5Q's w/Willa Moore "Walk With Us" Director, Writer

QUESTION#1: Can you describe your film in one sentence?

Called a “spiritual and powerful exhortation,” Walk With Us is a collaboratively created protest anthem and elegy for George Floyd and so many other whose lives have been cut short due to white supremacy and its institutionalized racist violence.

QUESTION#2 What would you like the BSFF audience to know about your film that they wouldn't consider from it's title?

Lots of things! Long story getting longer ;)

First, we would like the BSFF audience to know how honored we are to have been selected for this remarkable, live, all-volunteer-run-film festival, to be held (as I understand from local library sources) on traditional lands of the Kumeyaay and Cahuilla People and in view of the Desert Bighorn sheep!

Second, we’d like you to know something about the process of the film’s creation -- the breadth, complexity, and especially, intentionality of our collaborative effort. Probably not unlike the effort of your Borrego Springs Film Festival community.

And finally, we’d like to share some of the actions we have taken as a collaborative to help in the long struggle, led by generations of great Black leaders, for racial justice and peace.

Process: Our music video project was undertaken soon after the terrible murder of George Floyd, in the midst of a global pandemic, and is an intentional, cooperative effort of fifteen singers, six dancers, several videographers, and editors, from six different cities across the US. It is directed by Willa Moore (singer/songwriter, Chicago, IL), Kym Franklin (composer, arranger gospel chorus, Chicago and Little Rock, AR), Hannah Westbrook (dancer, lead movement director, Oakland, CA), and Darren Crisp (sound engineer, videographer, Fayetteville, AR ).

Walk With Us has been selected for screening by over thirty film festivals in the US and internationally. Our collaboration is deeply grateful for these selections and awards, but what matters most to us is that they mean WWU will be seen by thousands around the world, hopefully encouraging more and more people locally, nationally, and worldwide to stand up and work together for racial, economic, and environmental justice.

As the songwriter, I was asked to share our story in LA Indies Magazine so we created a draft that includes BTS photos, video and input from all four of our directors. If anyone in the BSFF audience is interested the tell-all “true story” of our film, we would love to share it with you via the link included at end of this interview.

Meanwhile, here are a couple stories from the interview that I think show the intentionality of our collaboration and the challenges/opportunities that intention brought to our process.

“Most important was the challenge of building trust in our “collective” across differences of race, age, class, gender, personality, political ideology, geography. Afterall, I (Willa) am a White woman of “a certain age,” asking young Black, Brown and White singers and dancers to trust and work with her on a film about the all-too-common murder of an innocent Black man. I could not have found my way without the help of an old friend from Chicago, the extraordinary gospel artist Kym Franklin.

Kym and I discussed how to build trust with the singers she had invited to be part of the gospel chorus for the film. We agreed to hold a Zoom between the singers at Crisp studios, AR and myself in Chicago. The purpose was for them to meet me and ask any questions they needed to ask in order to feel comfortable working on the project. *(In the BTS/behind the scenes link at end of this interview are photos of our first meeting on Zoom).

Hannah Westbrook (lead movement director) and I agreed on the same setup over Zoom to meet with the dancers she had contacted in hopes they would take on the project.

“The singers and the dancers all asked great questions: how I came to write the song, where did the musical choices/ style come from? What were my intentions in writing the song? What kind of pushback did I receive when I first shared it? Why make a video? Why include dance? What was my story – my history, especially in relation to the movement for social justice? What would I do with the finished video?

It was an intense time, only a few months after George Floyd’s murder and the worldwide uprising that followed. The recording session brought up lots of feelings in everyone as Kym and I suspected it would. For that reason, we had decided beforehand, along with Darren Crisp, (owner and sound engineer Crisp Studios, Fayetteville, AR), that it would be wise to take time for discussion and fellowship after the sessions, including time for each singer to say something about their own story, how they’d been doing over the last months, and how they were feeling after recording WWU. And, if the singers agreed, Kym thought it might be useful, historically speaking, to film the interviews. All the singers chose to be interviewed. Patrick Andrews, Kym’s assistant from Chicago, conducted the session asking careful, sensitive questions. There are some strong, hard truths in the footage. We may edit and share some of that material in another short film in future, if all involved agree that is a useful, respectful thing to do.

