Beautiful Coffee is a story of entrepreneurship, of creativity, and of what’s possible when we’re willing to break old systems to build a new way of working that actually works for everyone.
A.J. Riggins
A.J. Riggins
Anna Schaefer
Anna Schaefer
Akira Nakamura
Akira Nakamura
Vincent Talbot
Vincent Talbot
Ross Holter
Ross Holter
Zero One
Zero One
Legion Post
Legion Post
Co-Loop
Co-Loop
Sérgio Bergocce
Sérgio Bergocce
Polina Zimina
Polina Zimina
Catalina Vásquez
Catalina Vásquez
Anthony Orozco
Anthony Orozco
Andrea Bojkovska
Andrea Bojkovska
Kiki Ljung
Kiki Ljung
Directed by
A.J. Riggins
A native of North Carolina, A.J.’s work as an independent filmmaker explores the human condition through the lens of people in the South. His professional contributions as a creative producer combine this unique perspective with hybridized skills to help companies build awareness through human stories focused on culturally-relevant moments.
His recent short film, The Boys Outside, is an official selection of the 2021 New Orleans, Indie Memphis, Carrboro, Charlotte, and Cucalorus film festivals and received support from the Filmed in NC Fund through a partnership with the N.C. Film Office, Artless Media, and The Magnifying Glass. His independent work has also been featured at the Charlotte Black Film Festival and on Film Shortage and Retrospective Jupiter.
In the making of Beautiful Coffee, A.J. led a blended team of internal Upwork creatives, fellow freelancers, and specialized agencies, to produce a piece that he felt personally connected to, with the resources necessary to make it truly compelling.
“
I’ve always been a freelancer. As a filmmaker, as a creative, now I’m in this space of living my truth.
A.J. Riggins
About Red Bay Coffee
“
If you have a vision, whether it’s in your art, your community, or the way you approach work… be courageous,
and make it happen.
Rachel Konte
Co-founder, Red Bay Coffee
When Keba Konte founded Red Bay Coffee 2014, he had a vision for what he calls “the fourth wave of coffee”: a better business model built on the idea that coffee should not only be of superior quality, and produced in a sustainable way, but that it should also serve as a vehicle for diversity, inclusion, social and economic restoration.
Red Bay Coffee is breaking the mold by uplifting contributors at every touchpoint: providing DirectTrade to the farming partners, hiring individuals with barriers to professional entry, giving their employees fair pay and equity in their company, and uplifting the community around them, who would traditionally be left out of the luxury coffee experience.
Learn more about Red Bay Coffee and their contributions at redbaycoffee.com.
