Indie Filmmaking Adventures with Milwaukee Filmmaker Diya Gitanjali | By /CW Guest Writer Jolee Mallmann

Having worked on a few sets with Diya, I’ve always been very drawn to their unique filmmaking style. The color palettes they make use of, the poetry in their photography and film work; there are so many filmmakers in the Milwaukee scene, and Diya has found a way to pave their own clear path. To make work that speaks to the current culture while remaining timeless in voice isn’t a task every artist can take on, but it’s a returning feature to projects Diya has a part in. Anyone would be lucky to find themselves on set with this dynamic, one-of-a-kind filmmaker. 

If you had to describe yourself as an artist and a filmmaker, what would you want people to understand about your work most?

As a filmmaker, I am usually drawn to Horror and Science Fiction, because I believe that these genres allow us to explore and confront themes of gender, sexuality and oppression in a creative but sometimes indirect way. I think that processing our trauma as individuals and as a society is vital -- and what better way than through abstraction and metaphor? My most recent film, Knife In Hand,  explores new love and obsession and how that can throw your life and creative practice out of whack. I’ve found that that kind of obsessive feeling can be both freeing and detrimental as an artist. 

I also shoot all of my films myself, and plan to pursue being a Director of Photography as my career long-term. Some of my favorite cinematographers are Benoit Debie, Greig Fraser, and Quyen Tran; all of whom use color, light, and intentional camera angles to create evocative and stunning imagery. I think something I strive for in the visuals I create is "emotional realism" -- like, how did a moment or a memory feel, as opposed to how it actually looked? Especially with the way modern digital cameras and lenses are becoming more crisp and almost artificial-looking, I try to keep my work feeling grounded and true to my experiences. I want my work to be successful in its intention and emotionally stimulating to the viewer. 

Does being a poet affect how you approach your filmmaking?

I’ve been writing for fun since I was a kid, and the one thing people have consistently said they like about my prose and poetry is how “atmospheric” it is. I think I’m good at creating vivid images in my writing.

I think creating atmosphere as a cinematographer is super important, and way more involved than people might think! Like, what lenses are you using, how are you shaping the light? What’s the weather like, what season is it, what’s going on in the world? The first example that comes to mind when thinking about atmospheric filmmaking is the Twilight movies -- the color grade and choices of shots in the first movie especially. They really transport you to that chilly, wet town of Forks in Washington state.

The Handmaid’s Tale TV series on Hulu also does a good job at this -- they use a ton of fog machines in all of their locations to create this dusty, stuffy look. That look compliments how the main character is feeling. She’s claustrophobic in this new society, and in a way she’s been transported to the past. 

What's your favorite part about being a storyteller and filmmaker?

My favorite part about being a storyteller and filmmaker is the simultaneous collaborative and individualistic nature of creating a film. Each person on set has their own set of tasks, whether that’s operating the camera or setting up lights or even setting up snacks at Craft Services. But we’re all working together. We’re bringing one thing to life by individually doing our own thing. Even though the days can be intense and even grueling, It’s such a gratifying process -- hurrying up and then waiting, the best day of summer camp one moment and then extremely mentally draining the next. But there’s no better feeling than creating work that you’re genuinely proud of!

Who are some filmmakers that have significantly influenced your work?

One of my favorite filmmakers right now is Julia Ducaurnau, who wrote and directed Raw and Titane. Both of these films make the viewer viscerally uncomfortable, the films kind of grab you and shake you. I also really enjoy Coralie Fargeat’s work, and in an interview about The Substance she said something really interesting about choosing to keep a shot of a fly struggling in Demi Moore’s character’s drink -- she said something along the lines of, yeah we could take the shot out but it adds something essential to the film’s identity and mood. 

When I was sixteen my first boyfriend showed me Enter The Void by Gaspar Noé, who I know is a somewhat controversial filmmaker. Noe has remained my favorite director since then. I love how interested he is in portraying reality and all the ways humans can relate to each other and fall in and out of love. His films are always provocative and sometimes terribly self-indulgent, but he consistently nails something really raw and beautiful in his work that I aspire to. 

How have you evolved as a filmmaker over time?

It’s funny, I was going to detail how specifically I’ve changed as a filmmaker over time, but I think it’s more accurate to say that I’ve just gotten better at crystallizing and refining my vision. 

When I attended film school a few years ago, I was lucky to cross paths with and learn from Carl Bogner, a beloved queer elder and film educator. He was one of my favorite teachers ever. Carl passed away recently, and I came across an email he had sent me when I was eighteen or nineteen years old, in response to work I had submitted in one of his classes. When I look back on that time, I remember feeling like I didn’t know who I was as a filmmaker. I remember my work feeling pretty far from what I wanted it to be. Here is the email:

“Again, great work with palette here. Both of your pieces communicated so much with your sense of color. As well: you have a deft sense of scale: of image size, of how an image occupies the frame, of incident. You know how to work the everyday so well.” - Carl 

I was so happy to stumble across this -- what he had pointed out about my work, pieces which I now consider pretty rudimentary, nailed what I strive for as an artist and filmmaker. It’s a validating and encouraging thing to look back on. 

Do you have any advice for young femme and nonbinary people trying to establish themselves in filmmaking?

My advice would be to meet people, learn stuff, and get on set. And also to trust your gut. 

I graduated from the film program at UW-Milwaukee in 2022, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I think the biggest things I gained from film school were the connections and experience, which were essential in getting my footing in the industry. Besides the career aspect, I met so many creative and driven people who became some of my closest friends. I also think the educators I interacted with in film school did a great job not only teaching technical skills but helping me to refine my own creative practice. 

I would also tell people, especially non-men going into the film industry, to make sure they advocate for themselves. Obviously be kind and considerate for the most part, but make sure you are carving out space for yourself! Get answers to your questions. Don’t let yourself become a doormat! 

I also think there’s an element of being a filmmaker that some folks don’t understand going into it, and that’s reciprocity. Like, ask your friends and classmates you admire to help you with your projects. Folks are usually happy to help you make your vision a reality. Just sure you buy them a donut and thank them for their time at the very least. 

But also, make sure YOU are showing up for them in a real way. Work hard, contribute to a positive set environment and make good stuff. It’s important to not only be technically proficient but also to treat people well and show up! That’s my best advice. 

You can find more of Diya’s work: @diyagitanjali on Instagram and VIMEO

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Into independent film? Want to learn more?

SnapShot Press Release | Building The Nest [Milwaukee Film Festival 2025]

Spring has sprung [rain, fog, blooming flowers, scorching sun, *insert any other Wisconsin weather description here*] us right into Film Fest season [Milwaukee Film Festival, that is]. With the birds asking us to rise early [chirp chirp, tweet tweet], and the cinema asking us to stay up late, we must oblige with a caffeinated drink in one hand, a bag of yeast-covered popcorn in the other, and a press pass around our necks. This year, CopyWrite decided to see films that would feed into our guilty pleasures, challenge our humanity, and have us screaming “414” all the way home. 

With coverage from Lexi S. Brunson [Owner/ Active Editor-in-Chief], guest commentary from Vedale Hill, and a first-time MKE Film Fest experience from the newest memer of the /CW Fam, Desriana Gilbert [Entertainment & Social Journalist for /CW].

