] weren't you two the gift?

[00:26:21] Y'all couldn't you be wrap yourselves in a little bow and be like, no, no, no. We 

[00:26:26] Asia: totally were. We totally were. We didn't, we were [00:26:30] so, we started off differently. 

[00:26:32] Fanshen: Absolutely. 

[00:26:32] Asia: You know, we didn't, we left differently. Like I had tons of clothes and things at home that I told my mom, just give away, give away the wedding dress.

[00:26:39] Just give [00:26:40] it all away. So she just kind of didn't recognize me. She definitely never seen me with a fro. She didn't recognize me, but she thought it was interesting. I mean, we were meeting parents, which was interesting. We were meeting parents when my [00:26:50] mom would say, go ahead and talk to, you know, talk to my daughter and son in law.

[00:26:54] Because these parents would be stressing that their child decided to get up and go to Egypt and live in [00:27:00] Egypt and they no longer can relate. And there is that disconnect can feel, you know, that's heartbreaking. So she was trying to get a little more insight. We would talk to these parents and say, okay, she's like, why would she [00:27:10] want to do that?

[00:27:10] Why would he want to do that? Why would they? Why? 

[00:27:14] Fanshen: Hey, Sista Brunch family. We are so grateful for the love that you have shown us on this [00:27:20] amazing journey. with our guests and our co hosts for five seasons. If you have been enjoying these inspiring stories and perspectives, we would love to [00:27:30] invite you to take the next step and become a member of our Sista Brunch Patreon community.

[00:27:36] As a Sista Brunch patron, your support allows us to [00:27:40] continue celebrating Sista Brunch. and amplifying the voices of Black women and gender expansive people thriving in entertainment and media. You will play a vital [00:27:50] role in our mission to uplift and empower underrepresented voices in film, TV, and entertainment.

[00:27:58] Thank you so, so [00:28:00] much for your support. 

[00:28:03] Asia: We were supposed to be on the road for one year, but the people that we met on the road, And showed [00:28:10] us different ways to do this lifestyle longer. And we just kind of, it kind of, we fell into it. For instance, [00:28:20] before we left, everyone was saying, don't go to India. Um, doctors were telling us, don't go to India.

[00:28:24] It would be very challenging if it's your first time on, uh, abroad. And we [00:28:30] ended up. Meeting someone who's like, this is all BS, you know, this is people who are just trying to tell you, tell you, um, just cause they don't know they might have not, [00:28:40] I just came back from India. And so we ended up getting a visa to try and experience India and it ended up being, um, applying for a visa and it ended up being a six month visa.

[00:28:49] So [00:28:50] if we were going to stay one year on the road and that was our plan, well, six months, that was going to be in India. So that kind of changed, that changed our plans, you know, that's where I ended up meeting the [00:29:00] couple who introduced me to. Um, screenwriting in a way, like introduces me to my first screenwriting opportunity, 

[00:29:07] Fanshen: but 

[00:29:07] Asia: yeah, so, um, basically [00:29:10] when I came back, bring it a full circle to, when I came back and made that story stranded, having to like, you know, figure out my, and figure [00:29:20] out and represent with my foe around the world and have people asking me so many questions.

[00:29:24] I mean, I'm in like. Uh, a kitchen with a, a bunch of, um, [00:29:30] wives and daughters and grandparents. And like, everybody gets around me, about like 30 people. And they're asking me like, you know, and this is in, um, Rogers, [00:29:40] this is in. This is in Jodhpur. It's like a blue city. I think Jodhpur is a blue city in India.

[00:29:47] What's 

[00:29:47] Fanshen: blue city mean? 

[00:29:48] Asia: The whole city [00:29:50] is blue. The whole city is entirely blue. 

[00:29:53] Fanshen: The colors? You mean like the houses and things or what? Wow. I didn't know they had [00:30:00] colors for the cities. 

[00:30:01] Asia: The whole, well, this city, this city has This 

[00:30:03] Fanshen: city is all blue. 