Post filming Note: Several months after those intense days of the filming and recording at Crisp, Dr. Jeffry Murdoch of the University of Arkansas and 2021 Grammy award winner for Music Education, came to our WWU live release gathering, July 10, 2021, held at Crisp Studios and attended by people around the country via Zoom. That evening Dr Murdoch told a story that was important to us all. He said that the murder of George Floyd and the months after were, to be sure, a tough time for his students. It was during that time that several of the students were asked to participate in our WWU video project. They were hesitant, and so brought the song to him to ask his opinion. He said that he had advised them to work on the project, and that in fact it turned out to be a “healing experience” for them. For everyone that worked on the film Dr. Murdoch’s sharing that night was deeply appreciated as an affirmation of our effort.

Everyone involved in the project agreed, over the course of the making of the film, that the integrity of the process was just as important, if not more important, than the final product.

As lead movement director Hannah Westbrook said:

“For me, the most challenging aspect of this project was actively practicing a de-centering of Whiteness in every aspect of the process. I am a White woman creating art about, and in response to, the murder of an innocent Black man…I was challenged the entire way to deeply consider and, in many cases, revise my approach to casting, contracting and payment, leading a room, building a creative process, crafting a visual language, and much more. I am so grateful for the trust and feedback that the dancers were willing to give me to ensure the process worked for all.”

Some audience members may ask, why dance? Hannah explains: “During early discussions about the music and a potential film I always saw movement as a strong, clear, and supportive visual element to carry this message forward. Racism and White supremacy live so heavily in the body. Conscious and subconscious patterns and traumas that we all have inherited… white bodies, bodies of color… as we grow up and move through this world that is so deeply steeped in white supremacy. My hope is that the embodiment of these dancers on the screen helps our audience tap into their own body and the physical sensations and emotions that arise when faced with inequity.”

Walk With Us as a catalyst for change:

We are aware that for many Walk With Us is an intensely emotional film. But our hope is

that it can be an example of the use of emotion to honor deep grief and loss, and as a motivation to act to make much needed changes in oneself and in one’s community. We are pleased the film is already being used as an educational tool in some anti-racist groups and in faith communities. For example, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Fayetteville, AR centered an extended service of January 16, 2022, around Walk With Us. Jules Taylor, (singer and community liaison for WWU), led the program. She was accompanied in person by Kristen Phantazia Smith, (WWU soprano and community liaison), and myself on Zoom. Lance Reed, President and CEO of Black Action Collective in Fayetteville, AR and I have been in touch as he would like to organize a community event and discussion around WWU. I was also recently contacted by a community college teacher in Chicago who would like to use the film in her writing class.

While making the video we created a list of Twelve Action Steps people can take to help in fight for racial justice:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aDk6rmlmPlVrdY4eePnYARmWwuipTC6a/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112524539263568527417&rtpof=true&sd=true

Also here is a short, upbeat TV interview two of the singers/community liaisons for WWU Kristen Phantazia Smith and Jules Taylor did in Fayetteville. The link also includes the Action Steps.

https://www.nwahomepage.com/lifestyle/good-day-nwa/join-a-movement-to-walk-with-us/?fbclid=IwAR2sFGJP3ZkjToH2gAGpJHp6VLHXc4r3UuArnZprP8JHwe-ccSdbCv2B6pI

A couple of the action steps we’ve worked on are volunteerism and raising funds for several nonprofit organizations working for racial, economic and environmental justice. So far we have helped: Black Organizing Project in Oakland https://blackorganizingproject.org Black Action Collective, Fayetteville https://www.facebook.com/BlackActionCollective; Time for Change Foundation San Bernardino CA https://www.timeforchangefoundation.org; Magdalene Serenity House, Fayetteville https://lovehealsnwa.org. The Human Journey https://humanjourney.us

QUESTION#3: Can you tell us about yourself and your filmmaking career?

Sure, here’s a recent version of my performance bio:

“Born in Long Beach, CA, now living in Chicago for “the weather,” Willa Moore rambled the west, east, and mid-coasts – a shrimp-picker, bartender, factory girl, reporter, singer-songwriter, performance poet and Board-Certified Music Therapist working for many years with Elders in the startling world of nursing homes. The American Composers Forum honored her songs and community service with a grant to record her first album and create a one woman show Let ‘Em Whirl, performed in Boston and other rebellious New England towns. Her second album is Griffith Park. One late night reviewer wrote, “Brilliant, insightful, eloquent…like a good 15-year-old Scotch.” Several songs from Griffith Park have been made into videos: https://www.youtube.com/@willamooremusic/videos.

As well as making performance art, Willa currently works assisting efforts to bring college classes and the arts to justice-involved youth; to support and establish bilingual after school family literacy programs in underserved schools; and to help distribute bilingual children’s books to refugee settlements internationally, and to immigrants and refugees in the USA.”