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SECRET MALL APARTMENT [Director: Jeremy Workman]

Let me tell you… I almost broke my ankles from running to my copy of Theories and Manifestoes of Contemporary Architecture [which holds a permanent spot in my studio] after watching Secret Mall Apartment, [Twizzlers shoved into my mouth, and swigs of root beer between every bite].

Context: Before I was whatever pseudo journalist, creative writer, cultural critic, and exhausted business owner I am now, I was a young college art school student studying interior design, fascinated with spaces & places [iykyk] and inthralled with the criticism of urbanism as it appeared in post-industrial society. [Yup, been deep].

The film was reminiscent of the nuances that lay between what always appears as communal advancement, but is undoubtedly the practice of gentrification [damn you gentrifiers and your need to fondel all things sacred]. I held my book, hugged it, and thanked it for giving me the lexicon of understanding that would have me rooting for the artistic lotterers that decided to inhabit a void [crawl space] in a mall in Providence, Rhode Island [circa. 2003].

As these “empathetic artists” discussed their experience, with Michael Townsend at the lead, we uncovered the genius of thought, practice, and execution. How the hell do you go unnoticed, coming, going, and building a decoy cinderblock wall for four years? As a Black woman in America, I cackled and the “caucacity” [don’t cancel me because the artist acknowledged their white privilege], but I envied the type of exploration that I will never know as my own. The freedom and inquiry that eventually felt safe and earned was a humorous slap at capitalism, policy, and the act of noticing, most of society could use a lesson in. 

However, what really did it for me was the archival footage [the documentation of the art, as art] showing us exactly what was going on as they lived it. The foresight to capture the day-to-day was ahead of its time. If this had been the peak of social media, the sirens would have sounded at the geolocation posting, descriptive caption, and hashtag [#MallApartmentEntryOffTheParkingLot]. 

But instead, Townsend [maybe subconsciously lol], who had long before declared, “It’s going to be a really awful day when our door opens”, got caught after bring his “friend” [don’t make me speculate what type of “friend” you would blow your cover for] to the mall apartment during the day after knowing the block was hot! And before that, during a shadowbox crafting session at Pottery Barn. It’s giving Usher Raymond confessions, my guy! 

But as an artsy, stick it to the man, type of rebel I am, Secret Mall Apartment, brought me so much joy, knee slapping laughs, I mean I almost fell out of my seat onto the theater floor when they decided to carry that china cabinet up those ladder steps. . . A full-sized 200+ pound china cabinet with the glass inlay. Come on now! Y'all some BOLD, Gooney Goon Goons, and I’m here for it!

The concept of them holding space like “barnacles on a whale”, notes a symbiotic relationship that seems parasitic but is commensal, or of service. Who is harmed by these artists taking up a void versus who is harmed when a developer displaces culture?

Because let’s put it this way, if art resolves in crime, its an honor to be guilty. 

 Lexi for /CW 

lexi & her obligatory steo & repeat pic for mke film fest 2025

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A MOTHER APART [Director: Laurie Townshend]

Do you need to experience a mother’s love in order to gift it to the bloodline coming after you?

Staceyann Chinn unapologetically and actively searches for this answer throughout groundbreaking and unsharpened film, A Mother Apart, in front of our eyes. Multifaceted is an understatement when it comes to describing the Urban heroine. Juggling countless identities that seem to cause unnecessary stares, whispers, and questions [the tropes: lesbian, “underground” creative, LGBTQIA+ activist] , and Jamaican-American, creates an eventful and unknowing journey. However, only two chapters in Staceyann’s book bring fear and uncertainty; their strengths and weaknesses as a mother, but most importantly, a daughter.

Director Laurie Townshend sets the stage early for audience members to see the genuine and strong intentions Staceyann has wanting to parent her young and vibrant seed, Zuri, in a way that was never shown or gifted to her as a young child. One would expect for the voided receipt illustrating the relationship with her mother to be accessorized with resentment, hatred, lacking a longing for connection, loveless, and unfamiliar. Yet, Staceyann made it her mission for years to reenact the final scene from The Color Purple, where Celie reunites with her children from Africa with her mother, and made it her lifelong wish to create an unbreakable bond with a mother who abandoned her at birth. The talented poet was issued several chosen families throughout her performances at poetry slams and showcases, but home is a feeling she still longs for as we watch her on the screen.

Chinn’s quest is to find the woman who shared the most heart-wrenching and vulnerable experience of birth, but who also abandoned her, was becoming more of a challenge and a dream that would never be reached. Townsend added the element of long-lost letters addressed to Hazel [the mother who had the nerve to leave her child], which Staceyann found to alleviate and strengthen the process of reuniting with her mother. This journey began to make marks in Brooklyn, Cologne, Montreal, and Jamaica. Scene by scene, the missing puzzle pieces to who Hazel is, why she made the choices she made, and what her story is started to reveal itself after each letter Staceyann found. While in the audience, it was painful to view, yet there was a pride in seeing the battle she fought within herself to avoid repeating the same choices her mother made. Laurie Townshend captured a cinematic montage of motherhood, the true meaning of home, breaking generational curses, and the power of how a child can change the trajectory of one’s life.

It was a tear-jerker but also an eye-opener to never take for granted the relationship you have with your mother. It’s nothing like Mama’s love. Most importantly, the film suggested never become who and what hurt you; always choose peace, happiness, and personal growth. 

It was her choice to overcome pain that helped Staceyann find herself in the end, and become the mother to Zuri she always dreamed of being.

Desriana for /CW

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BLACK LENS SHORTS

As I walked into the theatre, I felt a different aura and band of energies than I had before. It was almost as if everyone at the Oriental Theatre that night had a secret group chat before arriving, and we all became on one accord: FEEL, SEE, AND IDENTIFY.

I instantly fell into a motion picture trance as the screen became filled with Black stories and faces I’d never witnessed. From animated black and white depictions of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., to toxic black love, 1930s jazz singer escaping selling her soul to the music industry, a son imagining his deceased father, and a young director being misunderstood by his traditional African mother, each short film held its own weight. The highs and lows of what people from the African diaspora experience and pass down to one another was the foundation laid and the framework that ties each short film to one another. 

Hoops, Hopes, and Dreams [Director: Glenn Kaino]

The shorts began by providing an important lesson to the audience, myself included: our heroes are more than statues and history books; they are human beings too!  Hoops, Hopes and Dreams, directed by Glenn Kaino, awakened everyone within the first two minutes of the film, as it painted Martin Luther King Jr, and Barack Obama in a new light; just simply human beings. True stories of MLK and Obama playing basketball with everyone in their neighborhoods and then implementing their mission to make the world a better place for our people and culture are depicted in a raw and familial way. It made these two heroic leaders feel real and relatable. This shed a spotlight on to many other civil rights activists, Black businessmen, and leaders who have stood at the forefront of changing the Black experience and perspective in places that don’t always appreciate or understand the brilliance and magic we hold. They are more than pictures on a slideshow at a Black History Month program or the name of a street; these were walking and breathing human beings who enjoyed the same pleasures as everyone else, such as sports, brotherhood, and pure fun [& still managed to move the needle forward].

