{"id":8089328,"date":"2026-10-02T13:33:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T20:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/?p=8089328"},"modified":"2026-10-02T15:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T22:29:17","slug":"microdramas-ai-david-oyelowo-nate-parker-interview-mansa-atwist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/media-platforms\/tv\/microdramas-ai-david-oyelowo-nate-parker-interview-mansa-atwist\/","title":{"rendered":"Microdrama Platform Founders Say Hollywood Has Come Knocking as Traditional Pipelines Shrink"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Eighteen months ago, Guy Shimoni said, no one wanted to hear about microdramas. Now, the founder and CEO of Shortical says Hollywood is knocking on his door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The founder said the once-taboo format is drawing interest from traditional entertainment players who see the revenues coming in. At TheGrill 2026, Shimoni joined Mansa co-founders David Oyelowo and Nate Parker and aTwist CEO and founder Jana Winograde to discuss how the microdrama boom is opening new avenues for talent, experimentation and investment as Hollywood’s traditional pipelines contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oyelowo and Parker co-founded their streaming platform Mansa to platform Black creative voices. Within the last year, that expansion has included an increased investment into vertical storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The multi-hyphenates came from the traditional entertainment ecosystem \u2014 Oyelowo known for starring in films like “Selma” and “Queen of Katwe,” Parker for directing and starring in “The Birth of a Nation” \u2014 but realized they could do more for marginalized voices in the lower-budget space. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\tMansa, First All-Black Microdrama Studio, Expands Summer Vertical Slate | Exclusive<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was about embracing a process that we had been forced into just by being filmmakers of color,\u201d Parker, co-founder and CEO of Mansa, said onstage at the DGA Theater. \u201cNot everyone can make a film for $5 million, $10 million, $20 million, so the idea of having to make something that is good, fast and cheap is constantly the Rubik’s Cube that we had to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mansa\u2019s verticals range from production budgets of $100,000 to $250,000. These productions allow for more iteration and testing in real time. Oyelowo said that audiences have been supportive of their experimentation, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s a lot of malleability. You can really test the market,\u201d Oyelowo said. \u201cYou can really test the audience, and they will go along with you because they’re enjoying even that process of you testing what it is that they’re gravitating towards, without it being the thing that’s going to tank your business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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David Oyelowo, Actor, Producer & Director speaks onstage at \u201cMicrodramas: Hollywood’s Next Big Story\u201d Panel (Photo by Randy Shropshire for TheWrap)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Shortical\u2019s Guy Shimoni, that iteration has included a greater investment in AI. The company is set to release a feature-length AI film \u201cInevitable\u201d later this month. Shortical is set to do $100 million in revenue by the end of the year. Shimoni says that is in large part because of the scale they are able to create by using AI filmmaking tools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur business has doubled ever since we started rolling out AI content. We’re able to do more genres. We have superheroes going on,\u201d he told me at TheGrill. \u201cEver since we started rolling out our AI content, we’ve been able to double down on serialized content, and we are now doing longer series, not 60 minutes any more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortical has a microdrama series in the works with James Franco. As their business grows, Shimoni said that this is not the only interest he has gotten from the traditional players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AI-generated Aki Avni in “Inevitable” (Credit: Shortical)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think 18 months ago when we started talking about short form content, mobile streaming, microdramas, no one wanted to hear about it. It was a taboo,\u201d he said. \u201cNow everyone is knocking on our door and looking for ways because they see the revenues coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He imagines that this trend will continue with AI content in the years to come as the industry eases its frustrations with the technology. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\tShortical's Latest Microdrama Stars Israeli Actor Aki Avni as an AI Version of Himself | Exclusive Video<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

aTwist co-founder and CEO Jana Winograde was previously a television executive for decades of her career. The professional pivot to microdramas was largely because of the growing opportunity in the space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has established a slew of traditional entertainment partnerships even before they officially launched in early September. Winograde and her partners are using a traditional entertainment playbook to hook audiences on serialized content. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Winograde in particular was heartened by the microdramas industry\u2019s ability to platform emerging talent. While they have partnerships with some traditional celebrities, including a family series with Mario Lopez and a musical microseries produced and directed by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the platform largely uses vertical stars or highlights unknown talent on-screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs Nate has said, there are so many amazing actors in this space that do not have the opportunity to work right now that we have had the opportunity to work with, and it’s been amazing. It’s not just actors; it’s directors, it’s writers,\u201d Winograde said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jana Winograde, aTwist & Founder and CEO speaks onstage at \u201cMicrodramas: Hollywood’s Next Big Story\u201d Panel (Photo by Randy Shropshire for TheWrap)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt just doesn’t seem that there are the same opportunities for people who are unbelievably talented to get their break, and we’re really proud to be giving people that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Mansa, they wanted to platform emerging talent, too, but also fill a gap in the market for Black storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the reasons we started Mansa is to continue to populate the pipeline with people who look like us, with diverse stories from around the world,\u201d Oyelowo said. \u201cYou see contraction in every part of the industry and what microdramas present is a fiscally responsible, possible and plausible way to put people to work to cultivate talent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\tCasting Microdramas: It's Gone Hollywood<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TheGrill 2026: Mansa co-founders David Oyelowo and Nate Parker, Shortical\u2019s Guy Shimoni and aTwist\u2019s Jana Winograde share how they retain audiences as the space becomes more crowded<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10221,"featured_media":8088850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-full-width-with-ads","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":508584,"post_id":7561522}}]},"_links_to":"","_links_to_type":0,"nb_breaking_email_type":"20ea2010-a7ac-4136-bfc8-12173d880a45","nb_breaking_template":"pro-single-story.html","nb_breaking_from_name":"WrapPRO","nb_breaking_subject":"","nb_breaking_preview":"","nb_breaking_list":[],"nb_breaking_header_img":7562034,"nb_breaking_should_send":false,"nb_breaking_content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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