2025: From Stage to Screen
In one of the realest years I’ve lived to date, I started 2025 back on stage and finished with my first ever feature. The Grind hit full gear in 2025, let me update y’all real quick!
Public Showing of 15 Lines at Chicago International Reel Shorts (November 2025)
With a year that saw me return to the south side for Splash Hatch on the E Going Down, the year shifted focus a little bit. I finally got to dedicate a lot of time to working on camera, which was always my long-term goal and dream. After Splash Hatch closed, I took part in a few projects. The first project was the independent short, A New Beginning, written and directed by Gary McMillan Jr.
On set for A New Beginning (March 2025)
A New Beginning follows a young man dealing with the part he plays in his own heartbreak. Fun fact: I shot this while in tech for Splash Hatch, setting the tone for what was my most versatile year to date. It was a pleasure to collaborate with Gary and his team. Gary has been a force in the Chicago local scene for a few years now and the best has yet to come! Make sure you don’t pull up late to the party!
Von Justice, Scorpio Moon (2025)
After closing Splash Hatch in the spring, I took on several projects over the summer. The first being a music video for the Von Justice single, Scorpio Moon. This was my first music video as an actor since producing Genesis back in 2020, so I was excited to be a part of another process. Queer art, more importantly local queer, art is something I’ve been seeking to be apart of more in my career. As an artist who believes in representing the unseen, it’s definitely time to showcase more LGBTQ stories in my catalogue. Love and heartbreak are fundamental elements of our lives, no matter your age or orientation. Check out Scorpio Moon, song and video out now!
My next project during Summer25 was the production of the teaser/trailer for Homecoming by my boy Ben Locke! Ben is a multi-disciplinary artist in Chicago. We met as actors, but I’ve also worked with him as a theatre-maker, casting director, playwright and screenwriter, and now as a producer. Not only is he one of the most passionate people I know, he is also one of the most creative. It was a pleasure to join his team in producing the early stages of the Homecoming project.
Homecoming is one of Ben’s upcoming feature films that follows three estranged siblings who decide to revisit their haunted childhood home in order to win prize money on a reality tv show. Last summer, we shot about 10-15 pages of the script for audiences to get a taste of the story we plan to tell.
Starring alongside Alexis Ward and William Anthony Sebastian Rose II, my character Aldin is an author who is responsible for brining everyone on the show. What comes after is something you won’t want to miss! Homecoming perfectly blends comedy, horror, and family drama into one film. Stay tuned for more as we gather funds for the full feature length project! In the meantime, check out our teaser trailer for Homecoming!
My biggest project of Summer25:
Booking and filming Rhythm & Blu
During August 2025, I shot my FIRST feature film! Rhythm & Blu is an upcoming rom-com about music, healing, and CHICAGO culture. I’ll be playing JD, the best friend of our hero, the comedic relief, and your favorite piece of eye candy by far!
Written and directed by Sade May, the film stars Monica G. Myrick and DeMorris Burrows. To top it off, I get to be the on-screen love interest of my longtime friend Aundria TraNay!
At the time of this post, Rhythm & Blu is currently in post-production. After 10 BUSY days of filming, I can’t stress how excited I am to see this story come to life. As an actor, at times we take the jobs that are available, other times we get to tell the stories that we ourselves would watch over and over. I’m blessed to say that R&B feels like a film I’m going to enjoy for a very long time. Rhythm & Blu will be coming to screens in 2026!
To top off a creative year with the camera, 15 Lines had a successful festival run! 15 Lines appeared in 8 Festivals, starting with the World Premiere at the Roxbury Film Festival in Boston in June. Shoutout to my director Sharon Samuels and my angel of a producer, Katherine Tower for helping me pull up to Boston and attend my first festival and premiere. Boston and a impromptu trip to Niagara Falls were top moments in my 2025.
In the last year, 15 Lines traveled across the country, with showings at the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival (Cleveland), the Michaux Film Festival (Los Angeles), and the Gary International Black Film Festival (Gary). For a complete list of festivals, visit the 15 Lines Website.
15 Lines showed up AND showed out, winning 3 Awards!
- Best Narrative Short at the Gary International Black Film Festival
- Best Chicago Short at the Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award at the Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival
With our festival run coming to a close, it’s only a matter of time before you can stream the film at home. Stay on the lookout for updates!
Now I know I mentioned a lot of film, but you know my work on stage never ends even if I’m not on it! So that hiatus from photography ended in the springtime and by summer, Khaliq Photography and Khaliq Visuals was back and making art in the theatre scene once again.
At Perceptions Theatre we produced our 5th Annual BIPOC Play Festival in the summer and The Wash in the late fall, both of which I did photography and videography for. At Artemisia, we produced our Untitled Workshop and WeWomen festival this fall and added new members to our Leadership Coaltion. Finally, I did promo work for Theatre Y’s Frontieres Sans Frontieres.
2025 saw a lot of baby steps. I am, admittedly, fatigued from slow progress but blessed to still be progressing at all in this industry. Regardless, I have found ways to keep myself busy while bettering myself and my community in the process. A LOT of art was made in 2025 and there’s even more on the horizon. 2026 will see my return to one of my favorite stages performing in one of my favorite plays. I ended my year with my eyes on my next destination: Goodman Theatre. The Centennial Season.
See y’all on stage again very, very soon!
-Jabari