SONGBIRD [Director: Jonathan Horton]

A bird's-eye view was used throughout the entirety of Black Lens Shorts. They all honed in on the love creatives have for their work, but also the disappointment when their environment and people don’t understand or want to resonate with their art. In the words of the intelligent and talented lyricist Erykah Badu, once said, “I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my S#@T!” The phrase should’ve been put on repeat while each film was being presented. It represents how, as Black people, we don’t usually experience fairy tale endings or the impossible miraculously happening for us. The Black community has always had to take matters into their own hands when it comes to going after what we want in this lifetime. Jonathan Horton’s Songbird accurately showed a gorgeous Black woman who could tear down any house with her voice, singing jazz medleys in the 1930s, wholeheartedly in love with music. Sounds like a golden ticket for a Black woman during that period with her community loving and supporting her, right? That would be too easy. The short film shows how the FBI and other white men in power tried to silence, threaten, and minimize her place in the world.  Instead of allowing fear to overwhelm her mind, body, and soul, she continued to become a household name, but in the end, the FBI succeeded by strangling her, stealing her ability to sing with strangulation. Silencing Black voices is a common narrative in our history. We must continue to ask ourselves, “Why?”.  

ABOUT TIME [Director: Donald Conley]

Donald Conley, director of About Time, said it best in his Q&A after Black Lens Shorts concluded:

“Films are not only physical manifestations of the director’s thoughts, but it is also snapshots of your everyday lives. This is why I incorporate several aspects of my life through the films I write and direct.”

Conley reimagined his own breakup with an ex-lover to light the fire for About Time, presenting an authentic yet soulful connection between two people who love each other but love replaying their toxic cycle even more. The elements of “running into one another”, making love, and drugs simmered down the thick tension which fooled the audience, making us all think in the end the two would choose each other and attempt to have a “healthy” romantic love. I felt like the mama bear friend desperately trying to tell my homegirl, “Girl don’t just walk but run away from that man; he’s wasting your time!” Have you ever felt like when you're around a certain person, it’s only you two in the entire world? Or that nobody will ever comprehend or understand you the way that person knows you? Conley did not shy away from those uncomfortable, unreserved, yet necessary conversations that needed to be had between two people who imply their hearts belong to one another. We all know love can be messy, but it is also a choice. Looking past the imperfections of your partner, actively waking up every day, and choosing to stick by their side, trying to brainstorm ways to spice up the relationship are not cakewalks. On the other hand, sometimes you can love somebody more than life itself and show them by simply walking away from the relationship. 

There’s beauty in discovering things about yourself. Every day we learn things about ourselves that weren’t clear days or even weeks before. The 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival was created with not only eye-catching films but also intentional meanings whose punches landed in the screening rooms and now, in the city of Milwaukee. It’s so easy to get caught up in what’s happening around us and who's roaming the world right along with us; but self-discovery and reflection are a gift that’s always going to keep on giving as it feeds our souls as well as our physical lives. This is a reflection of being in our Black bodies.

Desriana for /CW

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ONE MINUTE REMAINING [Director: Colin Sytsma]

I have never seen the act of rehabilitation as a proponent of the justice system performing well. It has always been presented to me in “legal terms” as a control mechanism for nuisance in society, a social method of keeping outcasts isolated, and essentially a way to break humanity. I don’t want to get on my soap box [because I’m heavy & it will break], but it seems as though the compassion standard for others goes out the window as soon as they get locked in a box, chained, or shackled. 

It's MASTER manipulation at its finest [clock it]. 

One Minute Remaining, with its exploration of incarceration through the lens of, “women and families across the United States managing their loved ones incarceration while searching to articulate their frustrations,” is a reminder that doing time burdens more than the human who did the “crime”.

The Partner.

The Children.

The Parents.

The Siblings. 

*Fill in the blank*

While they may not be bound by bars and fences, they face the sentence through payment penalty on the incarcerated's behalf, time navigating a system that does not prioritize the human needs of the incarcerated, and the mental/emotional exhaustion that comes with supporting your family member or loved one in that predicament. 

It is a conversation that I have had repeatedly with my partner, who, as a Black man, is 5.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than his white counterparts [innocent or not], that if he ever does something that would cause him to be taken away from his family, our children, or I, my stamina for “holding him down” would be limited. It is a warning, not because I think he is a menace to society, but because I have seen the volatility of the Black body, the mistreatment of the incarcerated, and the pain we all will inevitably face in that predicament. Why would I not plant a seed of avoidance as protection?

You could feel the anxiety come through the screen as family members told the story of their incarcerated loved ones. Julie Magers ' son's emotional navigation was unnerving, with his uncertainty of what would happen to his father while locked up with Multiple Sclerosis. Is he not a victim of the situation? That child's resilience is not a badge of honor but a sign of distress. His mother, chain-smoking her nerves as she fights for the rights of not just her husband, but also navigates a career of advocacy for others in similar positions, was also unsettling [coping vices are not our friends].

The digitized voice of “one minute remaining”, sounding as the end of each documented call fastly approaches, prompts us with the fact that time is limited, fleeting, and unstoppable. How we use it can help or harm, give or take, champion or corrupt. The documentary style shows us unprecedented wins, but can not uncover the core of the issue, and maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the uncomfortable feeling is meant to keep us grounded in the reality that this is not resolved, but ongoing.

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Also, shout out to producer Justin Gordon, whose work on The Stigma of The Durag has had us thrilled to see his contributions to projects with social & cultural narratives, like this one.

Lexi for /CW 

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BRADY STREET: A PORTRAIT OF A NEIGHBORHOOD [Director: Sean Kafer]

As a Milwaukee “Eastsider”, Brady Street is a part of my origin story, my familial odyssey, and my foundation of independence. From my grandma taking me to Peter Sciortino Bakery for a cookie as she recounts her adventures of crossing over the Holton Street/Van Buren bridge [then a slated timber frame death trap] to get home from school after picking up supplies for her mother at Glorioso’s, or my walk of distress after a cathartic heartbreak with a garbage bag filled with my things swinging over my shoulder as I tiptoed past Rochambo and the High Hat craving a coffee and a stiff drink on my way to Walgreens to get a Tylenol for the hangover and a life line. It is a place of familiarity, history, with a mystique that is welcomed by us creative types, vagabonds, and spirited hippies.

Soooo if I’m critical, it's because I really love this little slice of convergence.

I’m just going to say it. . . Where are all the Black people? Did you forget to include us in localized history? Or just didn’t have enough screen time, so we were edited out? In the joy it brought me to see the acknowledgement of Indigenous people as the originators of the area [hey cousins!], I could not shake the idea that Brady Street culture, where dominated by Polish and then Italian settlers [a fascinating history], is void of Blackness outside of crime, and attendance of the Brady Street festival? Nahhhhhhhhhhhh! We have to put that part back in.

lexi about to watch the brady street film with trying to stay warm [blanket any one]

The entrepreneurial history of Brady Street is beautiful. Starting these small bar, shops, and restaurants, growing them into communal staples, reimagining them for future generations, and repurposing building shells that house souls of courage, community, and “classy” capitalism, is absolutely the narrative I was looking for when deciding to see the film. However, the economic sustainability of the area is threaded with Black contributers that were never noted.

In the hysteria of white flight, those who had established roots on Brady Street fled as an insurgence of melanated faces appeared in Milwaukee during the Great Migration. These property owners [some of whose family had been squatters in previous years, but I won't hold you on that], while domesticating suburbia, had tenants renting their flats, lofts, and storefronts. And guess what those payments did? It allowed for the property tax and mortgages to be paid, keeping the area afloat, and tanneries to be manned [until that was no longer a viable practice in the city proper]. And guess what else, many of those tenants were BLACK.

