**your inbox wasn’t made to handle the contents of this message so open it up in the app or on your laptop for the full experience.
first up, the vulnerable part…
I have never once looked at a wound of mine or a moment of unadulterated joy and thought ‘this is a singular experience unique to only me.’
the entry point may have been singularly mine based on things like history, personality, and expectations but the emotions surrounding it are universal -
as emotions always are.
this is why the emotional experience of cinema is so powerful because it speaks to our oldest “shared language.”
cinema is the only way I know how to take everything I’ve learned from this life and am learning and offer it up as a sort of anthology of experience or canon of human condition.
to create stories that don’t seek to just document this world of ours but to expand upon it.
it is the only medium I know that transforms reality in ‘real time’ by sculpting time itself into something that transcends past, present, and future and in that way touches upon eternity.
filmmaking isn’t some fame or fortune seeking venture for me.
it isn’t some side hobby I do on the weekends.
it is literally how I see the world and the way in which I am able to most authentically and fully express myself.
i’ve been through incredibly dark times as I know we all have.
cinema has always been the light shining through.
and my hope with this short film is that it is the beginning of establishing my cinematic voice and the kind of stories I want to tell.
if you’ve been following me for any time on this digital journey of mine -
you know how much I care about this artform.
you know how seriously I take the role of filmmaker and “visual storyteller.”
and you know I wouldn’t be inviting you into something if I didn’t want you to be a part of it.
over the past 7 months I have been developing the script for Please Stay (even after it won a grant) with director, collaborator, and friend Diliana Deltcheva into something I can safely proclaim is the foundation for “cinema.”
we just launched the Kickstarter today to raise the funds necessary to get us into production this August.
you are my community.
you are my email list to reach out to.
and you are the first people I want to send it to when it’s finished.
so here is my email asking you to consider donating.
I know times are tough and giving even a small amount feels like a stretch but if you are able and if you would like to be a part of bringing this story - my story - to life,
the link to the campaign is here.
thank you in advance for all the collaboration and conversations to come.
Ordinary moments that movies taught me to pay attention to.
The more I write here, the more I know that’s what I’m interested in.
The way films change how I look at everything around them.
- Raphaël — The Long Take
Many of the most compelling films arriving right now ask us to slow down.
- Jon Fitzgerald
which means as soon as all the pieces to any particular issue have been submitted and I have put my visual touch on it - it will be directly sent to you inbox.
JUNE IN 3 PARTS:
WELCOME TO NEW WAVE BLACK NATURALISM
THE CIRCUIT: THIRD SPACES, COMMUNITY, EVENTS, AND MORE
WELCOME TO MODERN SOCIAL REALISM
I will be collaborating with some of my favorite substackers including:
John Noire, Shanté, Alex Lewis, Nick Pierre, Thomas Flight, Dario Llinares and so many more.
so subscribe if you haven’t because June is about to be full of ABUNDANCE.
the first issue of Luz Films Mag was officially published last Monday May 25th and I have been overwhelmed with gratitude at ya’ll’s responses.
MAY: TOUCH GRASS
·
May 25
**this magazine was made with care and layered engagement points (links). one can ‘flip through it’ idly as you would a typical magazine or if you’d like, sit with it awhile, and click on all the little gems found along the way. the choice is yours, dear reader. **this week’s edition is framed for filmmakers but can and should be applied to all artists.…
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