A recent short film is looking to start a conversation about the “two voices” of Black America.
Other, which was a selection at several film festivals, is a short film directed by Xavier Burgin and written by and starring Vanessa Baden Kelly.
What is your pitch for people to watch the short film?
Why do you think it is important for “allies” to see this short film?
Personally, I don’t care if “allies” see it. If Black people see this film and resonate with it, I’m happy. But if “allies” do see it, I want them to have this takeaway: Being an ally means thinking about the dichotomy of how Black people deal with tragedy in America. We cope with it differently. We will not always be (or want to be) forthcoming about our true feelings with an “ally” because, as much as they want to understand, they never truly can. So they should really think about their words and actions when they try to comfort and talk about racial issues in America.
What are some other projects you are working on?
I wrote a feature script based on my HBO short film, On Time, about a black woman who’s arrested during a job interview for leaving her child in the car. It recently won a screenplay competition from The Film Empire, so now I’m getting more execs to look at it, plus bringing in funding. I finished up a feature-length documentary about the history of Black people in the horror film genre. It’s still under wraps at the moment, but I’ll be able to talk about it more at the top of next year. I’m currently in post-production on a short film starring Woody McClain, Keith Powers and Nesta Cooper. Finally, I’ve been reworking my viral twitter story Tina & The Gucci Flip Flop into an afro-futuristic look at America with the production company Gunpowder & Sky.
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