“My father was there”, Vedale commented after the film concluded. “Pulaski Park, Peter Sciortino, that neighborhood bar right on the corner, where he would linger sometimes. . . We know Brady, but this is not our Brady, but we still honor it. The sidewalk art by Pamela Scesniak is iconic, and as an artist, I value that labor. Its deterioration and green application look like the patina of ancient ruins, meant to document a rich history and culture that is still alive today. We know this story. We don't have to watch a documentary to get that truth. Now, let's go to Zaffiro's. I have a sudden craving for pizza.” 

That’s when it hit me, the missing piece of the Brady Street narrative did not remove the history from existence. It just showcases a limiting perspective that can’t be found in a history book, news clippings, or archives. It’s anecdotal and personal, passed through breaking bread or toasting spirits, remembered in practice with purpose. Walking the ground, feeling the cement under your feet, leaning against a facade as you people watch the neighborhood and recollect. 

A flash of a photo of my daughter walking down Brady Street with her class on their daily adventure confirmed it all.

The legacy of Brady Street continues.

Lexi for /CW 

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THE MILWAUKEE SHOW I

#SupportTheLocal #414 #MKE #WeLoveMilwaukee
If it’s made by local links, you know we can't resist. This year's Milwaukee Show shorts sent us mixed emotions. Some we loved, others we were just not in season for, and others we just really appreciated for their craft and technique. In a community where the creative economy is not valued as it should be, we will always support those who make because their is a force inside of them that must come out and be shared with the world.

Here is my hit list:

DAG Camera Repair [Director: Atesh Atici]

There are few master Leica camera repair technicians left in the world, and Don Goldberg is one of them. That’s it. That’s the plot.

To be the last of anything is a weird accomplishment, but to be so sick of answering the phone because it is ringing off the hook, and you are literally one out of 5 people in the world that can actually do the job is wild! And Millennials are out here millennialing, stressing the poor man for their quirky nostalgia of film photography [geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz artsy are we? Lol]

Atesh's take on this story is comically nuanced. His subject [Don] is a star, hidden in the back room of Leica parts, little screw drivers, and inbox of unanswered emails. But it was the breakout scene with the miniatures that threw me every way but straight, and that's the art of it. You don’t know what genius lives in everyday people. And even geniuses get sick of doing what they are good at too..

Legacy In Motion [Director: Brandon Stearns, Brema Brema]

They SNAPPPPEEEEEDDDDDDDDDD! 

I really love it when creative talent converges. Film, choreography, fashion, lifestyle... the combo is always going to be a win for me. But the real bliss is knowing the magic is being made by people you know. Here I am screaming & jigging in the theater when I saw Brandon [shotbysterns] name come across the screen, with Brema Brema at the helm of Unfinished Legacy, and my recollection of his stint in agency media production behind the lens. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Sterns as a freelancer on some /CW projects and interviewed Brema for a Sneex sofa session, so I know how serious each of them takes their craft and how committed they are to their work in documenting the creative community [#WeSeeYou]. 

But its the skill, the lighting, the ability to capture a vibe with no words, every pop lock, leg bend, and toe twitch glided through the frame. A music video-esk lifestyle art display captured in time? Yea, lets go with that.  Its so beautifully Urban. Make it a downloadable wall paper so I can let it loop on the screen in the studio, K? Byeeeeee.

Zastava Brothers [Director: Pep Stojanovic]

Once upon a time, Pep let the /CW fashion department host a Streetwear runway show in his space. Cars lined the runway, old school with unique profiles and retro color ways. Come to find out, these are the Yugos. 

To see the story behind Pep’s love of these distinct cars, matched with eagerness to share this love and joy with his daughter, resulting in an automobilic [Did I just make a word?] brotherhood, was not on my MKE Film Fest playing card. However, just like that, I’m pouting at the found family, and the camaraderie over car culture that could easily be a story of pain, hate, and a tow home.

But here we have joy, an “extra wire”, and a “keep the camera rolling” moment that brought us this pièce de résistance in a cinematic hug, I hope stands the test of time. It’s hard to make friends that you actually bond with at a big age, and here we see that what was coined “the worst car ever made”, could do just that.

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It feels that this year's filmic experience culminates in an instinctual urge to prepare spaces to share with the people, culture, and community one resonates with. This form of nesting [see what we did there] is crucial for survival, but it's a cascading thread of intimacy really binds each film, each narrative, each plot, to be about something bigger than itself.

We are all a part of something bigger – hopefully, we can continue to build this nest together.

Love & All Things Urban, 

/CW Fam

Exploring Independent Filmmaking with Milwaukee Director Immanuel Baldwin | By /CW Guest Writer Jolee Mallmann

In launching this series highlighting local filmmakers, I was hoping to be able to spotlight some of the people I’ve looked up to, worked beside on set and learned from personally. Milwaukee in particular, is a city filled with creatives, oftentimes working beside each other but not always intersecting. When I first had the opportunity to work with Immanuel, I was struck by his calm and cool demeanor on set. This is a director who has thought of everything before it could go wrong. In the world of film and television, sets can be a chaotic experience and working with Immanuel Baldwin is walking within the eye of a tornado. 

What kind of filmmaking speaks to you the most as someone who works in a variety of environments from commercial to narrative? 

As someone who works across multiple environments—from commercial to narrative—I am most drawn to filmmaking that blends emotional depth with visual precision. In both commercial and narrative spaces, I find storytelling that challenges the viewer, engages them emotionally, and pushes boundaries to be the most compelling. Whether it's a high-concept ad or an intricate narrative piece, I’m most captivated by work that creates a strong connection with the audience. Surprise and delight. I am particularly inspired by films that employ subtle details and layered storytelling, allowing the visuals, sound, and character development to elevate the narrative. 

Currently, what is the strongest vision or aesthetic that's inspiring your work? 

Right now, I’m very inspired by a balance between high-concept, visuals and deeply human, emotional storytelling. The aesthetic I'm drawn to is one of grounded realism in the emotional moments, contrasted with stylized, almost surreal futurism or minimalism. Currently, I’m learning to tell stories on a macro level with tighter shots altogether. 

What's your favorite part about being a storyteller and filmmaker? 

My favorite part of being a storyteller and filmmaker is the ability to craft something that resonates emotionally and intellectually. I love the challenge of translating complex ideas, emotions, and themes into a language that feels authentic and immersive. There is a unique satisfaction in seeing a story come to life through visuals, sound, and performance—creating an experience that stays with the viewer long after the credits roll. Additionally, I deeply enjoy the collaborative aspect of filmmaking—working with talented people across different disciplines to bring a shared vision to fruition. 

What are some filmmakers or films that have significantly influenced your work? 

I admire directors like Darren Aronofsky for his deep psychological exploration of characters and themes, Alex Garland for his mastery of clinical, dystopian worlds, and Salomon Ligthelm for his textured, emotionally rich storytelling. Each of these filmmakers brings something unique to their work—whether it’s Aronofsky’s disorienting visual style or Garland’s philosophical narrative depth. Their films challenge the viewer and push boundaries in both content and form, which aligns with my own approach to filmmaking. I also find inspiration in stories like Ex Machina Black Mirror, and Swan Song, which all blend technology, emotional storytelling, and social commentary. 

How have you evolved as a filmmaker over time? 

