Ytasha
Womack has established a name for herself in recent years, as a leading
proponent and advocate of the concept of Afrofuturism, with her acclaimed,
best-selling book, “Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Culture,” as well as her latest sci-fi book, “Rayla 2212.”

She is
also a filmmaker, producing and directing previous romantic comedies, "The
Engagement" and "Love Shorts," and was also the co-producer
of the documentary "Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake."

Now Ms.
Womack’s latest feature film, which she wrote and will direct, titled "Bar Star City," is set to go into
production on the Southside of Chicago after a successful Indiegogo campaign.

Starring ObiSoulstar (above),
Fanta Celah, Kfleye, Mel Roberson, and Harold Dennis, the filmmaker describes "Bar Star City" as a “sci-fi film with Afrofuturist themes," adding that it will “follow two star crossed lovers from opposite ends of time who decide
to make a bar on the Southside of Chicago their home. The dive hovers at the
intersection of Time, Memory and Love and finds ‘the magic in the
ordinary’ among its cast of offbeat patrons."

Or, as co-producer
Tiffany Tapley puts it more simply: “Think ‘Cheers’ meets Funkadelic’s ‘Maggot
Brain’.”

"I’m making this film because Afrofuturism is a part of life," Womack says. I
think it’s fun to explore the sci-fi-isms and surreal nature of daily and
future life. This film bridges time, memory and love. I’ve found that those are
strong touch points for people. I want ‘Bar Star City’ to bridge the art,
otherworldly, the here and now, and the laughably ironic, in a visual explosion
that splashes all over your glowing screen."

Why
shoot the film in Chicago? Aside from being a Chicago native and living in the
city, Ytasha says adds ”… [I’ve] found
the extraordinary in the ordinary. I want to highlight sci fi-isms in
unexpected places. The South Side of Chicago is a portal of its own with wonder
and fantasy and I want to tell more of those stories as well. But also because “whenever
I tell people I’m doing a sci fi film about a South side bar that’s a portal to
other worlds they say ‘Oh yeah, I’ve been there!”

A trailer was recently shown at The Afrofuturism
Now festival in Rotterdam, and generated interest among sci-fi
fans.

In addition, a new website for "Bar Star City" debuted this week, which you check out for yourself here. Each week, the site will release a short story detailing the love affair of the film’s
star-crossed lovers, as well as a "Behind the Bar" look at its many
eccentric regulars.

Ytasha Womack