By: Le’Deana

Ashley Antonette, better known as Truski, does not have to look far for inspiration.

Through True Filmz, The Real Unique Empire, the Indianapolis writer, director and creative pulls pieces from the people, personalities and culture around her, then reshapes them into fictional characters and stories that feel familiar to anyone who knows Naptown.

“I take pieces of different things, and then I just create and I add to,” Truski explains.

That approach has helped her build a growing film universe where reality and fiction frequently overlap.

One example is Baby Trell, a character from her series Under Pressure. The character was fictional, yet Truski built him from pieces of personalities she had encountered in real life. She then carried the story beyond the screen with “Free Baby Trell” shirts and a promotional campaign that invited people throughout the city to repeat the phrase.

While working events as a camera operator for On Da Seen TV, Truski and Rychard V even began asking celebrities they encountered to say “Free Baby Trell.”

It became another layer of the story.

The character existed inside a fictional series while the campaign surrounding him began moving through the real culture that inspired him.

Building Her Own Film Universe

Truski’s path to filmmaking started long before True Filmz.

She remembers having a large imagination as a child, writing plays and creating stories. In fifth grade, a poem she wrote called “Three Angels” was published.

Writing eventually led to music. Through a Goodwill program before entering high school, she visited a recording studio for the first time and began pursuing music more seriously.

Over time, storytelling expanded into film.

Her first series, Play The Hand You’re Dealt, was filmed with Craig Allen. Truski says she barely promoted the project, yet the response showed her that people were interested in what she was creating.

That realization led to Pressure.

The second season of Pressure began reaching audiences beyond Indianapolis, giving Truski another indication that the worlds she was creating could travel.

She continued with projects including Red 100, Under Pressure and the short film CJ’s Story.

Creating Without a Huge Production Team

The finished product is only part of Truski’s story.

Much of her work happens with a small team handling responsibilities that larger productions might divide among numerous people.

Her business partner Dusty became an important part of that process, despite being relatively new to filmmaking when they began working together.

Together, they have learned how to adjust quickly.

People cancel. Locations and plans change. Something envisioned one way may have to be rewritten or rearranged in real time.

Truski says improvising has become one of her strengths.

When someone becomes unavailable, she finds another person. When an idea can no longer happen as planned, she creates another one.

That flexibility has become part of how True Filmz gets made.

Letting People See the Growth

Truski is also unusually open about seeing the imperfections in her own work.

She knows when the audio could have been better. She notices production issues before viewers ever mention them. One project, Risk It All, was eventually removed because she was unhappy with the audio quality.

That critical eye has sometimes made releasing her work difficult.

Still, Truski has learned that every project documents a stage in her development.

“I just put it out anyway because we still worked so hard on it, even with the mistakes,” she says. “It shows my growth.”

That philosophy carries into a larger challenge she identified during Evolving Entrepreneurs: visibility.

Despite working in entertainment, Truski says she has struggled with social media, networking and consistently promoting herself. She has even removed music, films, photos and entire projects after putting them online.

During Evolving Entrepreneurs, she began challenging that habit.

She spent the summer networking more, moving through different rooms and becoming more comfortable talking about what she does.

The experience aligned with a decision she had already made earlier in the year when she left her job to spend more time following her purpose.

Leading With Voice and Vision

Truski describes herself as a writer, director, artist, casting director, entrepreneur and youth advocate.

Across those roles, she sees one consistent purpose: leadership.

“I feel like my purpose is to lead, and specifically leading with my voice and my vision,” she says.

That leadership can happen through a film, a song, a conversation with a young person or an idea shared with another creator.

She also sees collaboration as a natural part of building.

“I’m believing in you, you’re believing in me,” she says of the creative relationships around her.

For Truski, True Filmz provides a place where all those pieces can meet.

Real experiences become inspiration. Familiar personalities become characters. Naptown culture becomes the backdrop for fictional worlds. Mistakes become evidence of growth.

And an imagination that began developing long before she ever picked up a camera continues becoming an empire of its own.