Over time, I’ve evolved into a filmmaker who values not just technical proficiency but the emotional and thematic depth of a story. Early in my career, I focused heavily on the technical aspects of filmmaking. As I’ve matured, I’ve developed a deeper sensitivity to the emotional journey of characters and how visuals can serve the narrative. I’ve also become more comfortable with taking creative risks and experimenting with new styles. And most recently being okay with sitting still for a beat. I think it gets difficult to see other creatives making things while you’re not. It’s been a whirlwind of growth for me to be okay and content with allowing space to think and to rest. 

Find Immanuel Baldwin’s work: @directorbaldwin on Instagram and www.directorbaldwin.com

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Into independent film? Want to learn more?

CopyWrite Magazine is a PROUD Community Partner of Milwaukee Film Fest 2024

It’s about that time!

We are gearing up to indulge in visual narratives on the big screen [& you know we love a good film at /CW]! This years for MFF we chose to be a community partner for screenings that touched on some of our core interest as media makers/lovers, BIPOC representation, and creative flyness. We kept it short & sweet [but you know we won’t be leaving any crumbs].

Check out the films on CopyWrite Magazine hit list [& follow us on Instagram @copywritemag for a chance to win tickets to watch the films with us!]:

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4/13/2024 | 3:45:00 PM | Avalon

OUT OF THE PICTURE | DIR: MARY LOUISE SCHUMACKER

OUT OF THE PICTURE takes us inside the lives of some of the most relevant writers on art today, thinkers who are making sense of a period of unprecedented change to art, media, and society. Director Mary Louise Schumacher led a national survey of more than 300 arts writers across the country, unearthing revelations that are poised to prompt a national conversation about the nature of art, modern life, and how meaning gets made in the 21st century.

PREVIEW

4/22/2024 | 5:00 PM | Downer

SEEKING MAVIS BEACON | DIR: JAZMIN RENEE JONES

One of the most influential Black women in technology is a figment of our collective imagination. Mavis Beacon was invented by the co-founder of Myspace to sell the world’s most popular typing software, but the real woman she was modeled after disappeared in 1995. SEEKING MAVIS BEACON poses critical questions regarding anthropomorphism and the consumption of marginalized bodies in the tech industry, while reimagining the afro-futurist legacy of a missing historical figure.

4/16/2024 | 3:30:00 PM | ORIENTAL THEATRE (Lubar)

YOUNG. WILD. FREE. | DIR: THEMBI L. BANKS

Being a teenager is rough, and Brandon (Algee Smith, 2017 African-American Film Critics Association Best Ensemble Cast winner for Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit) is no different. Between struggling in school, caring for his two younger siblings, and having just been let go from his job, Brandon often uses his art as an escape from the confines of his subdued day-to-day life. Enter Cassidy (Sierra Capri, On My Block), a bedazzled bad girl dripping in confidence, freedom, and danger. Lured in by her whimsy, Brandon teams up with Cassidy, seamlessly slipping into the role of Clyde to her Bonnie as they make their way down an increasingly perilous path.

"Renaissance" | Milwaukee Film Screening

Beyonce’s “Renaissance” film proves to be the model for all concert films! This grand, 3-hour production masterpiece was four years in the making and as I sat in the third row from the big screen at The Oriental, I could tell that not a day was wasted.

“Flaws and All'' & “Dangerously in Love” was the opener and despite its history as a declaration to a lover, in this particular performance, Beyonce allowed herself to be in awe of the moment and sang it as a ballad to her growing audience of almost 30 years and shared some words of affirmation along with it. She was dressed in an ethereal black gown in the first scene which complimented the romanticization of the mutual admiration between herself and the fans, yet it also could be seen as a tamed contrast to the otherworldliness of her later outfits- symbolic of her growth from a pop star to world declared icon. Through her catalog, she humanizes this journey with flashbacks of behind-the-scenes development consisting of aches, pains, hands-on construction, harsh hours, and properly giving out flowers to all who had a hand on this tour. Even to those whose smaller parts have had a great impact on her, like her daughter Blue Ivy, who did not shy away from the stage nor from having a creative opinion. The standard was the method for all to adopt and this large collective crew of artists and otherwise showed true to it by their results. There was positivity depicted in wins of all magnitudes and mishaps that only highlighted the true nature of teamwork and leadership; Trust. However, with being human comes the not-so-great reality as well. A piece of that reality, which may easily be overlooked by many whom it may not concern, is that no matter how many victories your method has produced, being intelligent as a black woman creative doesn’t put one out of range from having ‘them’ (yes ‘them’) attempt to try you mentally. When approached with such bravado, Beyonce’s only response was fearlessly remembering to choose to stand in her own authority rather than giving into the regret of the so-called stigma of being assertive with high demands. Who's to say how long it has been that Beyonce has truly felt within herself the courage to see through to getting her way at all times and at all costs but mastering that commitment can make an established art form to those on the outside feel renewed to the one inside.

As narrated and depicted through and through, the Renaissance is not just an era or a stage, it's a transcendence of a culture and the individuals in it. As the most catered-to audience (haha-wink), the African Diaspora, whether they be man, woman, straight, LGBTQIA+, adult, child, African or Black American, and so forth, vicariously experienced the glamor of our multifaceted culture through time via this tour. It is a great hoorah! moment for all leaving no question that Beyonce is a voice for every creed and that the modern approach is historically unapologetic.

/Naomi-Re’a CW

SnapShot Press Release | To Be Seen [Milwaukee Film Festival 2023]

We love the Milwaukee Film Festival, not just because it's the one time of year we can do our job while sitting around eating popcorn [yes, we will mention popcorn every year because we trying to get a popcorn stipend too lol]. But because every year it gets better. More films we love, more screenings of things we are interested in, and more programming that makes us feel seen. Being seen is something that is undervalued. But we know that representation changes how the world engages with differences. It is how we find understanding in the unknown and clarity in a vision that is not our own. CopyWrite explored the Milwaukee Film Fest 2023 through the joy of being SEEN, and here is what we found. 

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BAD PRESS [Directors: Rebecca Landsberry-Baker & Joe Peeler]

We take our profession seriously!

Where it is in CopyWrite’s nature to bend the rules, redefine tradition, and grapple with the culture of “Media” we do so with care [& strategy], that is thoroughly directed by research, transparency, grappling with the woes of disenfranchisement, and engrained with the responsibility of Free Press. So when these ideologies were at risk of being dismantled in  Directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler, “Bad Press”, my soul jumped out of my chest and I felt that my own livelihood was on the line. 

If you look up the saying, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything”, a picture of Angel Ellis should be attached. Her controversial approach to defending Muscogee Nation against press censorship is GAWDS WORK, okay! To not only go against a political institution, but also the corruption that is unnerved by the historical rhetoric of Native American need for sovereignty, had everyone I saw in the film screening break into mass hysteria [or was it just me?]. 

With this feverish concept that the press is a unneeded, sh*t show of falsity in today’s society, running at an all time high, to note that my freedoms as a “media maker” are seldom called into question, had me in tears for Angel and her other “native” press counterparts. How dare anyone try to put their hyperbolic feet on the necks of truth [just because it's not always pretty]. How dare you use the tactics of your oppressors on your own people [my Choctaw, Blackfoot, and Cherrokee blood was boiling]. How can you not see that the historical lack of information to these people has left them all traumatized by genocide and the true ills of treason. 

