We are moving stories

“Rodeos, cowboys, yes we’ve all seen them on television and in movies. But what about a cowgirl? And one who is African-American? And did you know that not one African-American female has ever made it to the National Finals Rodeo? Her journey to break that barrier and her charming Southern family makes this a feel-good, worthwhile experience. ”

“Hopefully it will show that a powerful story can be told in an a unique way, without scaring off viewers and still be very entertaining. Unfortunately in our business, the people that finance films don’t always understand or relate to stories, unless it’s something they’ve already seen many times before or there is huge star attached to it, that they feel will automatically sell it.

This film shows that WOMEN, and PEOPLE OF COLOR, in front of and behind the camera make provocative work that people want to see. ”

“She is the what we see; what we notice first. The outside appearance, the perception - a woman yelling in a park, a woman going to work - she is a description. We either accept or dismiss her according to what we are comfortable with. She presents herself to the world in the best way she knows how and that is what we see. On the inside, however, is her invisibleness, her fullness, her pain, her joy, her need to connect. Her voice. Her humanness.”

“As a filmmaker I’m intentional about capturing the inner lives of black women and women of color. To make more mirrors for us. This film explores the culture of silence amongst women and the lengths we take to protect one another, and wonders who it’s actually protecting. ”

“The idea for Moko Jumbie started with my grandmother in San Fernando, Trinidad, who insisted that my family, who had emigrated to England, Canada, and the United States, gather at her house in Trinidad each year. We told each other stories and laughed into the night. These memories have created the fabric from which I draw inspiration for my work. With Moko Jumbie, it was important for me to show the Caribbean in a non-cliched way, emphasizing its moodiness, its melancholy, and the dualities of life and death, beauty and decay. The love story in the film questions the politically stratified rift between people of African and Indian descent, a legacy of colonialism. Because there are so few feature films set in Trinidad, it was also important for me to incorporate certain cultural elements, like music and folklore.”

“Someone mentioned to me that they were surprised it was so funny especially with the topic at hand. My response is life is never just one thing. We don’t wake up one day and know it is a tragic day. Life is layered and scripts should allow for that without feeling like they have to choose a genre and stick to it.”

“During its inception I first wrote this script to be filmed in NY. I changed and justified the location being in New York, which worked. Until I realized that this story really needed to take place where it was written and that was Jamaica. I also worked on developing the two women and their experiences for the audience to connect with, as they become the victims of circumstance.”

“Personally, as a black woman, the story resonates so much with myself and others who face similar situations, especially when it comes to dealing with natural hair and micro-aggressions we face in our respective fields and in every day life. Universally, people can ultimately relate to Maya, our main character, being that she is someone who is simply attempting to overcome feelings of inadequacy and navigating that ‘how do I push myself to be my best self’ space.”

“With one white parent and one black parent I grew up very confused. The black kids would always tell me I was white and the white kids would always tell me I was black. To me, being biracial comes with its own struggle that is almost never talked about. I made this film because I want to talk about it... The feedback so far has been amazing. People are laughing at the jokes, relating to the characters, and asking questions at the end.”

“Feedback has been extremely affirming for me. I accomplished what I set out to do; help viewers feel seen, connected and part of a strong global community and also deepen the audience’s understanding and empathy about an issue that is, generally speaking, quite secretive and covert.”

“Everyone who’s seen the film didn’t remain neutral. Both people of color and Caucasians alike felt strong emotions and goosebumps. Everyone had to exhale deeply after the last frame. A big part of it has to do with Débora’s performance. She’s so intense and so truthful to her emotions that you just cannot not feel her pain all the way through. ”

“If you type “Black women least likely to” into Google, a slew of articles come up about marriage, romantic partnership, and dating. These articles point to statistics that tell black women that we’re the least desirable on dating apps and the least likely to get married – WOMP, WOMP.

I wanted to create a relatable, funny, empowered black woman protagonist who is hopeful for a romantic partnership while still finding fulfillment flying solo. Joey is unlucky in love but still in love with life, obvi…it’s the 21st cent.”

“The short answer to why I made the film is because I wasn’t editing the type of fashion work I wanted to cut. So I made the film I ideally wanted to cut. The scenic route reason why is, along with not feeling fulfilled with the kind of projects I was cutting at the time, I also wanted to make a fashion film featuring Black models focusing on Black beauty, because even after allllll this time, I still don’t see enough Black models featured in the fashion and beauty world. And I’m not seeing Black models featured in fashion films. It’s verrrrry rare! I also miss when fashion was fun! It’s boring now lol!! Everything is the same and everyone looks the same.”

“Our characters have to ask deep self reflective questions. What do they want for their lives and is it worth it to disrupt their families to forge ahead? These are our questions, LGBTQ people have to answer every single day. Are we willing to be ourselves 100% in our neighborhoods, at work and in our families. Do we want to disrupt the family reunion and remain in the closet or do we want to be free. It’s still a struggle for many people. I heard someone said “coming out is old”. It’s not. Some people are still living in emotional closets. There are still places that we can’t be 100% ourselves.”

