Slamdance - My Name is Myeisha
A beloved teenager crosses over into a hip-hop-musical dreamscape at the moment of her tragic death and contemplates her life; what it was and what it could have been.
Interview with Producer Paulette Brown-Hinds
Watch My Name is Myeisha on Prime Video and iTunes
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
We made “My Name is Myeisha” for a number of reasons: The film is based on Dreamscape, a play written by my husband and co-producer Rickerby Hinds. The play is inspired by a horrific incident that happened in our community 20 years ago, the shooting of a young Black woman by our local police officers. When the shooting occurred there was public outcry and calls for justice. My parents published the local Black newspaper and worked with the family of the victim and the community activists to call for real reform and justice. As newspaper publishers, they led the public discussion and were relentless in their coverage of the incident.
The play inspired a young filmmaker, Gus Krieger, to adapt it into a screenplay, which he co-wrote with his husband. The story is unfortunately one that remains headline news. The shooting of young African-Americans by law enforcement. The play has traveled throughout Europe, has been translated into four languages (Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, and Spanish), and continues to tour the world. It’s an important message. And the film version allows the story to reach an even wider audience. We hope it creates a safe space for discussion on how to achieve better relations between the African-American community and law enforcement.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The entire team poured all of their time and talent into this project and it shows. We had an extremely low budget — I mean at the micro level — but it doesn’t look like it. The subject is unsettling, you know from the beginning that there is no happy ending for Myeisha. She tells you up-front. “It’s not a feel good story.” But then in a way as you learn about her, hear her hopes and dreams for the future, learn about what she likes to do, see her many talents, and watch her interact with family and friends, you become invested. You laugh when she tells a funny story. You’re sad when it's appropriate. What you realize is that she’s not a stereotype. She has a life. It celebrates her life. And I believes it offers an opportunity to reflect on the value of all lives.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
There is a convergence in the personal and universal themes of the film. The importance of family. The exuberance of youth. The dreams for the future that we all have. The desire for acknowledgment and to be seen for your humanity. In the African-American community, as parents we worry about your children when they are outside of the home. We worry that they will be seen as a number of things — suspects, menaces, criminals — instead of scholars, artists, scientists, thinkers. We know what they are up against and we do our best to prepare them for the realities of racism in this country.
So one of the “universal” themes in our narratives, and this is historically in African-American literature, is visibility vs. invisibility, who people see vs. who you really are. We know that in so many of the shootings of unarmed Black youth by police, there is a history of racist stereotypes that fuels the often split second decision to shoot. They don’t see a person, they see an image.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The screenplay is basically the script from the play. Rickerby wrote the play in rhyme. As one of the founders of Hip-Hop Theater, all of his creative work has a certain rhythm and cadence. As he produced the play over the years he tightened up the script. As a hip-hop thinker, his mode of creation is to improvise and use what he has at his disposal. He first used a DJ as one of the two main characters until he found the beatboxer, John “Faaz” Merchant. John is incredible. He has taken the script and added even more depth with his sampling of hip-hop music that accompanies the script. Gus added very little to the original script, but saw film as the opportunity to bring all of the stories told in the script to life.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been positive so far. I heard that the first screening at Slamdance was well attended. And many people who have seen it feel it’s one of the most compelling stories they have seen on screen.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I am actually surprised by how much people really love the film. I signed on as a producer because I believe it is an important story to tell, but it’s simple. It’s non-linear. It clearly has an indie aesthetic that I worried people might not appreciate, but so far I have been wrong.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We are hoping the wearemovingstories.com platform will give the film more visibility. We hope people will share it with others. We hope it creates a dialog in communities. We hope it brings communities together. We have seen the play accomplish that we know the film can have an even wider reach. And the production team, the crew, and the actors, all did such wonderful work, we want everyone to see it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Slamdance is our first film festival. I believe we just heard from another film festival in California that we have been accepted. We are looking for other film festival opportunities, distributors, and of course would love for journalists to help amplify the message of the film.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
If this film can cause people to stop and think before reacting, I believe it could save a life.
Would you like to add anything else?
The nameless character in Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man has a line that I believe speaks to the nature of Myeisha’s challenge:
“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me.”
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Our production company, Hindsight Productions, has several projects in development, including a web series featuring a young Black woman, and a script about a Black family that publishes a newspaper, a fictionalized story based on my family’s 40 year history in the business.
Interview: January 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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My Name is Myeisha
A beloved teenager crosses over into a hip-hop-musical dreamscape at the moment of her tragic death and contemplates her life; what it was and what it could have been.
Length: 82 mins
Director: Gus Krieger
Producer: Carl Lucas, Gus Krieger, Scott Hyman, Rickerby Hinds, Michael Glassman, Robert Dehn, Joshua Bunting, Paulette Brown-Hinds
Writer: Rickerby Hinds, Gus Krieger
About the writer, director and producer:
Gus Krieger is a Los Angeles based writer/director/producer of stage and screen. Films include THE BINDING, FENDER BENDER, and WOULD YOU RATHER.
Key cast:
Rhaechyl Walker, John Merchant, Dominique Toney, Dee Dee Stephens, Yvette Cason, Gregg Daniel
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Buyers, Distributors, Film Festivals, Journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook: @mynameismyeisha
Twitter: @mynameismyeisha