Get Ready for a “Lucid Summer”

Jeff Friday Media (JFM) announced recently that it has optioned writer/director Khaled Ridgeway’s second film project Lucid Summer. JFM, which has a motion picture development deal with Sony Pictures, has signed on to produce the film that follows Ridgeway’s award-winning comedy-drama Death of a Telemarketer recently acquired by Sony Pictures.

With a script by Ridgeway and Noah Cooper, Lucid Summer is a dramatic psychological thriller about how a family navigates a hidden world of secrets while managing to keep secrets from one another. The film will be directed by Ridgeway, an American Black Film Festival (ABFF) alum. ABFF founder and JFM CEO Jeff Friday will serve as executive producer along with Nicole Friday, ABFF Ventures president and GM.

“Great relationships play an integral part in any artist’s success,” said Ridgeway. “I was introduced to Jeff Friday and ABFF by Datari Turner producer of my first feature. Jeff understood and championed my mission to tell stories of ordinary people falling into extraordinary situations. I’m beyond humbled to once again team up with Jeff Friday Media on the production of Lucid Summer.”

Ridgeway’s debut film Death of a Telemarketer was produced by Meagan Good (Harlem) and Datari Turner (Uncorked).  Friday was an executive producer of that film which was chosen as a fan favorite at ABFF in 2020 and received several other accolades on the film festival circuit. The film marked Sony and JFM’s first acquisition as a result of their distinct motion picture partnership.

Ridgeway is managed by LBI Entertainment.  Ridgeway and Cooper are represented by attorney Alex Contratto.  Jeff and Nicole Friday are represented by Artistry Collective.

About Jeff Friday Media

Jeff Friday Media (JFM) is a Los Angeles-based company producing film, television and events focused on Black and Brown culture. Its mission is to create live experiences and content that convey aspects of humanity and achievement often dismissed or overlooked in popular entertainment in the portrayal of people of color. As part of its formation, JFM acquired ABFF Ventures LLC, an events company whose tent-pole property is the American Black Film Festival, founded by JFM CEO Jeff Friday. In 2020, JFM secured a motion picture development deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment and in 2021 an exclusive first-look deal with WarnerMedia to develop unscripted content for HBO, HBO Max, CNN Films, CNN Original Series, TBS, TNT and truTV.