“The universal theme is family. As queer individuals, family is something that we create, recreate and learn to foster despite having to confront those who may oppose our humanity. In this film, we get to really analyze and understand how the term family serves us. The characters also start to have honest discussions about what it means to live in a black queer female body and that has so many personal implications. It means standing in your truth, confronting oppressors, learning to love yourself and it is joy.”

“This film was very personal to me because I am in a long distance relationship and wanted to share the experience of the long waiting, the phone calls, and the random times where you aren’t getting along and it gives you anxiety. I also wanted to share the experience of how happy it makes you feel to finally be with that person and be physical with them along with the cycle of them eventually having to leave and the process starts all over. ”

“I created my web series because I wanted to tell the story of the late 20-something queer women of color trying to find their footing, nurture bonds with friends, and digging into what it means to be loved. I used my hometown of Jersey City as the backdrop as a sort of an ode to the city that raised me. The making of the series was important to me. I wanted to mirror the feeling of 90s sitcoms that I loved like ‘Martin’ and ‘Living Single’ with an updated style. Each character also represents a unique woman of color – in skin tones, shapes/sizes, personal beliefs, LGBTQIA+, etc – was crucial.”

“I made black enuf* in order to love myself more and investigate what passes the authenticity threshold for blackness & queerness. My interest extended to how my family thinks about race and their own identities.”

“SEARIT: We want to broaden the term “gamer” and re-introduce it with characters we typically don’t see on screen. A lot of the current representation for gamers are not favorable and/or very stereotypically male. We rarely see any media of POCs, WOCs, or LGBTQ+ gamers and we wanted to have a space for this underrepresented group of people.

KELLEY: We want people to walk away with something they relate to, whether it be: that you’re a woman of color, LGBTQ, love FPS gaming or cat games, etc. We’re reaching out to a very particular audience.”

“I would like for queer women and women of color to feel empowered by this film, to recognize that healing is an important journey, and realize that their stories matter.”

“I encountered Virginia Christian’s story around the same time #sayhername and #findourgirls were trending on social media. Sandra Bland. Tarika Wilson. Korryn Gaines. Name by name my eyes were opened to the violent oppression and silencing of black women in America. Reframed by this modern context, Christian’s story felt very relevant. It tragically didn’t feel “old” and I had an urgent desire to tell this story from her point of view.”

“Audiences should watch this film for several reasons. Alice’s story can serve as an inspiration for numerous minorities interested in pursuing STEM fields. It gives an insight into a particular time in history, specifically a time where leprosy patients were separated from their families and exiled into a remote island named, Moloka’i. It can also serve as a parallel to what the world is going through right now with the COVID-19 outbreak and human cost of ignorance.”

“you will hear firsthand the stories of African American artists who, denied the same access and opportunities as their white colleagues, seized educational opportunities, became prominent faculty members and leaders of African-American schools, and established their own venues to exhibit and publish their artwork.”

“I made this film because I wanted to showcase two communities I’m a part of, but from the perspective of people in those communities that are rarely shown. I love history that pertains to black women and it has always been fascinating to me that black women have been in almost every war, yet little has been archived about them.”

“I wanted to make a personal film and tell a solid story. A story that is almost invisible in mainstream media. The story of how an African American family was affected by the Catholic Church Sex Sandel...and survived.”

“It’s a messed up world when a 16 year old gets sentenced to life in prison. I made this film because when I saw Cyntoia Brown’s Documentary, I wanted to share her story with other people with the intention that they would be motivated in the same way I was to look in to Cyntoia’s story and do something about a system that thought it was justice to carry out the type of punishment that was dealt to Cyntoia. I wanted to use my film as a way to ask a larger question and to start a conversation.”

“I want this film to affirm and open up discussion. I want it to affirm black people who hide their feelings in times of racial strife and help non-black people to understand what we deal with when racism in America pervades our lives. ”

“A few personal and universal themes are family togetherness and having a faith-based foundation. Both of these items serve as a core that all individuals can go back to. There is a vast amount that the audience member can come away with, and hopefully will be changed to live better.”

“PAT: Someday, we all will face death. We all have loved ones who will face death. This film will give everyone in the audience food for thought on how they would choose to die if given the opportunity. It will also provoke a moral discussion if this law should give people the freedom to choose when and where they want to die.”

“From a personal standpoint, I wanted to touch on the curiosity that our society has with women of a certain age not being married with kids. Also what that means for me in terms of my family’s expectation of me. Beyond that, the film offers a snapshot of the family dynamics between siblings as well as between parent and child. Most people can relate to one if not both of those very complicated relationships. It explores what it might look like to care for a parent suffering from dementia while still attempting to pursue your own hopes and dreams. All in all, the universal theme is that sometimes we encounter obstacles and disgraceful moments that eventually lead us to grace.”

“It works in my film because we are all human beings and we all can relate to relationships, the ups and down, the mis-communication or even the expectations from each other.”

“In “Soulmates”, a young woman and a young man meet on the internet. From this meeting will be born a series of events as vibrant as it is troubling. This project is in the spirit of films such as “Sixth Sense” by Mr. Night Shyamalan or “Ghost” by Jerry Zucker. It is also, undoubtedly, an acknowledged homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock. I think lovers of the fantastic universe will love the plot and the suspense just through the title of the movie “Soulmates”. Do we all need to know who our soulmate is in our life? That’s why I think people will go see this movie.”