Whoopi Goldberg, Monique Coleman & More Join ASALI Short Film

Today, award-winning activist Maya Penn will announce the cast and debut the teaser trailer of her directorial debut "ASALI: Power of the Pollinators" at SXSW during her mainstage featured presentation alongside Alexis Ohanian.

The voice cast includes: Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg, Monique Coleman (High School Musical), Ronen Rubinstein (9-1-1 Lone Star), Joy Ofodu (Mighty Express) and Lupita Pineda (activist) along with Maya Penn who is also the lead animator.

"ASALI: Power of the Pollinators" is the directorial film debut for award-winning activist Maya Penn through her purpose-driven production company Upenndo! Productions. The film's executive producers include Viola Davis and Julius Tennon from JuVee Productions.

"ASALI: Power of The Pollinators," is an animated action-adventure short film that follows Asali the honey bee as she meets a colorful group of pollinators and a human environmental scientist. Together they unravel a trail of secrets to discover if they can save their home from a monstrous and deadly force that has been haunting Asali and her family's past.

Watch the trailer here:

About Maya Penn

Maya Penn is a 23-year-old global activist, three-time TED speaker, artist, animator, writer, director, and Simon & Schuster author. Penn founded global sustainable brand Maya's Ideas in 2008 at just 8 years old, culminating in 15 years of experience in sustainability and environmental education. During the Obama administration, Maya made history when she was commissioned to create an animated film for the opening of the first ever digital report presented to US Congress, which was to get an American Museum of Women's History built in Washington.

By the age of 16 she received a commendation from President Barack Obama for outstanding achievement in environmental stewardship. Maya is certified in Circular Economies and Sustainable Business by Cambridge Business School and she teaches biomimetic design. She was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as her youngest Supersoul 100 changemaker. Maya founded her own environmental and humanitarian nonprofit Maya's Ideas 4 The Planet in 2011. Learn more about her production company at upenndo.com

About Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is one of an elite group of artists who have won the Grammy, the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, the Emmy and a Tony. She is also a prolific producer, entrepreneur and is well-known around the world for her many humanitarian endeavors. Born and raised in New York City, she performed in San Diego and the Bay Area with the Blake Street Hawkeyes theatre troupe.

It was there that she created the characters which became "The Spook Show" and evolved into her hit Broadway show, Grammy Award-winning album and the HBO special that helped launch her career. Whoopi has a recurring roles on Amazon's "Harlem" and the EPIX series, "Godfather of Harlem."

She reprised her iconic role of Guinan in season two of the Paramount+ series, "Star Trek: Picard" and lent her voice to the recent animated features "Luck" (Apple TV+) and "My Father's Dragon" (Netflix). She appears in and produced the critically-acclaimed feature film, "Till," for MGM's Orion Pictures, which has amassed countless awards and honors since its release in late 2022. Whoopi will appear in the highly-anticipated Amazon Prime Video series based on Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys."

About Monique Coleman

Monique Coleman is an actress, producer, and Daytime Emmy-nominated host best known for playing Taylor McKessie in Disney's High School Musical franchise and will reprise her iconic role in the upcoming season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series for Disney+. Recent projects include Lifetime movies Greed: A SEVEN DEADLY SINS Story, and A Christmas Dance Reunion.

She can also be seen starring in the upcoming BET movie Love, Marry, Kill. Balanced with her passion for acting, Monique has an unshakable belief in the power and potential of today's youth. As the first-ever United Nations Youth Champion, she has traveled to over 24 countries and spent the last decade advocating for women and youth across the globe through movements such as the UN Foundation's Girl Up campaign and her executive-produced Discovery Life series, Gimme Mo' for which she garnered a Daytime Emmy nomination.

About Ronen Rubinstein

Ronen Rubinstein is an actor, environmental activist and lead singer of the rock band Nights in Stereo. He is best known for his role as T.K. Strand in the smash hit Drama 9-1-1 Lone Star created by Ryan Murphy, Tim Minear and Brad Falchuk, currently wrapping up Season 4. Rubinstein is a survivor of Hurricane Sandy which inspired him to become a climate activist and sustainability advocate.

In July 2020, he described that the hurricane caused devastation to his entire neighborhood in Staten Island, destroying his family's home and everything inside it. He has stated it was "the most horrifying moment" of his life. With nowhere to live, he stayed at a friend's house, and was provided with food and clothing from the Red Cross. Rubinstein is a board member of the Environmental Media Association.

About Joy Ofodu

Joy Ofodu is a celebrated voice actor and Creative Executive, who has drawn over 30M views to her original digital comedy content. Joy is the host of Dating Unsettled, an audio show designed to validate women daters, available on all podcast platforms. Joy's voice can be heard in her partnerships and appearances with Disney Junior, HBO Max, Blizzard Entertainment, The Daily Shine, Netflix, DIRECTV, Pathea Games and more.

About Lupita Pineda

Lupita Pineda is an actress, musician, and disability activist. She has been acting in theatre and film for 10+ years. In 2021, she received her Bachelor of Arts in theatre arts with the option in performance from Cal State Los Angeles. Her content creation across social media centers on gaming, pop culture, acting, and disability representation. Lupita is repped by Gamut Management.