For decades in this country black and brown communities have been misrepresented in film and media as uneducated, dangerous, and violent. Misrepresentative depictions of black people have grown to the extent that stereotypical portrayals of black people influence white people’s and the general public's perception of African Americans.
The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) states “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This exception clause means that slavery is still in fact constitutional for those persons convicted of crimes in this country. My purpose as an African American filmmaker is to create realistic counter narratives that highlight the racial complexities of American society.
Coming Together (Digital World Premiere)
Quodlibet Ensemble with Reginald Mobley, countertenor Available until November 3, 2020
This music collaboration created for film features Quodlibet Ensemble, a collective of virtuoso string players, and countertenor Reginald Mobley, who is as passionate about baroque and gospel music as he is social and political justice. In this film, created by violinist and Quodlibet’s founder Katie Hyun in collaboration with filmmaker and human rights activist Pastor Isaac Scott, the musicians perform Frederic Rzewski's Coming Together for narrator and ensemble, with text by Samuel Melville—one of the leaders of the revolt against police brutality at Attica Prison in 1971.