A Chicago collective of independent and professional filmmakers named Creative Cypher is entering a new chapter. Launched in 2014, founder Troy Pryor is handing over the reins to Cindy Beasley, a longtime producer in the Chicago entertainment scene. The 31-year-old South Side native will serve as the company’s next president.
“I want Chicago to be known as a major hub for the entertainment industry, because Chicago breeds greatness,” Beasley told The TRiiBE. “It breeds so much talent that, for me, that’s a goal, that’s a vision, and I think we can absolutely make it a reality.”
Creative Cypher operates as an entertainment ecosystem designed to fund, support, and amplify underrepresented creatives. Over the past decade, the company has helped artists secure exposure, resources, and, in some cases, major licensing and distribution deals, all while remaining rooted in Chicago.
The company puts on the XL Film Festival; this past year, the festival featured guests such as comedian KevOnStage, director George Tillman, Jr., filmmaker Malcom D. Lee, and many more.
As Creative Cypher’s first Black women president, Beasley plans on being a beacon of hope for others. For nearly a decade, Beasley has built her expertise through production work for companies such as Turner Classic Films, CNBC and VH1. She has also served as director of operations for Chicago-based independent companies What’s The Word TV and Awe Luv Media.
“One of the mottos I live by is ‘just hard, not impossible.’ And I think that if Black women can keep that in mind, they can remember that they can achieve their wildest dreams,” she said.
Pryor will stay on as Creative Cypher’s chairman. Raised on the South Side, he founded the company in hopes of building a supportive infrastructure for Black storytellers in Chicago — that way, they don’t have to leave for Los Angeles, New York or Atlanta to find opportunities in TV and film.
“I saw a lot of gaps in a lot of artistic organizations,” Pryor told The TRiiBE in a phone interview on Sunday, Dec. 14.
Those gaps became the foundation for Creative Cypher’s mission. A two-time Emmy-nominated and four-time Telly Award–winning creator and producer, Pryor entered entrepreneurship after years of being an actor. He also previously served on the board of the Screen Actors Guild.
“We wanted to make sure that we could build an ecosystem of a lot of the artists that we were already connected to, to start creating their own content, producing our own films,” Pryor said. “From that, it continued to scale over the last decade into live events, editorial, radio, and other aspects of media. It was all about empowering one another, so we never had to ask for permission to tell our stories.”
As Creative Cypher continues to expand through initiatives like XL Film Fest and partnerships with industry veterans including Robert Townsend, Larenz Tate, and BET President Louis Carr, Pryor said their goal remains unchanged: to prove that Chicago is not merely a stepping stone, but a viable home for sustainable creative careers.
“We launched XL with the specific purpose of it being practical and functional,” Pryor said. “We now have case studies of creators that have been at our festival, showcased their work, and now have their content streaming on AMC Plus and a whole variety of streaming platforms. We just closed on our 12th distribution deal, which means that our festival is not just a showcase, but it’s a marketplace.”