Lexi acting like she wasn’t just crying after the screening of bad press

Every time Angel's anxiety shot her into a frenzy that sent her running to the door to spark a cigarette, [I don’t smoke] but I felt the need to light one up with her. The attempt to get protection of the Free Press as an amendment to their nation's constitution was unprecedented in “Indian” Country but with Angel, and the true staff of Mvskoke Media, the fight was on. I think “Bad Press” should be a reminder to all that what is privileged in your reality is not inherent in all futures, cultures, and lands. 

Just know at CopyWrite, if we have to fight for our rights, we absolutely will. They will never take our voice!

Lexi for /CW

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BLACK LENS SHORTS: BLACK REMEMBRANCE

Somebody clap for this year's Black Lens Programmers, because THEY - DID- THAT!

You don’t even know how good it feels to be SEEN. Not that fake “lets hit this quota” monotony most institutions try to pass off as diversity & inclusion [Y’all are shamefully fake] but the real attempt to dig into culture as a reflection of its genius as nuanced as a day in the life of some, not all, and more, not less. The Black Lens shorts at Milwaukee Film Fest 2023, did that for me.

proof we were there!

Eye for an I [Director: James Grisom]: To be seen Vulnerable. This short is a music note of the burden of Blackness & the beauty that straddles that space. If you love hard it may mean death comes with vengeance. If you forgive easily, that puts you at risk. It is a trauma we did not create but a lexicon that gathers a dark cloud above our legacy. The rules of engagement simply mean we never win.

By Water [Director: Iyabo Kwayana]: To Create a sense of seeing. This short had me like, “What in the Black art school?”. And that tickled me. It tickled me because in my life that was the space I felt the most unseen. Where representation is not only willed by those inhabiting the space, it is disregarded by the work that they make. The characters seen in “By Water” of curly fro like beards and fluffy naturals on well groomed women are not common. Nor do they ever allow for the Black image to be whirled into the figurative where nature is as natural as the city and black memory is championed by Black creation of new or different worlds. I like that space of little clarity and big exploration.

Port of a Prince [Director: JR Aristide]: To never Unsee. This short is the moment when you finally can stomach that you too are desensitized. Desensitized by violence, corruption, and the ills of capitalism. You can't unsee the first death, and somehow every death of innocence, youth, friendship, family. . .it all just becomes a thing you live with. This is the untold truth of the African Diaspora, we have suffered so now we still suffer, at the hands of many and even our own. Don’t you ever put a gun in the hands of a child, for that is the moment they will unsee what joy life can bring.

T [Director: Keisha Rae Witherspoon]: To be seen Vividly: It is the cadence of art. It is culture and freedom. It is neon lights and innsense. It is memorial tee’s and talking spirits. It is to live beyond the time you are alive. Now without context you probably have no idea what this movie is about, but everything in me said this was for homegoings and healing. This is for my people and after looking at the shorts description, everything in me was right.

We Were Meant To [Director: Tari Wariebi]: To be seen in Flight. Why are we great like that? The metaphorical thought of rite of passage for Black men as the first time he takes flight sent me! It was clever in its social commentary, “The No Fly Zone”, is everywhere you are Black man. To have your wings clipped is a way to keep you down, without, undervalued. And the production was clean! It was thoughtful and nuanced beyond need [the Vitruvian man with wings] but because it was I bought into it like it was a thread of reality that was beyond plausible. It had me grappling with the surveillance of Black bodies [is this body not my own?]. It had me checking for my own super pours [& as a Black woman I know I have many]. This was by far one of the best films I have seen in my life because I know what it feels like to fly without wings.

Lexi for /CW

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DEAR THIRTEEN [Director: Alexis Neophytides]

The world has changed a hell of alot since I was thirteen. That was circa *cough cough* LOL, social media was in its infancy, my mother was still trying to hide our working class poverty from me, and there was no wifi [first world problems]. So to see life through the eyes of today’s thirteen year old is an unsavory pill to swallow, yet it comes with a glimmer of hope that this generation is not lost, but very much misunderstood.

Being Thirteen is weird!

You're in this inbetween space where you're not a little kid anymore but you still don't have the full blown privileges of a teenager. It’s like being in limbo and that purgatory at minimum lasts a full calendar year [Yikes!]. But the issues of the world are noticeable at that age. The fears of the future strike you and thus it is a period of grounding oneselves, as depicted by the film, that gets lost in translation. Who narrates for this age? Only someone in the thick of it can. So the lack of adult commentary [besides editing] was vital to noting, thirteen year olds have something profound to say!

We brought our fifteen year old “intern” to see the film and she too had to reflect on who she is and why she is in this space in time. Too see that reckoning kindled by a global perspective of young reality, she murmured, “That was good to see”, which is more than enough in our book.

LEXI & /CW YOUTH INTERN JAZALE AFTER SCREENING OF DEAR THIRTEEN

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“Dear Thirteen” is something that everyone, but especially everyone who has a child should watch. Often, adults tend to feel like teenagers don’t have problems.There is this belief that since a child is free from the burden of finances and large responsibilities like mortgages and car notes, that they live a worry and stress free life. But on the contrary, “Dear Thirteen” narrates how society impacts the lives of children in the same ways they do for adults. Each of those 9 children, whether they were a gun-toting American boy or an Australian trans girl starting her first day of puberty blockers, will all experience things that will transcend race, gender, socio-economic class, or geographical location. I appreciate the lengths Alexis Neophytides went to to establish diversity. I believe it really helps the claim that although we all come from different places, there are life experiences we all share. Australia, America, India, Europe, no matter where you are, adolescent years come with similar trials and tribulations. This film wasn’t a tearjerker, it wasn’t a comedy or a horror, it was the reality of adolescence and a voice for the unheard 13 year olds around the world.

Lexi & Peazy for /CW

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LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING [Director: Lisa Cortés]

“Tooty Fruity” was the first song that I ever heard by Little Richard before I knew who he was. It was considered “grown folks music”, the stuff you can’t listen to because it has too many foul words or because they’re talking about some that isn't appropriate for your age. But that only increased my fascination which ignited the interest to find out who Little Richard was.

Lisa Cortes’ documentary puts to bed everything you THINK you know about the true King of Rock and Roll. Richard was labeled as “the one of a kind icon that shaped the world of music” and throughout the story that claim has been supported a thousand times over. But she also focuses on the imbalance Little Richard faced, which truly intrigued me because I think this a battle we’ve all faced: the battle between secular and sacred. On one hand, Little Richard is a worldly icon, doused in glitter and gold from his wardrobe to his makeup, he is the king of a people yearning for soulful music. On the other hand, in his heart he knows he should not conform to the desires of this world because he’s called to be a servant of God and create a new foundation not built on sex and fame but the love and obedience to God. I think it’s these details that fans don’t know that allow them to create the idea that celebrities aren’t human. Some of the most notable names recalled the best and worst times with Richard: Billy Porter, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, John Waters, Pat Boone, amongst others.

Richard Wayne Penniman is not unlike many other queer or trans people who’ve been outed by the ones that they love and forced to create a new family through a talent like music or art. He is one of the blueprints to androgyny and queerness, one that has even now, in 2023 remained relevant because so many people can now be comfortable in their identity because of artists like Little Richard. Lisa Cortes accurately depicted each phase of Richard’s life. In the church where it all started, to the stage where he grew into an icon, back to the church where he renewed his faith and restored his relationship with God, and then the end of his story.

I appreciate Cortes’ understanding of representation in music, not only do I believe this greatly directed documentary re-established that Richard was the true originator of rock but it gave space for his intersectionality. Richard Wayne Penniman was a queer, black, Christian, rock and roll artist and creator. He walked so our generation could run, and “Little Richard: I Am Everything” depicts that in the most notorious way.