[00:30:05] Asia: All blue city. So we are in this all blue city and they are, [00:30:10] um, they have my, like a whole family of women just women, multiple generations just around me and, and asked me questions about my hair and asked me if I [00:30:20] have a baby, will my baby come out with curly hair?

[00:30:22] And all of these questions. And I'm like, this is fascinating to me to be able to share a part of myself [00:30:30] because they're sharing so much with me about their, their, their way of existing on this planet, their way of unioning with, um, the spirit realms on this, on this planet [00:30:40] in their finding ways to, in that, in that, um, They're finding that magic in something very visible, which is why, so I don't know, I just, [00:30:50] it was interesting.

[00:30:50] So anyway, writing that tale, coming back to the States after all of these experience. And like I said, even there, like after all of those experiences, not [00:31:00] like showering outside, using my bath in a room at all out of everything that I like really doing, like really don't. Cause we, you know, living off of, I don't know if I mentioned how much we had, we took [00:31:10] like 10, 000 and we lived off of that for about two years.

[00:31:13] Fanshen: Okay, because we have a salary question on the [00:31:20] episode and I was like, take that question out. We're not going to even ask Asia how she and Russ do this. Just take that salary. 

[00:31:27] Asia: We were there. There you go. At [00:31:30] some point for birth. The wealth. Eating cake. For birth. for breakfast. I lost so much weight. 

[00:31:35] Fanshen: Okay.

[00:31:35] That's not good. I want you now. See, I do need to know that y'all took good care of [00:31:40] yourself. So eating is 

[00:31:41] Asia: no. In the beginning, we, well, we did, we were living off of a different, we didn't need as much, 

[00:31:47] Fanshen: really didn't need as much, you 

[00:31:49] Asia: know, my [00:31:50] lifestyle is eat. I love to eat, you know, I love to cook Russ does too.

[00:31:54] You know, we enjoy food, but at the time. Our food [00:32:00] just felt, it was a very different kind of nourishment, you know, it was, it was, and we didn't need it. Get 

[00:32:04] Fanshen: your protein in, you get in, you get your carbs in, and that fuels you for the day, and that's all you, [00:32:10] some nice rice and beans. I mean, it is, it is the thing that fuels most of the world is rice and beans, and yeah.

[00:32:17] Asia: And we didn't have meat. We didn't have any meat because [00:32:20] that would obviously cost more. So a lot of stuff we ate, we had to go pick, you know, so we would go pick like the lady fingers. They call them the lady, lady fingers. And, and, um, we would pick them, but [00:32:30] that's okra. So we would pick the okra. suck it off and, you know, we would, it was everything that we ate, we had to actually carry.

[00:32:37] So at the end of the day, we didn't really need that [00:32:40] much. We just needed enough to, to get to the next day. It was cool. So anyway, coming back after that experience and, and looking, my mom [00:32:50] was like, she didn't recognize me, you know, and then going to Black Star Film Festival because they were beautiful enough to, to fly me out there.

[00:32:58] That was a beautiful [00:33:00] experience. That was my first. film festival experience, and I'm literally rocking the same clothes I've had for the past two years, washing them by hand, so they're all faded. [00:33:10] Still haven't figured out what I need to put in my particular 4C hair for it to, you know, just have the moisture that it needed.

[00:33:19] So [00:33:20] I'm still figuring it out. And I felt very Very excited and welcome to that space for me and the Black Star Film Festival was amazing. I, [00:33:30] I, it was just, The creatives, the short films that they were showing, everything was just, just experimental. It was unique. It was inspiring. [00:33:40] And me getting able to come back from the States and be kind of thrusted into that situation.

[00:33:44] That was a beautiful experience for me. Um, It, it, it definitely felt, [00:33:50] felt like home and I, and I, and I, you know, I, I won't ever forget it, so it, the short, I love it. Ended up winning the, the Black Star Film Festival Award. ? [00:34:00] Yes. Short. It was in the short. It's not a short film. It's a short, the short screenplay.

