Gucci is funding a movie about Brownmill... and these Rutgers students are behind it

(Left to Right) Laila Hoff, David Perez, Anya Dillard, Keyshaon Robinson, and Godard Aristil, the student crew behind Atelier: The Story of Brownmill Company. Photographed by Zion Laster.

In a recent article for Womens' Wear Daily, Gucci announced its newest cohort of Gucci Creative Fellows. Among the grant recipients is Anya Dillard, a recent Rutgers Newark graduate, 2024 Gucci Scholar, and the director of Atelier: The Story of Brownmill Company, an experimental documentary about the three young black men behind the Newark-born clothing empire Brownmill Company.

Atelier follows the origin story of the black-owned heritage brand and it's co-founders Justis Pitt Goodson, Kwaku Agyemang, and Taha Shimou. The film's core production team is anchored entirely by students of Rutgers Newark Video Production program, with Anya spearheading the production.

Laila Hoff, the producer and co-editor of this film, is a gifted portrait photographer and senior undergraduate student majoring in Video Production with a minor in Journalism. Godard Aristil, a current junior Video Production major and recording artist, is the film's Director of Photography and Post-Production Supervisor. David Perez – a senior Video Production major, comedy buff, and gifted horror author – is working as the AV Supervisor and a Post-Production Assistant. Lastly, Key’Shaon Robinson – a junior Video Production major, entrepreneur, and hip-hop scholar – is the official Creative Director and Marketing Associate for Atelier.

While their technical skills make them a force to be reckoned with, so do their various diasporic identities and cultures. With family origins rooted in Guyana, Trinidad, Liberia, Haiti, and Puerto Rico, each member of the Atelier crew has made it a point to utilize their unique perspectives on fashion and culture to inform the messaging and vibrance of the project.

As Rutgers [Newark] students, we all jumped into this project as if we had something to prove. We all wanted bring the very best out of this film and create something people could watch and say "Wow, a bunch of students made this?" I fully believe that is what we've achieved. - David Perez

In addition to their core production team, the crew has enlisted the help of numerous other Gen-Z filmmakers, visual artists, photographers, and fashion enthusiasts to help make this project a reality, including ABYSS by ABP CEO Asare Bampoe-Perry, collage artist Landon Khiry, motion picture stills photographer Zion Laster, painter Karl Thompson, and former Brownill employee Tristan Jones (to name a few).

According to Anya Dillard, all of the films production’s production assistants up to this point have been recruited undergraduate students from she and her peer's alma mater, Rutgers University Newark.

For Anya, Laila, Godard, David, and Key'Shaon this film – which first began as an assignment for their documentary filmmaking class – turned into a passion project capable of sparking important dialogues surrounding freedom of expression.

“We want Atelier to serve as a love letter to kinship, creativity, and Black ambition; a piece capable of igniting dialogues about the importance of creative agency, Black ownership, and fashion as a form of resistance.”

We want Atelier to serve as a love letter to kinship, creativity, and Black ambition; a piece capable of igniting dialogues about the importance of creative agency, Black ownership, family ties, and the use of fashion as a form of resistance.     - Anya Dillard

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The film is anticipated to premiere in 2026 and is currently in production.