Sometimes when you’re a filmmaker it takes so long to
make a film, that you wonder if it still will be relevant, or if anyone will care
about it, once it’s finally finished.
Well, according to Brooklyn-based filmmaker Mya B, speaking on her new documentary feature film, Afraid of Dark, she, in fact, wondered just that about her film, or, as
she says, when she started the project she had “no idea that it would be more
relevant now than ever, and that it would take shape the way it did. I pray that it wakes up the masses not only
in our community, but in others as well.“
Exploring the
history of two of the most prevalent stereotypes of black men – the “Mandingo” and the “brute” Mya B’s documentary breakdowns “scientific racism,” examining how many black men “have been affected by those particular
stereotypes throughout history, and how the subconscious belief in them have
contributed to violence and the incarceration of black men at disturbing rates.“
In the film, she also includes candid interviews and
commentary from 3 generations of
black men in her family who demystify those stereotypes.
But Mya B says that she felt that she had to make the
film because: “I
wanted to analyze the damaging stereotypes of black men which has led to them
being murdered and criminalized. I also
wanted black men to receive their glory outside of all the bad things you hear
in the media and profile the amazing black men I know and who are in our
communities. More importantly I wanted
people to never forget those black youth and men who never got justice in death
by honoring them in the film to keep them alive in our memories.“
The film is set to tour the film festival circuit this
year, so keep an eye out for it.
And to help see it through completion, the filmmaker set up a Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000. She’s raised about half of it with a few days left to go in the campaign. Watch a trailer for the film below, and then head over to the project’s Kickstarter page to make a contribution.
Kickstarter page HERE (or click in widget underneath the trailer):