About tello
tello LLC's Mission Statement:
To be a virtual forum devoted to provoking thought, empowering people,
and fostering connectivity through original projects essential to the lesbian experience.
tello was conceptualized over a Chicago-style deep dish pizza by co-founders Christin Mell and Nicole Valentine, who high-fived each other and yelled jinx when they both said at the same time that the world needed more quality lesbian web-based content. They immediately decided to create a company that would be video-focused, niche-based, and made for worldwide consumption.
Why lesbian content? Because, frankly, there just isn't a lot of it. Sure, sometimes lesbians are thrown in as side characters or show up on 'very special episodes' of your favorite shows, but lesbians and lesbian-specific issues are rarely at the center of mainstream television shows, movies, and web series. While tello isn't ready to take over Hollywood (yet), we are ready to create great new web content that is intelligent but fun, timely but classic, and tasteful yet sexy, a whirlwind of classic ideas from a lesbian perspective, brave and challenging content with a lesbian twist.
- tellofilms.com started an aggregate for a variety of content, then, as the tello team produced their own content, evolved into a distribution and production house for original work.
- Through their subscription model, which directly pays artists for their work, tello is spreading the love, and the money, to the people doing the heavy creative lifting, writing, producing, etc. tello regularly collaborates with lesbian writing and production teams, providing stipends for production, consulting services in the areas of writing, social media, product development, crowdfunding, and production. All producers who share original content on tello receive a portion of quarterly revenue. Yes - we're talking about a check, y'all.
- tello is open to submissions of completed work and original ideas. Use the "contact us" tab to start the conversation!
tello Team
Christin Mell, co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, spends every waking moment trying to figure out how to produce more and more projects for tello and scheming how to get Katee Sackhoff in one of those projects. Christin's favorite discussion topics include new media, the economic model of web distribution (if you have ideas about this please contact her), and great lesbian web series (and if you know about any of THESE, please contact her). You can find her on Twitter - follow at your own risk.
Jessica King, Chief Operations Officer, & Julie Keck, Chief Creative Director, bring 10 years of producing, writing, and editing experience to tello, having produced many short films, written features, and established themselves as social media mavens on both Facebook and Twitter. King and Keck designed the tello game show WHO KNOWS HER BETTER and wrote the play / web series I HATE TOMMY FINCH, which Jessica also co-directed with Mell. They are currently in pre-production for tello's latest web series, the teen LGBT homelessness drama THE THROWAWAYS. Learn more about Jess & Julie at kingisafink.com.
Mike Vesper, Web Master & Graphic Designer, helps tello find creative ways to cross boarders, seas, and genres and to challenge misconceptions about the quality of entertainment made for/by/about lesbians. He also codes stuff and stuff. There are numbers involved. The gals at tello love him. Check out what else he's up to here.
Nicole Valentine, co-founder, grew up wanting to interview rock stars and tell stories from on the road, so doing interviews for the "tello talks to" series is right up her alley. A traveler at heart, this mid-western lady also enjoys producing, brainstorming (preferably poolside), and writing. She loved origami growing up. Don't ask. This self-proclaimed tech geek is stoked that tellofilms is iDevice friendly. Cliche or not, she can't wait to produce a vampire show.
Sabrina Harper, Talent Relations/Scout, is Box Office Manager at The Second City Theatre Chicago and teaches at The Second City Training Center. Sabrina started her career as a stand-up comedian and finished the Directing Program at The Second City Theatre in July of 2009. She founded and co-owned The Improv Inferno in Ann Arbor, MI, and spent 2 years producing, directing, performing and programming shows there. Directing credits include tello's KEENERVILLE and McMANUSLAND, as well as SNR (Saturday Night RE-Written).
