EXCLUSIVE: Brent Pella has commenced production on Peaking, a psychedelic comedy marking his feature directorial debut, where he stars alongside Nikki Howard (American Crime Story), Aristotle Georgeson, Lil Rel Howery (Get Out), and Jonathan Kite (2 Broke Girls).

Also written by Pella, Peaking follows a couple’s attempts to rekindle the spark of their relationship by searching for a threesome at a remote music festival. The shooting of the film was held in conjunction with Peak State, a music and arts festival also produced by Pella and team to facilitate the film’s larger sequences, which took place in Austin, TX from April 15-19.

Supporting cast for the film includes Alice Kremelberg, Ashleigh Murray, Manon Mathews, Vincent Marcus, Clayton Farris, and Steph Barkley, with Reggie Watts and Erik Griffin appearing in cameos.

A Door 11 Studios production, pic is produced by Pella, Nikki Howard, Rene Besson, and Sarah Craig, with Sean Mullin, Melissa Wylie, and Matt Beales exec producing. Cast was assembled by Stefanie Seifer, Hailey Giles and Chiara Marini of Spark Casting.

A comedian, producer and director, Pella recently announced the launch of Door 11 Studios, a new production company specializing in film, television, digital, and live events rooted in character-driven comedic storytelling, as we first reported. He’s best known for his viral online sketches and for touring nationally with his stand-up. A series regular on Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n Out on MTV, he’s a graduate of the improv/sketch comedy programs at both UCB and Groundlings theaters and was recognized as a Creator to Watch at the 2023 New York Comedy Festival. He’s amassed over a million followers, and over a billion views across all social platforms, and is repped by Levity Entertainment Group and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

Howard is repped by Gersh and Untitled Entertainment; Georgeson by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; Howery by UTA, Fourth Wall Management, and Cohen & Gardner; and Kite by Gersh and Luber Roklin Entertainment.