[00:34:03] The 

[00:34:03] Fanshen: screenplay, yes. 

[00:34:04] Asia: We had a reading, so I had my first stage reading, reading there also, and that was interesting to hear my, my [00:34:10] words being read out loud. It's like, oh my God, , I wrote that it was a trip. It was a trip because you just, you got these things going on in your head, but [00:34:20] you don't always know how someone else will, will receive it.

[00:34:23] And they really like embodied these characters in a way that really made me very excited to continue screenwriting. [00:34:30] So that was a long, long answer. And I hope 

[00:34:32] Fanshen: I love that answer. I love that answer. And it, so it takes me into a question and you know, this is so tough [00:34:40] because I can stay on with our guests for hours and hours.

[00:34:43] So I, you know, I can stay on with you for hours and hours. We're planting seeds. We will have you back always [00:34:50] check up on you. We're here to support you. But, um, but I do want to take this into, cause I'm certain you've planted lots of seeds for, for me, for sure. And our listeners, you know, [00:35:00] You do coaching now for people who want to have your kind of lifestyle and still be storytellers.

[00:35:07] Um, you're available for coaching for that. So do you want to [00:35:10] talk a little bit about that? 

[00:35:12] Asia: Well, yeah, I'll talk a little bit because it's very new for me. I've met a couple of, uh, fellow filmmakers on the road. [00:35:20] Um, one through SF film. I'm a part of, um, I'm a fellow of SF film for the, um, Reynon Grant and the SF film, Jurassic.

[00:35:28] Residency, where you stay 30 [00:35:30] days in the Santa Cruz mountains and try not to, and avoid mountain lions, you know. That was a beautiful experience. More adventures, [00:35:40] just more adventures for you. But I met a couple of filmmakers and I would talk, and I told them, I met one filmmaker on the, um, There's a platform where the filmmaker [00:35:50] get to talk and share their different stories.

[00:35:51] And I met one filmmaker on that platform from SF film, and she was currently in Paris, so she's Parisian, and she was making a film. a short [00:36:00] film. And I told her, I'm in Paris right now. Let's, let's, uh, you know, connect. So, we ended up connecting. Um, I got to see and experience being on the set for the first time because she was in the [00:36:10] process of making her short film.

[00:36:12] And then we ended up going to some really cool concept house where we'd have breakfast together. And like, you know, the different house, the different areas in the, in [00:36:20] a home where you can eat, like you can eat in the bedroom, you can eat in the living room, we ended up getting the coveted bathroom and we, we had a tub and [00:36:30] a little, uh, table between us to have our breakfast.

[00:36:32] It was amazing. So she, I told her about my experiences and she said she wanted to know how to, for instance, house it because that's [00:36:40] how we, um, live on our budgets. A lot of times we're able to, and that's how this, this. One year, intentional one year trip became what is [00:36:50] about 13 years now. Oh my God. I was going to ask you.

[00:36:56] Fanshen: Amazing. 

[00:36:57] Asia: Oh, this, this is, um, it'll make [00:37:00] 13 years in October. Cause we actually left to travel the first, when we went to Thailand, we left on October 31st. So we left on Halloween. [00:37:10] The tickets were the cheapest on October 31st. Yeah. So I was telling her about my, my journey and how we continued this [00:37:20] lifestyle on the budget that we have as both as freelance creators and how sitting as a big part of that, someone introduced us to that in Nepal, a [00:37:30] blogger.

[00:37:30] So. We decided to do it. She's like, if you don't want to fight for wifi, house sitting might be the vid and you both are writers, house sitting would be the thing for you. So we've been doing [00:37:40] that right now. I'm house sitting on a gallery like farm, you know? So this is, um, in the central Mexico in the mountains, there's about like six chickens [00:37:50] running around here.