Film making career: I never considered making a film or being a director. Although my kindergarten teacher said I was “a leader.” She also gave me an N in citizenship which meant “needs to improve” ;) But about five years ago a musician friend and videographer Arlan Boll said he had an idea for a video for one of my songs. It’s a fun, half-rapped song about aging called Spa Rag. Arlan wanted to try one image per beat, so we worked on the video together. That process got me interested in video for more songs. For a silly, if you’d like, check out Spa Rag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9T23XnQ0uY&t=1s

Since then, I’ve worked with Doug Chamberlin of Chicago on several other music videos, but don’t appear in any of them, not wanting to be seen or see myself. But, after writing and sharing the song Walk With Us, many trusted friends and colleagues, particularly Kym Franklin, said the song demanded a video. Even then, I kept trying to keep my image out of the film, but finally accepted the group consensus that the song’s message required I ‘show up.’ So, I came out on a rooftop in Chicago, thanks to Hannah Westbrook, who did a fantastic job filming in a wild, windy twilight, with the help of lead editor Maxx Kurzunski on Zoom from Oakland.

QUESTION#4: What have you learned in the process of making your film?

Speaking for myself I would say: The integrity of the process is more important than the product. It’s vital to create a safe, respectful, conscious environment, nurturing to body and soul.

Fight for the edits, go as deep into the weeds/frames/time cracks as the technology and editors can, without breakdowns.

Work to deadlines, but don’t sacrifice health, communication, equanimity; allow space for your vision to evolve; check in often to make sure everyone feels safe, heard and seen, and that the work is aligned with yours and your colleagues’ deepest values.

From Kym Franklin (director, composer/ arranger of gospel chorus):

“It made all the difference that we had a clear vision, and our collaborative effort was always open to ideas and brainstorming sessions. In all of my years, I have never seen a project this intricate, collaborative, and massive run so smoothly.”

From Darren Crisp (director/ sound engineer/ videographer): “My parts of this project were very fluid and easy, driven by inspiration and grace versus any struggle with mechanics or technicalities. Those are the best ingredients for success in my book.”

QUESTION#5: What's does the future hold for this film and you?: Future of Walk With Us

We will keep looking for opportunities to share WWU in hopes that it will continue to be used as a tool in educational and faith settings to help organizations and individuals carry on with what can be tough conversations across hard boundaries of race, class, gender, religion, age, region...

We will keep entering film festivals such as BSFF as the worldwide film community is such a vital tool for change. It seems to me the art of cinema wields immense power that can serve “conscious evolution” – encouraging our species’ capacity for empathy, unity, collective action for peace, justice, equality of opportunity, education, discovery, the preservation of our planet’s ecosystem, good will, good fun, healthy joys.

But also, it seems that cinema’s power, if used callously–for profit, power, greed, glory, or with intention to control–can intensify our species’ vulnerabilities, such as how easily the human mind can be manipulated. Cinema can amplify our brain’s ‘default’ reactions: fight or flight, Us vs Them, tribalism, our addiction to emotion and high drama, violence, or simply our addiction to virtual, high-tech entertainment in general, no matter the quality. Appreciation, even access to slower, simpler joys can be lost.

As for my future in film and performance art:

Darren Crisp, Kristen Phantazia Smith, Jules Taylor and I may edit the interviews from WWU recording sessions into a short film if the singers interviewed think it a worthwhile, respectful thing to do.

I have an important gig coming up in the spring celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Chicago Public Library! Please join us. It’s called: Secrets of Longevity Cabaret and Café!

“Living to 100 is more common than ever. Just look at Chicago Public Library! What are the secrets of a creative long life for individuals and institutions? In celebration of the 150th anniversary of CPL and to honor the wisdom of our elders and mentors, Stuart Rosenberg and Willa Moore will gather poets, musicians, and dancers from diverse communities of the city for a performance, community discussion, open mic and healthy snacks! (mostly ;) Bring your ideas, poems, songs, jokes, mentors, family, friends, recipes. Together we will unlock the secrets of longevity and share our love and gratitude for the remarkable institution of the Public Library.”

Also, the producer of Walk With Us, Stuart Rosenberg and I have been teasing out our next considering imagining a series of short films/videos – sparse, eccentric, dimensional visual design interspersed with live performance of my spoken word poems and stories accompanied by song and/or instrumental improvisation. Then, perhaps we’ll film a live, mixed-up-media-one-old-woman show…

#walk with us #black lives matter #georgefloyd

www.facebook.com/willa.moore.98 https://www.facebook.com/willamooremusic

www.youtube.com/@willamooremusic/videos