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Fareed Andreyone Alston

About Fareed Alston

Headshot of Fareed Andreyone Alston

I’m a video journalist and intellectual‑property holder based in St. Louis, Missouri. Through Alston Fareed Holding Company LLC—my holding company for intellectual property and real estate—I direct CITY™, a video storytelling practice rooted in downtown St. Louis.

I founded CITY™ Productions & Publishing LLC in 2017 after years of producing with family, friends, and community partners. I earned a B.A. in Cinema & Photography from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2014 and later freelanced across Chicago, including production assistant work on CNBC’s The Deed: Chicago.

Today I lead CITY wedding and documentary productions, mentor youth, organize community programming, and continue growing the CITY network across the Midwest. In my spare time I explore music production, community finance, and publish Fareed Reads.

Holding Company Structure

Alston Fareed Holding Company LLC keeps CITY™ creative ventures, non-profit initiatives, and digital publishing aligned under one intellectual-property portfolio.

Alston Fareed Holding Company LLC

Umbrella IP holding and real-estate entity headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Fareed Reads

Film and pop culture critique — essays, notes, and curated civic reading.

CITY™

Creative studio linking production, events, and publishing under the CITY™ banner.

CITY™ AI

Powered by CITY — creating a personal operating system to achieve goals and a life plan.

CITY™ Pictures

Photos at live events — on‑location coverage with galleries, prints, and archives.

CITY™ Events

Community events, QR-driven activations, and wellness programming.

CITY™ Films

Films, docs, and shorts with festival and community screenings.

Infographic Timeline

  1. Teen Years

    Finding a Voice Through Media

    Produced music and video projects with family and friends, laying the groundwork for community-driven storytelling.

    • Cultivated a documentary eye focused on Midwestern life and social justice.
    • Developed editing and music production workflows that continue to shape CITY™.
  2. 2012–2013

    SIUC Recreation Marketing & Media Crew

    Supported the SIUC Student Recreation Center marketing team and student center media crew while enrolled in Cinema & Photography.

    • Shot and edited campus promos, facility spotlights, intramural recaps, and leadership conferences for digital signage and web channels.
    • Delivered live-event coverage, in-house edits, and graphic packages for student leadership programs.
  3. 2013

    Student Editor on “Death Work”

    Edited Angela Aguayo's short film Death Work (2013), contributing to a powerful meditation on end-of-life labor.

    • Supported a festival run that included Transient Visions, Nuremberg International Short Film Festival, Praxis, Big Muddy, Indie Boots, New Art Film Festival, and RATMA.
    • Delivered a 5:27 cut that screened nationally and internationally while still in school.
  4. 2014 Spring

    SIUC Cinema & Photography Graduate

    Completed a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema & Photography with an Africana Studies specialization at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

    • Balanced coursework with campus marketing roles and documentary field assignments.
    • Built a portfolio that blended narrative filmmaking, journalism, and community storytelling.
  5. 2014
    Fareed documenting Ferguson protests during the Twelve Days in Ferguson project

    Documenting Ferguson

    Embedded with organizers during the Ferguson uprising, filming daily actions that became the short documentary Twelve Days in Ferguson.

    • Recorded frontline footage and testimonies that centered community voices after the killing of Michael Brown.
    • Contracted with Getty Images to capture footage, but chose an independent CITY™ release instead of syndication.
    • Premiered the film at Doc Your World and launched ongoing justice-focused storytelling for CITY™.
  6. 2015
    Fareed's published portrait of Keon Clark for Pacific Standard Magazine

    Pacific Standard Feature

    Published a feature portrait of Keon Clark—a local East St. Louis resident—for a Pacific Standard story grounding national readers in local context.

    • Delivered reportage photography that anchored an investigative look at municipal debt, policing, and local resilience.
  7. 2016
    Fareed filming a wedding celebration for Eivans Inc.

    Wedding Storyteller

    Led video production with Eivans Inc., a national Chicago-based wedding studio, capturing intimate celebrations across the Midwest.

