Things are certainly about to take off for writer-director Stella Meghie after the screening of her feature debut film, Jean of the Joneses, at this year's South by Southwest festival.

The dark comedy proved a hit with critics at the indie event, and subsequently Toronto born Meghie - who jumped into filmmaking after quitting her career in fashion and beauty PR - was snapped up by top US agents CAA and now has a blind script deal at Warner Brothers, a project in development with John Wells Productions as well as a comedy optioned by BET and a deal to pen a feature script for VH1. Loosely based on her own background, Jean of the Joneses centres around an American-Jamaican family and the chaos that ensues when the estranged patriarch of the clan dies.