screen_shot_2017-04-10_at_8.18.30_pm — Armani Jackson in “Little Boxes”

Predominantly white spaces and how people of color navigate their way through these particular environments can leave a profound impact on their lives. This becomes especially evident when it concerns the young and impressionable. Rob Myers’ “Little Boxes” follows 11-year old Clark (Armani Jackson) and his parents, Mack (Nelsan Ellis) and Gina (Melanie Lynskey), who leave their diverse and bustling home in Brooklyn, New York for a small painfully white town in Washington State.

While Gina is occupied with her new position as professor in the town’s local University, Clark struggles to make friends until some overly precocious neighbors, Ambrosia and Julie take him under their wing. Unfortunately, it’s because they are fetishizing his Blackness. Meanwhile, food writer Mack seems to be melting under the horror of it all, especially after be becomes convinced that the family’s new home is infested with mold. The once close-knit family soon begins to feel as isolated from one another as they do in their new surroundings.

Shadow and Act has been given an exclusive two-minute clip from “Little Boxes” to share with our readers. In the clip, we watch Ambrosia’s working class single mom (Christine Taylor), confront Mack and Gina about Clark throwing a rock into her living room window. Obviously, the confrontation doesn’t go over well for either family.

“Little Boxes” is currently in select theaters and also available on iTunes and other digital platforms. Below is the film’s trailer:

https://youtu.be/TaV_dbXdV_Y

Aramide A Tinubu has her Master’s in Film Studies from Columbia University. She wrote her thesis on Black Girlhood and Parental Loss in Contemporary Black American Cinema. She’s a cinephile, bookworm, blogger, and NYU + Columbia University alum. You can read her blog at: www.chocolategirlinthecity.com or tweet her @midnightrami