Peazy for /CW

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RISE AND REBUILD: A TALE OF THREE CITIES [Directors: Asako Gladsjo & Sam Pollard]

We chose, “Rise and Rebuild: A Tale of Three Cities” as our community partnership film because when the world see’s Black America it often sees what we don’t have and not what we have had that has generationally been taken from us. Where the film captures Wilmington's Brooklyn, Atlanta's Sweet Auburn, and Chicago's Bronzeville, those localities might as well be Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, Detroit's Black Bottom [Lafayette], and Milwaukee’s original Bronzeville. But with Tulsa being a trendy storyline Directors Asako Gladsjo and Sam Pollard thought it best to highlight these other narratives that hold just as much weight. The pivot to black communities that once prospered, were harmed, and now are looking to reinvigorate their communities as they rebuild are stories that should be cautionary [as gentrification is at an all time high] and inspiring as now more than ever before the Black dollar, the Black education, and the Black voice has leverage.

The quote, “It's not about politics. It’s about people”, that Mayor khalid kamau of South Fulton said during the film, was one of those notes I don't think enough people comprehend. At the end of the day the value of our quality of life is not determined by the parlor tricks of politics but the people who enforce politics as a tool in which one secures the value of that quality of life.

I saw my city in that film. I saw our hardships like a mirror. I know what is at risk if we don’t carve out the infrastructure and let “them” take the wheel. We don't want a repeat. We want ground breaking change. This film shows us exactly what that can look like.

Lexi for /CW

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THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER [Director: Bomani J. Story]

Viewing “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster”, a top-tier thriller/suspense film that in my opinion personified the pain of a Black child’s trauma surrounding death, was a pleasure. Although inspired by Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, this film provokes deep thought about the trauma of experiencing death at a young age and how death is disproportionately in closer proximity to Black children more than it provokes goosebumps. Vicaria, the main character, is almost stalked with gun violence as it has plagued her family, killing her mother and her big brother. Meanwhile, on the opposite end her father is still alive but fighting the battle of addiction that will ultimately lead to an untimely demise. Life hasn't always been like this for Vicaria, we see this through Bomani J. Story’s allusion to better times during the intro of the film. Evidence that Vicaria has a loving relationship with her father and a pretty normal life outside of her mad science lab is pretty clear; the only thing that is truly wrong with this seemingly normal teenager is her perception of death.

Because of the randomness and aggressiveness of her mother and brother’s death, Vicaria is convinced that death is a disease, one that can be cured through science. Through the doors of her abandoned science lab, Vicaria takes the body of her slain brother and attempts to revive him to prove that death can be cured. She connects every source of power to his lifeless body, hits a switch, and after a citywide power outage, the monster awakens. But things start to get out of hand quickly, “Frankenstein” has no concept of life, he only knows death and to destroy.

As the plot thickens, Vicaria’s invention has taken his place as a true monster, [& here is the part where I am tempted to give the full story away]. In the end, she has no brother, no mother, father, family or even Kango and his henchmen, which in my opinion validated her hypothesis that death is in fact a disease. Once it claims someone close to you, the cycle continues until there is no one left to kill. I wouldn’t categorize this as horror, this film falls more on the suspense spectrum but the suspense kept us at the edge of our seats at every turn. Bomani took a classic horror story and turned it into an attempt to fix and cure what we have all deemed as incurable, and it worked. The ending scene shows a scientific genius grin into the camera as she brings her sister in law back to life using the same tactics she used before only this time…they WORK! I loved this film and I truly believe Bomani J. Story has earned his flowers.

Peazy for /CW

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BLACK LENS PRESENTS WRITING IN COLOR [Event]

Santana Coleman, Paulina Lule, Derek Jay Garlington DURING WRITING IN COLOR PANEL

I love to write, but I’m not sure if writing a movie is the best place for my skills. However, after attending, Writing In Color, I might just change my mind. Because the word from the judges is i [& my random collaborative team] are pretty good at it. Well, at least that little trophy sitting on my desk says so.

Being at Radio Milwaukee [my media home away from home] for an event that showcases film through the writer's lens was fascinating. Did you know that there are local & Black filmmakers accessible to you in Milwaukee? I Stan [as the kids say Lol]. The panel to bless us with insight about the film industry at a micro and macro level included Milwaukee’s very own Emmy Award winner, Santana Coleman, the amazing Paulina Lule, and Pitch It To Me, game designer Derek Jay Garlington. They told us their perspectives of the tumultuous realm we call Hollywood, the glory of having Milwaukee [a non permit film city], and the nuance of being Black in the world of film. When creatives get to speak no holds bar, I live. You can always learn something worth holding on to.

But it was the game for me! Pitch It To Me, is a fun way to get those gears turning in your head. The game is noted to be “your chance to pitch the next hit film or tv show! Pitch It To Me is an entertaining card game that builds collaboration and creativity through the journey of storytelling”. And it did just that. My team won the pitch competition by putting together a new era story of Isis and Osiris set in dystopia Milwaukee. We named it, Gods of The Eastside. We set Tyana Taylor as Isis and Damson Idris as Osiris and it was a rap!

“If you're scared just say that!”, was my snark at the competition [but I don’t talk sh*t unless I can back it up].

Like I said, the trophy is sitting on my desk.

Lexi for /CW

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To be seen in film is to be seen in mediated reality. We love it. Please keep it going!

Love & All Things Urban,

/CW Fam

Snap Shot Press Release: Cultural (big “C”) Complexities | Milwaukee Film Festival 2022

It’s the smell of popcorn topped with butter, salt, and yeast (let's call it a brew city delicacy). It’s the sky blue backdrop (also known as a step & repeat) adorned with a white iris-like logo that screams “pose for the camera”. It's the ornate walls and the grandiose statues of Buddha, watching in an omnipotent way. It is the marquee that has read many titles and that knows many stories. It is the Milwaukee Film Festival taking on its true form; re-emerging on the big screen.

CopyWrite’s coverage of Milwaukee Film Festival 2022, is a compilation of perspectives, trying to sample the ample platter of cinematic programming that was served. Where in past years our favorite moments have always been the local music videos and documentaries that comment on creative communities, this year we navigated the Cultural (big “C”) complexities of film in multiple genres, advancing our engagement in Black Lens programming, and of course, indulged in all things Milwaukee specific. As a Community Partner for four films this year, we felt even more involved in the action and how our audience might engage with everything that Milwaukee Film Festival had to offer. The most exciting part is that many of the perspectives we will be sharing here are from journalists who are first-time festival-goers, whose naivete in what to expect created opportunities to just experience the moment and view the world through many curated eyes.

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Community Partner Film Selects

BEBA [Director: Rebeca Huntt]

Rebecca Huntt, a young Afro-Latina woman from New York, allows us to travel with her through history as she recalls her childhood. BEBA, from toddler to adolescent, is faced with challenges like many of us. The unspoken, but identified, generational trauma she experiences has cultivated her into the woman she is. The anger she exudes when things don’t go her way, the coping mechanisms she’s learned along the way, everything no matter how bad or good, it’s BEBA. She eloquently displayed the attitude of “if you don’t like it, you don’t have to deal with it”.

I especially admired the vulnerability of the entire film. We see first hand how the generational trauma and mental illness takes a toll when she interacts with her mother versus her father. 

