ABOUT
Founded by LA-based writer/producer, AMIR OHEBSION, Soul Mining Productions is engaged in the development and production of feature films and theatrical plays. Our mission is to collaborate with like-minded artists to create entertainment that not only increases social awareness but is inspiring as we reach for the ideals that will ennoble ourselves and future generations.
"Everything that is tearing us down today will become a memory, and that memory will be shared as an anecdote or a story or a poem or a play or a warning . It will be shared with another human being , who will then understand that he is not alone in his sadness. This is why we show up for others and tell our tales and listen to others. The great congregation meets daily, and you are someone's angel today."
Tennessee Williams
[ in production ]
A troubled teenage girl's world is upended when her best friend's suicide is blamed on her filmmaker father's controversial sci-fi movie.
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"Emotionally intimate, with a mind-bending cinematic quality, this script surprises and impresses the audience with its honesty and humanity. With care and craftsmanship, the writers use the story to explore timely and important questions about the responsibility of media in our society, challenging the audience to think about how what we consume affects us and the people around us. The conversation about suicide in this film is so nuanced and authoritative; it doesn't judge the act, nor does it shy away from it. And considering that suicide is on the rise these days, this is an often-overlooked subject that feels especially important now. The most impressive element of this script is without a doubt the development and depth of its cast of characters. Ava is such a fascinating protagonist. A sympathetic young woman going through real tragedy, we relate to her struggle on an intrinsic human level and root for her survival implicitly, but she is still rife with enough flaws and contradictions to make her human and interesting. The parental relationships really stand as the backbone conflicts of the script, too. The writers also include some truly poetic lines in the dialogue that help to harness the full weight of this story about loss, acceptance, and healing."
--The Black List
Placed in:
The Academy's Nicholl Fellowships 2020
Austin Film Festival 2021
ScreenCraft Drama Competition 2021
Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Awards 2022
After going viral for blasphemy, an outspoken atheist must grapple with seemingly supernatural experiences and death threats from religious fanatics while navigating a burgeoning same-sex relationship.
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Beauty for Ashes is a well-paced, wildly involving, "Alice In Wonderland"-like adventure through contemporary LA, combining quirky dark comedy, noir mystery and thought-provoking ruminations on religion and spirituality. Radha is a witty, vividly-rendered and compelling protagonist. She brings a lovely mix of pragmaticism and goofiness to every strange event or person that she encounters that makes her easy to root for. The supporting cast is both eclectic and charismatic, especially her good-natured love interest Ben and her esoteric therapist Gottfried. The dialogue is consistently concise, sharply intelligent and funny, and the action moves swiftly and engagingly from start to finish. The story skillfully blends suspense with offbeat humor and more fantastical elements and metaphysical ruminations, evoking great noir/fantastical/thoughtful dark comedies like PI, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and AFTER HOURS.
Placed in:
The Academy Nicholl Fellowship 2019
Austin Film Festival 2022
ScreenCraft TV Pilot Competiton 2022
Table Read My Screenplay 2022
Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices 2020
After a young obstetrician delivers a comatose baby, she discovers that the baby's survival is intertwined with her own fate and haunting events in her previous lifetime.
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"DEATHDAY offers an appealing and original mix of horror and suspense with deep, philosophical ideas involving reincarnation and previous lives. Despite these lofty ambitions, the script is remarkably mainstream and unpretentious, rendering complex and mind-bending ideas accessible by dramatizing a "haunting" by a past life. The story is engaging from the very beginning, as the 1st act smartly revels in the ambiguity of protagonist Catherine"s sanity, and challenges the reader to come up with their own theories. The imagery introduced in the "hallucinations", and which continue throughout the story are haunting and highly cinematic, original enough to be novel but familiar enough to root the story in the mainstream horror lineage. As Catherine uncovers the mystery of her past life, the reader is presented with a variety of mysteries and possibilities, but they are always emotionally grounded through Catherine"s strong relationship with her psychiatrist-turned-sidekick Del. The two have a wonderful "will they or won't they" flirtation, and truly care for one another in a way which makes them both highly appealing and likable.
Despite its philosophical nature, DEATHDAY is remarkably accessible and commercial, and could be seen as a marketable and commercial horror-thriller in the keys of some producers. Its philosophical themes actually provide it with a heightened concept -- a woman who needs to uncover her past life -- that helps the project stand out from a marketing perspective. And, while it features a variety of locations, it should be relatively inexpensive to produce, as most of the locations are standard, and as it features few big or costly set-pieces. While the project might not have the camp or scope of many studio horror films, it could be a decent fit for indie production companies and financiers interested in heady and original genre projects."
--The Black List
Placed in:
ISA Genre Busting Horror/Thriller 2021
Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices 2021
Emerging Screenwriters Suspense Competition 2022
Amidst a string of mysterious political assassinations, an outspoken Black professor who is romantically involved with a young White student, finds himself being targeted by the FBI.
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"Freak is an audacious and immensely creative thriller integrating contemporary politics, sci-fi and a complex, quasi-romantic friendship. This script gives a serious voice to a growing number of people disillusioned with the false choices of American politics and the two party system, but it also has a wicked sense of humor and remains a genre film. The tone is consistent and wryly funny, and though the circumstances that Kravitz and Scarlett find themselves in are heightened, the themes are grounded in our current political reality. The story starts in a naturalistic place, a college professor espousing leftist rhetoric that only seems radical when compared to the mainstream, reactionary discourse that has infected American politics on both sides of the aisle. These are conversations that people are already having on campuses and online, but Marxism philosophy is still taboo in commercial American cinema. As the story moves on, we peel back the layers of Professor Kravitz's life, meeting his mother and robot Mofo, and finally getting a glimpse into his plan to wreak revenge on those who care about money and power than a just and equal society. The script meshes elements of a sexual campus drama, a political treatise, and an action thriller, but everything feels necessary to serve the story. Kravitz might be slightly crazy, and his tactics are controversial, but the themes and story that Freak depicts are necessary in this time of centrist artistic hegemony. This is an extremely creative, memorable script juggling a lot of big, important ideas very deftly. The political point of view is incisive and a great rebuke to the wishy-washy liberalism of most Hollywood product."
