SHARI & STACEY The Dawn of a New Era

Rowan Moon Productions

The Dawn of a New Era

by Hailey Ashley

We’re all familiar with the most well-known pairs; peanut butter and jelly, Oprah and Gayle, Jack and coke, Timon and Pumba, or the newly famous and utterly beloved, avocado and toast. Although it seems like quite the elite club, it looks like we’ve found another powerhouse pair to add to the list - Shari & Stacey. They compliment each other so well, that the dynamic duo of Stacey Blanchet and Shari Belafonte have come together to form Rowan Moon Productions, which they began in order to establish a diversified media company and create highquality content with engaging experiences that will reach a global audience.

Their relationship began when Stacey and Shari met in 2016, when Stacey was working with Trend Prive magazine on an interview show. With the instant connection between the two of them, they decided to continue with the project on their own and turned it into something different. With countless hours of interviews, and endless information shared between the two, they turned the material into a film, and the interview into a friendship. That is when they created a documentary called ‘In the Know with Shari Belafonte’, which is available on Amazon. It was then that Shari broke the news to Stacey by telling her “Sorry, but you’re a producer”, and they ran with it.

Shari’s documentary is a sit down with the multi-talented star. On the big screen we get to dive into her past as Shari discusses growing up being the daughter of a famous entertainer and human rights leader, how her career in the late 70’s as assistant to the producer comes to life, as well as becoming the second Woman of Color to ever appear on the cover of Vogue Magazine, following Beverly Johnson. She was also the first Woman of Color to ever grace the covers of Self Magazine &Los Angeles Magazine.

Shari has lived a life in the spotlight, as the daughter of Marguerite, a psychologist, and Harry Belafonte, who is a well-known singer and actor. She began an early career as a model, becoming a successful cover girl and starring in commercials for Calvin Klein jeans.

In her early years, she became an assistant to the publicist at Hanna Barbara Productions, and while paying her dues behind the scenes, Shari was “accidentally discovered”, and received several modeling opportunities. As we get to see in her documentary, those opportunities ended up allowing her to appear on the cover of Vogue Magazine 5 times. Currently, she is tied with Rihanna for most Vogue covers as a Person of Color.

The other half of Rowan Moon, Stacey, also has a documentary titled ‘The Journey to Myself’, which she describes as her “unfinished life story”. The documentary takes us on a journey of the life of Stacey Blanchet, who is a

Shari Belafonte

woman of many roles, including fashion designer, publicist, film maker, producer, and daughter.

On the screen, we are inspired by Stacey’s ability to fight for herself and learn to embrace the damages she faced to become the woman she is today. In her own words, Stacey tells us, “I want to be a work in progress until the day I die”, and it is clear that her journey is far from over.

Although both these ladies have extensively successful backgrounds in various entertainment fields, they both wanted more for themselves. Their continuing evolution has taken them on a journey of new partnership, friendship and through the hardships of COVID-19.

We can look forward to a few of their upcoming projects, including the documentary series show, ‘Scions’, hosted by Shari, and co-produced with Texas Crew Productions. The new series explores our celebrity obsessed culture by focusing on people born into the limelight, the children of the super famous, and their firsthand stories of growing up in their celebrity parent’s shadow while they attempt to make a career - and a life - of their own.

Additionally, we can look forward to what seems to be a laugh out loud series titled ‘Chix on the Links’, described as “comedians in golf carts drinking vodka”. It’s a project that’s close to Shari’s heart, and she tells us “If you don’t play golf, you assume it’s boring, but it’s actually really funny”. On this series, we can look forward to seeing that golf doesn’t discriminate. With guest appearances from stars ranging from Martin Sheen all the way to rapper Shwayze, we see the extreme, and hilarious, world of golf in a different light.

As they look towards the future, their goal is simple - to put out good content. The task of doing this may be simple to understand, but it’s no easy feat. When discussing how a company can get a project going in the right direction, Stacey let us know “It is important when shopping your projects, you have the following (Deck, Top Sheet and budget). If you partner with another production company, you will need a deal memo between the two companies. Where your project lands will determine how correct your budget is. There is a process to getting your foot in the door and you must understand and respect it.”

When we asked her for some advice for those working on a project of their own regarding how they would be able to get financing and distribution for their projects, Stacey states, “These two questions are the most important questions to anyone in any business. If you get outside financing prepare to lose control of your project. If you finance yourself, you must know about distribution houses and/or sales agents and how they work. Should you go down the road of filming and distributing yourself, ask yourself, how will people see my project? You better have a big budget for that. Ultimately this always comes down to walking through the entire project.”

Shari added, “Having a toe in the door helps, but get used to the idea that it may take months, even years, to get everything up and running. So, be prepared. Distribution is key, but you also must be flexible. And be tenacious, or at least have a tenacious partner”, she laughs.

When we asked for Stacey’s thoughts on partnering with the right connections, she lets us in on her secret by giving us some sound advice, “Your connections are solely based on you and the kind of person you are. If you are genuine with people and treat them with respect you will get the same in return. Everyone can always spot someone who is out for themselves. You will find that you will create your connections and hold on tight if they are people you can trust.”

At Rowan Moon Productions, it seems that Stacey and Shari are creating a new experience in their field where there is no discrimination, and anyone with an interesting story is getting the opportunity to share in their success. People with content from all walks of life, different backgrounds, ages, races and religions are welcome. With that, these top-notch professionals seem to be creating an entirely new lane in a field that can tend to be an old, one way road, and we’ can’t help but jump on for the ride.

You can find out more information, or get in contact with Rowan Moon Productions through their website www.rowanmoonproductions.com.