"Little Brother" by Spencer Mandel & Dikega Hadnot

"A ritual of doing."

... is how filmmakers Spencer Mandel and Dikega Hadnot would describe the making of Little Brother, their bold and psychedelic short.

But what does that—?

"What we mean by that," they say, "is that the impetus to make the short was based on turning the next thing we wrote into an actual film. Once we decided that we were going to make this film, the possibilities of the story opened up in a way that the project became a nexus to tap into our childhoods, and what electrified us about storytelling and spectacle since our elementary school days."

Ah.

"In making the film, we also had to confront the good boy, 'do as you’re told' belief that many artists fall to. I think it shows prominently in our characters Keith and Lamont, who represent two sides of us, the abiding student and the wild child."

The premise behind Little Brother (the short script of which won Film Pipeline) was loosely based on a friend of the filmmakers' who was ... in a cult. This friend and his fellow cult members would travel to different communities across East and South L.A. to proselytize to people.

"We always thought it was interesting for him to bypass the inner-work he needed to do on himself so that he could 'save' strangers."

With that framework, Hadnot and Mandel fashioned the story and characters to speak to "the common, but important issue of earnestly listening to each other in our daily lives."

More so, they mention: "If you’re trying to help someone, it sometimes pays to listen earnestly and see what they really need, instead of projecting and forcing your cure on them."

Or crazy shit will happen, if we may tack on so articulately. As you'll soon see.

Hattie Winston leads an eclectic cast in this nightmarishly memorable short, written and directed by the fashionable duo known as GonzoGriot.

Odds & Ends

The filmmakers originally planned on shooting the short in the historic West Adams district to match the Victorian house in the script, but ended up shooting deeper in South L.A. They later learned that this block was a host to a few shows, chiefly John Singleton’s Snowfall, as Franklin Saint’s original house, and the high school sports drama All American.

About Spencer Mandel

Spencer Mandel is a feature film writer and producer, and one half of the writing duo GonzoGriot, along with Dikega Hadnot.

Mandel and Hadnot’s penned feature debut Break, starring Darren Weiss and Jeff Kober, was distributed by Gravitas in 2024. Their second co-written feature, Do Not Enter, starring Adeline Rudolph and Jake Manley, was released by Lionsgate in 2026.

Under the mentorship of Bruce McKenna (Emmy-winner; "Band of Brothers," “The Pacific”) Mandel and Hadnot developed “Hellhounds,” a historical drama pilot. Previously, he wrote and co-produced the short films Little Brother, starring Hattie Winston and Jon Lafferty, and Gringo, starring Audrey Ellis Fox and Jamie Landau. 

Mandel has been a consultant for television and video game projects for Faster Horse/Phoenix Pictures and Annapurna Pictures, and is producing an original video game with Hadnot. He was an executive producer (with Latebloom Entertainment) for the “Cali Red” campaign for 19 Crimes Wines, featuring Snoop Dogg. 

A Los Angeles native, Mandel graduated from Brown University with a degree in International Relations, and has worked extensively as a ghost writer and technical writer for finance, green tech and medical companies, as well as geopolitical journalists, private investigators and recreation in national parks. 

He is also an avid bass player and a founding member of the band Incan Abraham, which received acclaim from Pitchfork, Spin, NPR and TIME Magazine.

Mandel is represented by Original Artists and Jackoway Austen.

About Dikega Hadnot

Dikega Hadnot is a writer and director based in Los Angeles, California. He got his start in Hollywood working as an assistant to both Terrence Malick and Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki on The Tree of Life and To the Wonder.  

Hadnot is one half of the writing duo GonzoGriot, alongside childhood friend Spencer Mandel. Mandel and Hadnot’s feature film debut “Break”—an original coming-of-age drama in the world of 9-ball pool hustlers—was released in 2024. Their second co-written feature, Do Not Enter, a young adult horror thriller starring Adeline Rudolph (Mortal Kombat 2) and based on a book by David Morrell (Rambo: First Blood), was released by Lionsgate in 2026.

Directed by Hadnot and penned with Mandel, their original short film Little Brother won the Film Pipeline Short Script Competition. Featured in over 25 festivals, it was also awarded Best Narrative Short at the Charlotte Black Film Festival and the Harlem International Film Festival, and Hadnot was recognized as an “Emerging Director” at the American Black Film Festival.  

As a creative executive at KillerMoxie Management, Hadnot developed projects for Nicholas Jarecki, Alex Ebert, and Richard Kelly before founding Latebloom Entertainment with Jon Lafferty. Under the Latebloom label, Hadnot has produced and directed music and branded content for clients such as Interscope, Puma, Snoop Dogg & 19 Crimes, and Meta.

Hadnot has also consulted on a television project for Faster Horse/Phoenix Pictures, and a video game for Annapurna Pictures.

Hadnot graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in Film & Media Studies. He resides in Los Angeles with his family.

Hadnot is represented by Original Artists and Jackoway Austen.