[00:37:52] And there's a dog and there's a cat and we have a seventh chicken that just appeared the other day, which is really weird because, you know, me being in a whore. [00:38:00] I literally was just writing about a woman turning into a chicken and suddenly they the next day I'm counting chicken to [00:38:10] make sure that they're all here and I'm like, wait a minute, we have a seven.

[00:38:14] Fanshen: She showed up, she showed, she was like, did you call? Somebody called [00:38:20] me. Somebody called me. 

[00:38:23] Asia: I'm still trying to figure out where this chicken came from but it's pretty, you know, my Sista was like, okay, you might need to stop [00:38:30] writing. You're gonna write your reality.

[00:38:35] Fanshen: If you are listening to this episode, you can watch the episode on our [00:38:40] YouTube channel, TruJuLo Media. It's on youtube. com slash TruJuLo Media and you can see this gorgeous house. So Asia has a bit of an echo, um, because [00:38:50] she is in an amazing house. And every time we, we zoom together, I'm so jealous of the background, the house that your house sitting in is [00:39:00] always just beautiful.

[00:39:02] You coach people how to sustain themselves by doing house sitting and then living as [00:39:10] creatives. Right. Right. So she was my first 

[00:39:13] Asia: client. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She was my first client. She was my first client. Yeah. And she ended up wanting to get a house gig in San [00:39:20] Francisco because she wanted to go to the SF, um, film, film house.

[00:39:23] Nice. Nice. And she ended up getting a house gig there. And so from there, I've also, so two people in France I've, I've worked with. And [00:39:30] then someone, um, from, I'm just met a woman from South Africa who I need to schedule an appointment with also because she wants to do the same thing. I mean, it's a fun way to travel and you [00:39:40] get inspired.

[00:39:40] And what a lot of things that, um, shape my writing a lot is I like to raid people's libraries. So anytime I come into one of these houses or these spaces, a [00:39:50] lot of time they're artists too. So I can, you know, I'm surrounded by, it's basically a residency. So I get to write their libraries, read the different [00:40:00] works and then see.

[00:40:01] you know, what it is that inspires me and my stories take their, their own path from there, just depending on what I happen to be reading, which [00:40:10] depends on what happens to be in their library. So, you know, it's, I think it's a cool way to be inspired. 

[00:40:15] Fanshen: Absolutely. So we will have details on how to get in touch with Asia.[00:40:20] 

[00:40:20] You know, have her as a coach. Listen, I'm thinking about it myself. I'm like, cause I need a break from, from the capitalism and the, the [00:40:30] maximalist lifestyle in Los Angeles. I'm like, every time I talk to him, I'm like, What would be stopping me from doing this? My husband and I, so soon as soon as we, we [00:40:40] always say once we get a little bit settled, you know, but your point, what you two did is you were like, no, this is what our settled looks like is to have this [00:40:50] lifestyle where you're surrounded by art.

[00:40:53] You're surrounded by creativity. You're surrounded by chickens. And there's something to that. You know, [00:41:00] to being around that kind of life. I love it. I love it. Okay. I have to bring us to the end, which, again, we will just have you back [00:41:10] on lots, and, um, and maybe we can even have you do kind of like correspondent, world correspondent, Asia Nichols, Sista Brunch world correspondent, [00:41:20] and check in with us from all the places you're in.

[00:41:22] But I'm gonna take us to our studio. Signature Sista brunch questions. So you Asia are sitting down to [00:41:30] a Sista brunch with your younger self. And I want to know what are you both eating at this brunch? What are you both drinking at this brunch? [00:41:40] And what do you tell her? 

[00:41:42] Asia: Hmm. Okay. Okay. Okay. So I'm sitting down with Younger Asia.

[00:41:47] That is, I like this question. I think that's a [00:41:50] fun question. Um, wow. I'm sitting with, okay. So first of all, I don't, I don't want to sit with her in her world. I don't want to go back to high school. You know, [00:42:00] so we're going to have to bring her back here. So what I'm eating here is a mocha hete. I have a seafood mocha hete, [00:42:10] and she will have, so I got this little simmering clay pot with all the, all the juices bringing together the shrimp and the fish

[00:42:18] Yes. And it [00:42:20] just says one. And I'm bring, and I'm thinking that she's gonna break out a bag of Flemming hot Cheetos. 