-- Diverse Voices 2021
-- Script Pipeline
Placed in:
Unique Voices 2022
A decade after cheating on his high school sweetheart, sex-obsessed Jasper must suppress his extraordinary libido for a shot at winning Jezebel back.
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ORGASMICA is a funny, edgy, sex-comedy pilot that wholeheartedly dives into the world of sex addiction. It carefully lays the groundwork for a raunchy, Califonication-esqe show and introduces us to Jasper, its complex, charismatic lead: a little oblivious, a little selfish but, deep down, you know there are altruistic feelings that are waiting to be unlocked. As a Hank Moody/Kendall Roy hybrid, it’s very entertaining to watch Jasper make a mess of his life as his insatiable desires get the best of him.
ORGASMICA is a goldmine sitting on the confluence of sadness and humor. It stands out as an example of what modern, raunchy comedy can look like. I can quite easily see a long, multi-season series that follows Jasper and his hijinks as he tries to get back together with the one that got away. The script, in its best form, would fit perfectly on HBO or Showtime.
Placed in:
Unique Voices 2022
A mutilated corpse turns up at a peaceful commune where a young woman has gone to escape her past. Her mysterious connection to the victim forces her to team up with a private investigator on the killer's trail, and confront the cycle of racist violence that has plagued her family for decades.
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"VICIOUS is a driven, emotionally-intelligent action thriller that maturely handles topics such as racism, revenge and violence in a truly impressive narrative. There are many unraveling threads to this story, and as the layers of this mystery are expertly peeled back, the tensions and stakes only continue to rise. The film's characters are deep and complex, particularly Adam, who is a mysterious and unassuming side hero to Sara's lead protagonist. The eventual reveal and development of Adam's character as one comes to understand him by the end, packs an emotional punch and catharsis. As Sara battles her own demons, her chemistry with Adam feels natural as she begins to better understand her family's dark baggage. Within the structure, the screenplay is excellently paced as the action and discovery beats land as the writer guides the story to its fitting conclusion. The brutal, punishing sequences of violence demonstrate the ability to feel necessary without being gratuitous."
--The Black List
Placed in:
Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices 2021
Emerging Screenwriters Suspense Competition 2022
We have partnered with Gaumont, the studio behind the Netflix hit Narcos and F is for Family to bring the adult animated series to life. Created by Slamdance award-winning writer and producer Amir Ohebsion (The Apology, Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero) and celebrated comedian and actor Maz Jobrani (Immigrant, Brown and Friendly, I Come in Peace), this adult animated comedy is the first series to center on a Middle Eastern family and will dig deep into immigrant experiences and political satire.
Exiled for outspoken opposition to his country's fundamentalist regime, a legendary gay showman struggles with an offer to issue a humiliating apology in exchange for permission to return to his homeland. Inspired by a true story, "The Apology" won Best Feature Screenplay at Slamdance.
"Bold, raunchy and biting, Jimmy Vestvood is one of the most outrageously funny comedies in years."
- NYC Movie Guru
SYNOPSIS
The Pink Panther meets Borat in this broad satire about a bumbling yet lovable Iranian immigrant who wins the Green Card lottery and moves to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an American hero. Jimmy Vestvood aspires to be a cool cop like his childhood idol, Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt, but soon discovers that the best job he can get is as a security guard at a Persian grocery store. Through a series of comically fateful events, Jimmy's naivete is exploited when a corrupt arms dealer hires him as a private investigator. Framed as a terrorist by the fear-mongering Kox News, Jimmy is unwittingly embroiled in a conspiracy to start World War III. With the help of his seventh cousin, Jimmy must save the day and avert the imminent war while keeping his overprotective mother in the dark. Winner of the Comedy Vanguard Jury Award as well as the Audience Award at the 2014 Austin Film Festival, "Jimmy Vestvood" playfully skewers American preconceptions of the Middle East and breaks new ground through its depiction of the first hero of Middle-Eastern descent in an American comedy.
After losing his life savings in a local Ponzi scheme, a Beverly Hills businessman suffers a heart attack and finds himself at the gates of heaven where he is denied entry. But that is only the beginning of his darkly satirical journey in the afterlife. "Death" is a musical comedy about one immigrant's misguided pursuit of the American dream.
THE BELIND DATE is a parody which follows a young Iranian-American couple on their first date. In depicting their comically strained and awkward interaction, the play highlights many of the hypocrisies that develop as a result of a narrow and burning concern about appearances and social status, one which disregards the universal values of honesty, integrity, mutual love and respect. It is only after the couple heeds the advice of their waiter - to let their inner selves shine through - that they begin to know and actually appreciate each other. The play's second act, THE VEDDING, uses the couple's wedding ceremony to further satirize the false ideal of materialism and how deep-rooted it can become. The marital vows demonstrate how even the most personal and communal bonds can become tainted by these base pursuits of money, power, and status.
A satirical reenactment of the story of creation featuring the first ever couple's love-hate relationship with their creator and their evolutionary journey after being banished from the Garden. The play premiered at the prestigious 1200 seater, Wilshire Ebell Theater, in 2017 and enjoyed a long run to consistent sell-out audiences in Los Angeles and New York .
