Bree West is a NAACP Image Award nominated writer, Showrunner, film and music video producer, and director whose work has been broadcasted on BET, BET+, TVOne, Lifetime, ALLBLK, Amazon Prime and Apple TV networks. Bree started her film career in 2015 when she Co-Executive Produced “The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story” with Flavor Unit Productions, a production company owned by Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere. Bree was instrumental in structuring the deal that led to the film’s development and ultimate production. After that project premiered, Bree was hooked. She began developing and producing film content, then with her now-husband and producing partner Chuck West established OCTET Productions, a full-service film, television, and event production company in 2015.
Today, Bree is currently the Creative Producer and COO of OCTET Productions. OCTET’s first creative efforts focused on producing and filming theatrical plays for broadcast, digital, and home entertainment distribution. Those projects included: “You Can’t Hurry Love” (2016), starring LaTarsha Rose, Essence Atkins, Richard Brooks, and Victoria Rowell and “Addicted To You” (2016) starring Letoya Luckett, Brely Evans, and Thomas Q. Jones. Bree and OCTET next produced “Couples’ Night” starring Charles Malik Whitfield, Regan Gomez, Denise Boutte, Tony Rock, and Clifton Powell. Those productions were broadcast on the Urban Movie Channel (Now ALLBLK) and distributed in the United Kingdom as well as the continent of Africa. OCTET went on to produce “The Lost Soul’s Café” (2017) for TVOne starring Loretta Devine, Christian Keyes, Kiki Haynes, Ernest Thomas, and Major.
In September 2019, OCTET produced its first scripted film, “Angrily Ever After,” a romantic comedy starring Jasmine Burke, Ta’Rhonda Jones, Tyrone Marshall Brown, Terayle Hill, and directed by Terri J. Vaughn. Angrily Ever After premiered on BET and BETHer. On December 7, 2019, OCTET’s next film, “’Twas The Chaos Before Christmas” starring Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Sherri Shepherd, Affion Crockett, and Victoria Rowell, premiered on BET and BETHer. The film was a ratings hit, viewed by 1.2 million homes on premiere night, making it the highest-rated holiday film in BET Networks history.
In 2020, Bree produced “Love on A Two Way Street,” a special theatrical production that premiered first on ABFF Play, the American Black Film Festival’s OnDemand portal. “Love on a Two Way Street” starred Erica Ash, Vanessa Williams, Dorien Wilson, KeKe Hayne, and Tony Rock. After its premiere, the film aired on ALLBLK.
During the Biden-Harris Presidential Inauguration of 2021, OCTET produced a virtual gospel concert event, “The 2021 Inaugural Gospel Celebration,” hosted by Anthony Anderson with special appearances by Taraji P. Henson, Morris Chestnut, Lamman Rucker, and Pastor Shirley Caesar. During this amazing celebration, viewers were entertained by gospel greats like Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Deitrick Haddon, Keke Wyatt, and many more.
Bree’s release, “American Gangster Presents: Big 50 – The Delrhonda Hood Story,” a biopic starring Remy Ma, Durrell “Tank” Babbs, TaRhonda Jones, Pretty Vee, and Debbi Morgan, was directed by Russ Parr and yielded outstanding viewership for BET+. Later in 2021, Bree wrote and produced and filmed a family centered Christmas-themed project, “A Wesley Christmas.” This film stars film and TV icons Jasmine Guy, Dorien Wilson, TC Carsons, and rising stars Loren Lott, Terayle Hill, KeKe Haynes, Kevin Savage, Rolonda Rochelle, and Sydney Mitchell. She’s extremely proud to share that this movie was the #1 Christmas project during the 2022 Christmas season. In addition, it received two NAACP Image Awards nominations.
In 2022. Bree Executive Produced a suspense thriller entitled, “Stalked Within,” starring Megan Tandy, Wes Brown, Giovanni Gopradi and Brely Evans as well as a sellacious, suspense thriller series entitled, “HUSH” that premiered as the number 1 new series on ALLBLK streaming. To complete 2022, Bree co-wrote and Executive Produced the sequel to her most recent Christmas film entitled, “A Wesley Christmas Wedding” adding Valerie Pettiford and Aaron Spears to the cast.
With a new year has come three new projects. Bree West co-wrote and produced “A Kismet Hooiday”, a Christmas romantic comedy starring Karen Obilom, Derrick A King, Joyful Drake, Lamman Rucker, Elle Varner, Asiahn and Kym Whitley. She then produced, “WAKE”, a suspense thriller starring Shoniqua Shandai, J Alphonse, Deray Davis and Parker McKenna Posey. Most recently, Bree wrapped “HUSH” season two where she served as a writer, co-Showrunner, executive producer and first time director.
Bree and her husband/production partner Chuck West are also committed to giving back and mentoring the next generation for filmmakers. Bree and Chuck have have given lectures to students at American University and developed a partnership with Bowie State University to help advance the careers of young aspiring filmmakers. Bree truly embraces a responsibility to support developing filmmakers by giving them access to hands-on experiences and opportunities they otherwise would not have. Bree is determined to keep producing great content because she looks at filmmakers as historians and documentarians.
“Our films tell the stories of our cultural experiences during the time periods that they capture. They will be used, in the future, as tools that convey how we lived. It is our obligation to tell our authentic stories.”
In March 2022, Bree West was awarded the title of OCTFME Filmmaker of the Month and has been a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated since 1993. She is excited about the future projects that she will bring to life as well as the careers that she will play a part in helping to grow.
