Google approached the director to direct a branded content piece that centered on the Compton Cowboys, with statistics about Google searches acting as an underlying throughline in the film. The objective was to take the data point of “In 2020, more than ever, people in the U.S. are searching for ‘Compton Cowboys’” and do a detailed investigation into the story behind it. The overarching theme was “What makes us different actually ties us all together.” While shooting this piece, he captured an abundance of material with Keiara and several other Compton Cowboys, and used this longer-form doc to tell a fuller, more comprehensive story.

The creative idea behind Google’s ‘Anytown’ campaign was to depict hyper-local stories of culture and tradition that are happening across America - a modern-day Americana that reflects the old Americana in certain ways. The goal was to provide a lens into the vast diversity of culture we have in America, while making it relatable on an emotional level. For Keiara in particular, the goal was to dive deeper into Keiara’s hardships, determination, and perseverance, while also crafting a more detailed portrait of the Cowboys’ story from past to present (and even allude to what’s in store for them in the future).

The strategy was to make the film a window into this unique community and show how the horses in the rescue group are essentially rescuing human beings as well— rescuing people like Keiara from their past and giving them a positive, life-affirming mission that places helping others at the forefront.

Keiara was filmed in Compton with our cast and crew of 40 people in January 2020. The film was placed online with over 300K views. This is the story of The Compton Cowboys and Keiara Wade, the group’s solo cowgirl. Together on June 7th, 2020, they led a peace ride through their hometown in the name of Black lives. It was a community defining moment and America took notice; the Compton Cowboys were searched on Google more than ever before.

Keiara had its world premiere in competition at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2021. In June of 2020, shortly after we shot the documentary, the Compton Cowboys led a crowd of thousands on a peace ride in the name of Black lives. It was a community defining moment, and America took notice; the Compton Cowboys were searched more than ever before.