Focus on AFI Conservatory - A Rodeo Film
A black bull rider must choose between his family's legacy and the woman he loves.
Interview with Writer/Director Darius Dawson
Watch on Hulu, HBO or Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
A Rodeo Film was my thesis at AFI, but I've been wanting to tell a story set in this world for some time now. A lot of people don't know that the original cowboys were actually black. The term cowboy was a derogatory term at one point. I hope that my film inspires people to learn more about black cowboys and black rodeo athletes.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think that the world of the film is interesting...of course. Not a lot of people know about black rodeo athletes so I think that this culture sits at an interesting intersection between Western culture and African American culture. The film in a nutshell is about love and family. I feel that so much of what we do day to day revolves around love. I also feel that family is that thing in our life that's the toughest to figure out. I think that audiences should check out A Rodeo Film is they want to see flawed characters try to figure out love and family and how it all pieces together.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The biggest thing at work here is questioning that bond of family. I think that, as I've gotten older, I've found myself struggling with who I really am, my true identity versus the one that was prescribed to me by people around me, namely family. I'm not saying this in a negative way. I'm a lower middle class black kid from the South so the pressure was always on to make something of myself because the alternative was not pretty. I think that my mother pushed my brother in I toward careers and activities and things in general that she thought would see us living a particular type of life. In this way that family bond was one that was giving me a certain identity that maybe wasn't necessarily who I was. My brother and I were both told that we would be engineers. We're both filmmakers now. I think that sometimes the bonds of family can become bondage. And I'm not saying that to suggest malicious intent in anyway it's just that sometimes even our family doesn't see us for who we really are.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script had times when it leaned heavy into the sports aspect of the rodeo, then other times where it leaned super heavy into the love triangle aspect. I think we struck some type of balance between the two.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The film has been generally well received. I guess well enough for HBO to license it. I don't get too deep into IMdb reviews and all of that. The film isn't perfect. I know that. The film does, however, represent a lot of growth for me; as an artist, as a person. Thematically I'm very interested in family. It took me doing this film to realize that.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think that themes in my work that I'm interested in exploring more have come out in making this film. I kind of have a quarterbacks memory when it comes to films. I do it, I learn from it and move on. I learned a lot about managing tone, about themes and a host of other things making this film so that's been my biggest take away from the Rodeo short.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I just hope that more people go out of their way to learn about black cowboy culture and black rodeo athletes. It's a world that I've grown to know and I've fallen in love with and I suppose I just want to share it with whoever will have it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope that it raises awareness of this niche culture. If people dig it that's cool; if not that's fine too. But I think that if the film makes you want to take the extra step to google black cowboys then that's pretty cool.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now Ryan Binse and I are putting together the feature version of A Rodeo Film while working on a few other projects separately.
Interview: July 2021
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
A Rodeo Film
Length: 19 minutes
Writer/Director
DARIUS DAWSON is a writer/director based in Los Angeles. He attended AFI Conservatory for directing and since graduating has directed several commercials and shows including for Peter and Bob Farrelly's Quibi show, The Now.
Producer
RYAN BINSE is a navy veteran and graduate of AFI's producing program. Since graduating Ryan has produced and line-produced several feature films and is currently in pre-pro for the feature version of A Rodeo Film.
Key cast:
Jermelle Simon, Charlee Earle, Phrederic Semaj
Looking for:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/therodeofilm/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/arodeofilm/
Hashtags used:
#arodeofilm #blackrodeo
More info:
Made in association with:
AFI Conservatory
Where can I watch it now?
HBOMax