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Logline

Alyson Fouse — a trailblazing Black comedy writer, single mother, and showrunner raised by Army vets in Inglewood — helped shape the voice of television for decades but never got her flowers. Room for Her is a vibrant, intimate portrait of the woman behind shows like The Wayans Bros., Everybody Hates Chris, and Act Your Age, and how her legacy continues to lift up the next generation of women in Hollywood.

Synopsis

Room for Her is a bold, character-driven short documentary profiling Alyson Fouse, a trailblazing Black comedy writer who helped define television for a generation. Raised by Army vets and once an outsider in Hollywood, Alyson broke into the writers’ room on The Wayans Bros. and went on to shape hit shows like Everybody Hates Chris and Act Your Age. Her story captures both the hilarity and heartbreak of surviving an industry that celebrates your work but often forgets your name.

Through intimate interviews, vérité scenes with Alyson and her peers (including Wanda Sykes, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Rodney Barnes), and rare archival footage, Room for Her unpacks themes of legacy, resilience, and the invisible labor of Black women in comedy. It’s about a woman who turned her pain into punchlines and built a career by staying unapologetically herself.

Shot with cinematic texture and honesty, the film moves between past and present: Alyson reflecting on her journey while surrounded by the next generation of writers she continues to mentor. The tone mirrors Alyson’s voice sharp, unfiltered, hilarious, and heartfelt.

Room for Her is more than a profile; it’s a reclamation. It’s the long-overdue celebration of a woman who shaped culture from behind the scenes and continues to open doors for those following her.

Meet the Filmmakers

Katie “Ginge” Cox — Director
Katie “Ginge” Cox is a Los Angeles–based documentary director and Grammy – and Emmy-nominated sound professional whose work lives at the intersection of empathy, intuition, humor, and grit. Trained in production and post sound, she spent over fifteen years shaping the emotional core of storytelling through audio before expanding into directing.

Her collaborations include projects with Academy Award–winner Ben Proudfoot and major studios such as Paramount and Netflix. Cox’s credits span acclaimed documentaries including Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (Netflix) and The Deep End (Hulu). She holds an M.F.A. in Film and Television Production from USC and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Computer Science and Music from UC San Diego.

As founder of Story Machine, Cox directs intimate, character-driven films exploring identity, resilience, and power. Her current projects include Room for Her, profiling trailblazing showrunner Alyson Fouse; Back to the Roots, a meditation on modern homesteading; and The Watermelon Crusher, an irreverent short about empowerment and body politics. Cox’s filmmaking is rooted in deep listening and emotional truth—crafting stories that help audiences hear themselves more clearly through others.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.