1) What have you been up to since we last spoke for "You Almost Saw Me" last October?

Oh boy. So much has happened since then. Almost immediately after YOU ALMOST SAW ME, we dove into pre-production for my next feature project, AND HOME WE CAME, which is a project I’ve been trying to get into production for the last two years. It’s perhaps one of my favorite and best scripts I’ve written so far. It’s also actually very with the times as to what’s going on right now as it’s centered around black liberation from the white man through a psychological horror lens. But anyways - we worked on that for months, getting the budget set, securing locations, hiring cast and crew. In January, I had started rehearsals with the cast in Atlanta. It was going amazingly. RUN AWAY, THEY’LL SEE US was actually made during that rehearsal phase with the same cast and some of the same crew. Camara and Cora are the leads in AND HOME WE CAME, as well. So we’re moving through the motions of pre-production for AND HOME WE CAME - it’s the beginning of March and we flew out the rest of the cast and crew from LA and DC, we’re on location preparing to start our camera and lighting tests. And then, that’s right - COVID hits. Everything shut down within a matter of days. Everyone had to go home expeditiously. In hindsight, we realized we probably could’ve gotten it done because the film had a small cast, small crew, and was in one location. But what’s meant to be is meant to be.

With that said, though, I got so much done for other projects during this time of isolation. My brother Ahab and I finished writing our feature that we’ve been working on since around this time last year. I finished writing my own feature that I also started last year. I’ve cried for my people. I’ve gotten to fight for my people like never before, fighting racism and systemic oppression. I’ve gotten to experience white people and predominately white corporations acknowledge us. I’ve seen so much change this year. Change that was - and still is - a hard fight to get, but change that is happening nonetheless. This year might’ve been shit in many ways, but very eye opening and revolutionary in others. My friend Shantel and I are also developing a nonprofit multimedia organization called BLACK-PLANET ORG. that is dedicated to the empowerment and growth of my people in the African Diaspora on a social, political, and creative scale. But yes - condense the past nine months, that is it.

2) What was the initial idea here and how did it evolve?

RUN AWAY, THEY’LL SEE US was originally called HONEYCOMB. We shot it back in February. It was a project to filter my frustrations on a few things: my last relationship, adultery, and white supremacy. Specifically how America has let white supremacy slide for centuries. All of those things have something in common and I had something to say about all of them. I don’t want to say how - that’s a conversation I’d like to hear from the outside-looking-in. 

The project started out as a screenplay with dialogue and a slightly clearer storyline and structure. However, by the time I got into the first rehearsal with the cast, something wasn’t clicking. Something didn’t feel right. I felt I wasn’t expressing my feelings thoroughly enough. So on the night before shooting, I told the cast to throw the script out the window and that we were going to come to set with something different. I wanted to keep the initial storyline that was there, but tell it completely differently: no dialogue and no human-like actions or emotions being expressed. The script we used on set was a shot-list. The actual script was out of the equation. I wanted this project to feel like the story and message I was trying to communicate. I didn’t want to put out this film until the festival run was finished, but I felt like with everything going on now, this would be the time to put this out. 

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?

One challenge was figuring out how to execute the story without using any of the original script - but it was a fun challenge that was I was fully ready to take on. And I like to think we did it. It was so fun working with the cast and crew, because we were all experimenting on set. I remember Cora and Nick were the ones who figured out how to get the door to open and close on its own without the use of human hands, and zero special equipment. It took a while - but we got it. Another challenge was post production. I worked with my brother and partner in crime, Ahab, to execute the coloring and score. I was originally going to use a George Crumb composition for the score (the one in the trailer), but the rights to that was so hard to get. I spent weeks trying to talk to the label and it didn’t pan out. So I used one of Ahab’s scores that he sent me originally for another film I’m working on, and it worked perfectly. The part I enjoy the most was definitely the directing. 

 4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

I bought Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep DVD from his collection online. That’s the only place you can really find that film. And I absolutely loved it. It was so inspiring for me. The way he was able to say so much without having much of a specific plot is brilliant. That’s a very, very important film.

5) What’s next for you?

We’re continuing to build BLACK-PLANET ORG. We have our first event tomorrow on the Fourth of July. Our event is called BLACK OF JULY, and it is to celebrate the freedom, art, and excellence of Black people. So, so proud of it and excited for it. We have some great things planned, including some online panels from Black artists. Also, I’m just trying to get this feature AND HOME WE CAME finally off the ground. Hoping to shoot that next year and finish up these next few projects lined up. Super excited.

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