Delta Students’ Film To Appear On National Television
CLEVELAND – (April 9, 2025) A short film produced by high school students from the Mississippi Delta will air on a nationally syndicated television series starting Saturday, April 12 through Sunday, June 15.
The film, “Help Wanted” was produced by students who attended the 2023 Sunflower County Film Academy (SCFA) in Cleveland and will air on the award-winning series African American Short Films. The first broadcast will be on the CBS affiliate My 54WUPL-TV|WWLTV in New Orleans, Louisiana. Future airings on other stations will be announced each Monday on the Badami TV website.
Debuting in January 2003, African American Short Films features several films within its one-hour format and is produced by Badami TV. The series highlights films made by Black filmmakers with stories “that range from comedy to drama and all the shades in between.”
Badami TV’s president, Frank Badami, said their mission is “to educate through entertainment” as they continually improve their programming to bring “valuable content” to their viewers.
“Help Wanted” is the story of a troubled teen who forms an unexpected bond when he befriends a gruff old man in a story about friendship, growth and finding one’s place in the world. The film stars Merion Turner of Bayou Academy in Cleveland and Jonarious Lee of Leland High School. Supporting cast includes students from the SCFA and Bolivar County resident Tony Foster.
The stars of “Help Wanted” Merion Turner, Jonarious Lee, Jacobi Baldwin and Cameron Baldwin.
The film was featured at three festivals in 2024 including The Magnolia Film Festival, the Oxford Film Festival and the JXN Film Festival in Jackson. The film also won three awards with the 2023 Best Short Competition including the Award of Merit for "Film Short (Student)", "Young Filmmaker – 17 and younger," and an Award of Recognition for “Actor Leading (Student)” for Merion Turner as "Elijah".
Founded in 2018, the Sunflower County Film Academy (SCFA) is a free summer STEM program that is part of the K-12 educational curriculum for the award-winning film, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America. That film allows the voting rights advocate and Sunflower County native to tell her own story in her own words.
The SCFA is designed to offer high school students in the Delta, particularly those of color, broader career options in the entertainment industry or broadcast media field. Turner and Lee attended the first workshop held in Bolivar County, MS. Prior workshops were held in Sunflower and Tallahatchie counties.
Under the direction of their instructors, Ben Powell and Glen Payne, who are also professional filmmakers, students work with the latest industry standard production equipment that includes cameras, lights, booms and drones to produce a short film at the end of the three-week film camp. That film is then premiered within the community and later submitted to local and national film festivals.
The 2024 student film, “Whenever You’re Ready” was featured at the 2025 Magnolia Film Festival and the Oxford Film Festival and received an Award of Merit from the 2024 Best Shorts Competition.
The 2025 film camp is scheduled for June 2 through June 20 at the Delta Arts Alliance in Cleveland and is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and ATMOS Energy.