Sparxs Studio founder and CEO Samenta Bruington (Photo by Jana Birchum)
Samenta Bruington isn t just another California transplant. In fact, she hardly chose Austin at all. Bruington was all set for a career in Hollywood: taking classes, joining a union, and connecting with people and resources that could lead her to a stable income in the film industry. But against her will, Texas chose her, and now she s founded a new production house, Sparxs Studio, in Austin.
Bruington s grandparents are responsible for sparking her love of film. Turner Classic Movies, that whole catalog. A lot of white people that are dead now. But they were a part of the Black Screenwriters Guild of L.A. So I was also exposed to classic Black cinema as well, she said over Zoom, sitting under a framed poster of Spike Lee s