MONDAY BLOCK M | 9:30 AM

#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it in less than 280 characters?

My movie is about a black teenager who, after transferring from a predominately white school, endures prejudice bullying on the first day of band camp at an all black school. Audiences at the Borrego Springs Film Festival should see this movie because it dives into issues of systematic racism in the school system that should be addressed more in cinema. It also addresses the human frailty element in the black community that can cause us to attack each other as a result of this systematic racism.

#2: What do you want the Borrego Springs Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?

What the audience may not know from the title of Crescent is that the title has a deeper meaning. Many might know the term which relates to the moon and it’s growing phases but there is also a literary meaning which is to grow or raise. I take those meanings and relate them to the growth of the black male. This short is based off of my feature film of the same name and goes deeper in the different phases of growth for the black male and being raised as a black male and addresses many complexities in the black family household between the black father and his son. It also takes place in the city of New Orleans which is the Crescent city because of its shape around the Mississippi river and the film carries on the narrative of growing and being raised as a black man in New Orleans.

#3: What is your movie making background? Tell us about yourself.

My movie making background from a professional level goes back to 2009. I began making films in film school at the University of Southern Mississippi and once I graduated, I started to shoot promotional videos for different college fraternities and sororities in the state of Mississippi. Those videos would mimic a movie or music video and relate it to the theme of a social event. This allowed me to grow my skills and once I was accepted into the graduate film program at Florida State University, I was able to hone in and grow even more as a filmmaker.

#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?

The biggest lesson I learned in making my film was that you should always have faith that if you trust in your skillset, the lord will bless you no matter the situation. Because I live in Los Angeles and we auditioned people who live in the south and shot there, I didn’t meet any of my actors until we got on set. We were also almost rained out and found a two hour window to shoot our outside scenes. But we remained calm and always kept faith that everything would turn out as it should and I believe that ability to remain calm under pressure will take you wherever you want to go in life because you have the skillset to lead others.

#5: What does the future hold for your film and you?

The future of this film is to find financing in 2019 and turn it into a feature film. I am submitting the screenplay for various labs and grants and I’m in the process of assembling a crew to go after more financing and actors to make this film come to fruition. And when the film is finished, I will begin writing a new script while we wait for the feature version of Crescent to be introduced to the world.