About Us
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
PicaLLO Productions is a full-service production company with a passion for telling stories of underrepresented groups in fun, dynamic, and nuanced ways.
Our goal is to put stories on the screen that not only champion marginalized groups, but to do so in fresh ways that offer unique and often offbeat perspectives. The only way to do this is by working with a cast and crew that exemplify the diverse storytelling that we produce and promote.
While PicaLLO Productions is a lover of EVERYONE with an imagination and a positive attitude, we especially love to uplift and collaborate with people who identify as women, nonbinary, queer, and BIPOC. There’s nothing more beautiful than being on the set of an incredible production and having the people alongside you reflect the real world in which we live.
Meet The Team
Lauren L. Owen is an independent producer, writer, director, actor, and the first Black alum of NYU’s MBA/MFA dual Master’s Degree program. She is the Producer of the Academy Award-nominated My Nephew Emmett, and she previously worked alongside Spike Lee, serving as VP of Development at 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. She’s produced several features and short films, including one entitled Trapped, for which she was the writer, director, producer, and the only actor, playing opposite herself. She also won the Best Comedy Short Screenplay Award at the Houston Comedy Film Festival in 2024 for her mockumentary script Changing Spots, which was inspired by time she spent caring for her father. She is currently developing a biographical narrative feature with Grammy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated, Raphael Saadiq as Executive Producer.
Lauren continues to build a slate of shows, feature films, and shorts that she is writing, directing, and/or producing. Her work is focused on promoting diversity on the screen and behind the scenes. Lastly, she loves performing with her UCB improv team, and she has a healthy addiction to tacos.
Katie Richelle Grant is a writer, producer, and director. She has spent the last three years working in development on the writing side, assisting on film, television, and theater projects for studios/companies/theaters including New Line Cinema, Annapurna Pictures, Element Pictures, BBC, Levantine Films, Tribeca Productions, NBCUniversal, Netflix, The Public Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Geffen Playhouse, and Roundabout Theatre Company.
Katie has also worked as an assistant director on theatre workshops and productions at Roundabout Theatre Company and La Jolla Playhouse. She recently graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Film & Television and a triple minor in business, producing, and computer science.
Katie deeply believes that inclusion and representation in the media is exceedingly vital for taking steps towards a world that accepts and includes everyone. She aims to tell stories that reflect the diversity around us. While at NYU, Katie founded the Diversity Art Festival, an annual, university-wide event that celebrates diversity through the arts and advocates for inclusion. The festival is now in its fifth year, and Katie serves as a mentor to the university students.
Katie joined PicaLLO in 2020. In her free time, Katie can be found playing with her dog.