[00:42:29] Fanshen: I think that would go [00:42:30] very well with your dish. I think that would be really a nice dish. Yes, 

[00:42:34] Asia: because I still love my Flamin Hot Cheetos, and she is going to have an orange soda, and [00:42:40] I will match her orange soda with a margarita.

[00:42:43] Yes, yes. We are chopping it up, we are sharing space, we are listening to music, [00:42:50] and, um, I would tell her, you know, before our evening has ended, I would say, That I would, I would like her to, to write me [00:43:00] sometime. For me, the type of stuff I create as you get into, you know, [00:43:10] I guess we call it adulting, right?

[00:43:11] We, as, as you, as you grow up, you can get away. At least I have, I, I found this challenging to keep tapping into the [00:43:20] things that, that made me want, thatcI excited me about. creating in the first place and it would be nice if she took some time out of her busy life, you know, [00:43:30] and now I understand, you know, family members who will tell me when I come home.

[00:43:35] You know, I get that. If you took some time, I would [00:43:40] love to hear from you. I would love to hear what your thought process is like because I'm getting, you can, it's so easy to get away from that. And so, I do, I do hope she [00:43:50] takes that while she crunches a Hershey off. Ha 

[00:43:53] Fanshen: ha ha. Licks the orange off. You know, lickin the fingers.

[00:43:58] Yes. Ha [00:44:00] ha ha. You know. Add that sweet, sweet from the orange soda. Yes. Ha ha ha. That's beautiful, Asia. That is beautiful. [00:44:10] Oh, I love it. Asia Nichols. Thank you for taking the time with us. I, um, you've been very patient and that's finally getting this call [00:44:20] in. And, and I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait to have you on, to share you with all of these incredible other guests that we have this season.

[00:44:29] You're just, [00:44:30] you're a bright spot in, in my creative life. I'm always so excited when we get to talk and strategize and, you know, You know, I just, I, [00:44:40] um, I'm so grateful to you. I truly am so grateful to you. 

[00:44:44] Asia: And me to you, cause all of our, like, I felt like usually, like I said, podcasting is very [00:44:50] new to me.

[00:44:50] But if I were ever, you, you create such a beautiful space and I feel, you know, excited and empowered. When I talk to you, [00:45:00] you have been like a champion in my life and I feel very grateful for that. And. Yeah, you, the energy you have here is just, it's amazing. So I appreciate you for even inviting me to share [00:45:10] and, um, yeah.

[00:45:17] Fanshen: Oh, thank you. Beautiful [00:45:20] community of Sistas and siblings for sharing your views, sending us questions and engaging with us on Instagram at Sista brunch podcast. You [00:45:30] can read the transcript of every episode and find show notes on our website at Sistabrunch. com. If you love video, you can watch the full video interviews [00:45:40] on our TruJuLo YouTube channel, youtube.

[00:45:42] com slash TruJuLo media. That's T R U J U L O media. We so appreciate your support by [00:45:50] subscribing to the podcast, leaving us a great review and sharing it with your friends, family, community, colleagues. Anybody that can benefit from listening to [00:46:00] our incredible guests. Season five of Sista Brunch is brought to you by TruJuLo Productions.

[00:46:08] Our show creators are me, [00:46:10] Fanshen Cox, Anya Adams, Cristabel Nsiah Buadi, and Brittany Turner. Sista Brunch is a women make movies production assistance program project. [00:46:20] We acknowledge that the land we record our podcast on is the original land of the Tongva and the Chumash people here in Los Angeles.

[00:46:28] Can't wait to see you next [00:46:30] time. Take good care, everybody. Bye [00:46:40] bye.