    • Filmed and edited more than 85 weddings in a single season.
    • Delivered polished highlight films and long-form keepsakes for private clients.
  8. 2017
    Fareed directing a CITY Productions film shoot

    Launching CITY™ Productions & Publishing LLC

    Established CITY™ Productions & Publishing LLC as a Midwest video production firm under the Alston Fareed Holding Company LLC umbrella.

    • Documented protests in Ferguson, including the story of Anthony Lamar Smith.
    • Served as production assistant on Denise Ward-Brown's centennial documentary Never Been a Time, capturing B-roll, mastering audio, and supporting its 26th St. Louis International Film Festival screening.

    View the film's soundtrack and archival cut.

  9. 2018
    Fareed at Doc Your World after screening Twelve Days in Ferguson

    Educator & Festival Filmmaker

    Joined Community Television Network as an instructor, leading after-school media labs while touring independent work.

    • Served as production assistant for Doug Clevenger on CNBC's The Deed: Chicago (Season 2, Episodes 5 & 6) throughout the spring and summer shoots.
    • Supported the feature documentary Tomorrow's Hope with production logistics and community outreach.
    • Partnered with Dog-Star Imaging on television and documentary projects.
    • Premiered “Twelve Days in Ferguson” at Doc Your World, a Fulbright Foundation festival at Columbia College Chicago.
    • Screened work at IRI Gallery in Pilsen and produced music videos with high school students.

    Watch The Deed: Chicago | Tomorrow's Hope

  10. 2019

    City Non-Profit & Youth Media

    Founded city-non-profit.org to expand media literacy and community storytelling projects in Chicago.

    • Guided student crews through product videos and music-driven narratives.
  11. 2020
    Fareed speaking at a 2020 community advocacy gathering

    Community Response & Advocacy

    Organized non-profit programming during the COVID-19 pandemic and covered social justice movements across the region while Alston Fareed Holding Company LLC expanded its civic commitments.

    • Planned protests advocating for financial literacy and supported regional conventions.
  12. 2020

    City-Pictures and Films LLC

    Formed City-Pictures and Films LLC to formalize independent film development and event photography under the CITY umbrella.

    • Launched event photography with online galleries and print fulfillment.
    • Advanced an independent film slate while continuing wedding and documentary work.
  13. 2021
    Fareed leading a greenscreen session while pitching the biography film

    Alston Fareed Holding Company LLC & Biography Pitch

    Formally structured Alston Fareed Holding Company LLC and began pitching a feature-length biography film rooted in CITY™ archives.

    • Designed greenscreen treatments and sizzle materials to secure collaborators and investors.
    • Centralized intellectual property and client services under the new holding company.
    • Hosted the first Bike ESTL, Bike State, and Bike E-Ville events spotlighting mobility across metro St. Louis.
  14. 2022

    Scaling CITY™ in St. Louis

    Operates CITY™ from downtown St. Louis, delivering video journalism and wedding coverage across the Midwest.

    • Led video or photo for more than 112 private events and counting.
    • Collaborated with national studios such as Silverback Video and captured moments with the Saint Louis Chess Club.
  15. 2024
    Fareed filming at the Saint Louis Chess Club in 2024

    Studio Manager

    Expanded CITY™ clientele with Silverback Video.

    • Leads live switching, jib ops, and teleprompting for concerts, sports, and corporate streams across St. Louis.
  16. 2025

    Expanded Wedding Partnerships

    Added more clients, including Orion Photo, while capturing weddings throughout the Midwest.

    • Captured collaborative wedding productions with Orion Photo and regional studios.
    • Developed a CITY‑powered personal operating system (CITY AI) to structure goals and long‑term life planning.
  17. 2026

    Continuing Wedding Films

    Expanded LocalWeddingVideo.com with new collections and streamlined booking for CITY™ couples.

    • Introduced modular coverage add-ons and automated confirmations for LocalWeddingVideo.com.
    • Delivered a sustained slate of Midwest wedding films alongside documentary work.