The reason I admire this is because the dynamic of mother and daughter relationships is being highlighted and it’s something I believe should be talked about more. Her mother constantly victimizes herself and places the label of “aggressor” on BEBA. Meanwhile, the interactions with her father are more relaxed and calm, as if she feels more secure or safer there. She even depicts the most traumatic moments of her life like losing her former lover to suicide. I think the karaoke scene was the most touching, I actually cried mid-scene. 

Another notable moment consisted of BEBA and three of her White friends having a conversation about “Black Lives Matter”. The frustration BEBA got was sent through the screen. Honestly it was a comedic but empathetic moment because as funny as it is when people try to “white-splain” (is that a word? We just made it one if it’s not) Black issues, it’s also SO frustrating and tiring to constantly have to be the mouthpiece for the Black voice. “WHY AM I THE ONE WHO HAS TO ANSWER THAT?”, she annoyingly screams to her roommates. James Baldwin describes this as something called “the burden of representation”, the idea that ONE Black person must speak for and advocate on behalf of all others simply because they’re Black.  

This activated some thought provoking conversations in the movie and a simultaneous roar of laughter from the crowd. I could go on and on raving about this film, but all-in-all BEBA was amazing! Rebecca Hunt is a prodigious screenwriter and I can’t wait to see more from her! 

/Pam

LET THE LITTLE LIGHT SHINE [Director: ​​Kevin Shaw]

“Let The Little Light Shine'' by Kevin Shaw was extremely moving to say the least. This film entails and follows the journey of a self-made prestigious, predominantly black elementary school community that fights against Chicago Public Schools to maintain their status as an elementary school. Parents, students and staff work day and night to prove that the school's community is more than just protocol, it's a family. Through pain, protest and lots of turmoil, this documentary catches the heart strings of its viewers while also bringing awareness of a much bigger crisis in Chicago: The mass closings of schools. This is an extremely important film because of the parallels it exposes to our very own public education here, in Milwaukee. 

Milwaukee is no stranger to pain and protest as we’ve made national news for it several times. The power of protest is something that’s unexplaining. It’s an experience you have to be a part of to really understand the emotions and willingness to break societal norms in order to make sure your voice is heard. Countless times in this particular film, they found themselves civilly disturbing conversations about destroying their community. What does this look like? This looks like taking people to the streets and in buildings to be heard and seen. This looks like sacrificing your normality. This looks like sacrificing respectability politics. This looks like taking control of the narrative. This looks like getting external help. This looks like hiring lawyers and making noise about mistreatment. This film shows you that in black and white. It’s not hard to digest, it’s not overtly biased, it is just their truth. 

The truth is that it’s not a “Chicago” issue. It’s a national issue and that includes Milwaukee. It’s been known for quite some time that Milwaukee Public Schools is not at all what it could be at its full potential. After countless school closings and poor funding, MPS has been diminished to a similar situation with school overcrowding and strained educational resources.  I feel as though this film can spark a new conversation about modern education in other cities outside of Chicago because the film shows that with persistence and protest, anything is possible. There is light at the other end of the tunnel.

/Imani 

Queen of Glory [Director: Nana Mensah]

Our imperfections, upbringing, and lived experiences make us who we are, but how we choose to project them defines what the world sees us as. Nana Mensah’s, Queen of Glory, is a prime example of the cultural complexities of the human experience. It was comedic, reflective, and gave commentary on multifaceted lifestyles. Sarah, also played by Mensah, was brilliant, considering how publicly deprived she is of her true self. Who are we when no one is watching? It is a question that I kept mulling over after seeing the film and it unearthed an analysis of “expectations” society fosters.

Losing a parent is a traumatic experience that most of us are expected to encounter at some point in life. And for those of us who have “tasking” relationships with our parents the ability to navigate their final wishes will seem burdensome. For Sarah, it was clear that she had some obligatory responsibilities to her mother's business and social affairs. But as a first-generation Ghanaian-American, her mother's Christian bookstore and multi-celebratory funeral were not the situations she was trying to get mixed up in. But who is going to do it? Who is going to take on that role if you decide to neglect it? Not her father who was fighting his own disrespectful ways of coping [Get that ol’ heffa out of her mama house sir!]. But Pitt, a Tattooed faced felon played by Euphoria’s Mouse [​​Meeko Gattuso], just does not fit the “stereotypical” profile of a good guy [But see it’s the Bible Bars keeping that store litty]. Oh, and that life that she thought she had set up in Ohio was a bust [ you can’t run from your problems, they always catch up.]. The expectations were the issue, the choices decided from taking L’s in the lived experiences were the solutions. Everybody was wrong from one perspective and right from another. It was something like, an unbalanced balance. 

With authentically warm cinematography, and the interwoven cultural practices depicted, Queen of Glory is a film that leaves the audience with a voice that is not often heard. Because listen. . . When she took those tracks out of her hair, I sighed with relief to see the woman she truly was. 

Not just some women, but a “Queen” of glory

/Lexi 

THE MILWAUKEE SHOW I 

We had the pleasure of viewing this years’ screening of “The Milwaukee Show I” at the Milwaukee Film Festival. This particular showing is a very popular event, as it shows 10 different shorts, films, documentaries and music videos that allow us to be immersed into different cultures, ideologies and communities. The best part? While their films may have global influence, the filmmakers are locals! I got a chance to hear from some of the many directors about their films:

Britany Gunderson, Director of “Building an Edge'', described the short film as “Seeking out the edges of a landscape you've never been to, we keep finding ourselves at the center of something.”

Inna Dmitrieva, Director of “Landays”, enlightened us on how they couldn’t show the woman who was reciting lines for the film for security reasons, as women do not have certain freedoms in Afghanistan.

Diya Gitanjali Mark, Director of “The Waiting Room”, says her inspiration for the purgatory-like film was actually Spotify’s Wrapped feature. She thought “What if we saw our lives wrapped after death?”

Barry Paul Clark, the Director of “Enough is revealed in the way you wait, and in the way you leap”, shared with us that he improvised all editing while listening to his very own album. Talk about inspiration! 

Justin Goodrum, Director of “The Stigma of the Durag” said during the Q & A following the screening that, “I’m still learning as a filmmaker how to take what happens in my personal life  and change them into cinematic moments.”

Hearing from all of these directors was vital to me because they all carried themselves completely different – just as their films were. Some were shy, some were confident, some were very straight to the point but all flowing with their film. 

Considering I’ve never been to a film festival before, this was a perfect introduction into the world of film. I was extremely impressed with the variety of content and genres during this specific show of screenings. It didn’t seem as if there was another underlying theme besides the directors being locals, which is important because it was still cohesive. A lot of times when seeing films too similar in nature in one sitting, it can be aggy and uninteresting after a while. The idea of ‘local minds creating global insight’ is a powerful message to send in a city that's considered to be filled with underdogs. With a show as meaningful and complex as “The Milwaukee Show I,” I would gladly stop by again next year and the year after that!

While CopyWrite is a proud community partner of the Milwaukee Film Festival, what makes our job even easier is digesting top tier content. The Milwaukee Show is not something you’d ever want to miss. 

/Imani 

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#ForTheCulture [& other /CW Like Things]

Bitch Ass [Director: Bill Posley]

First, let me set the record straight. I don’t do horror films. 

I’m leery when it comes to things that could happen in real life [like psychopathic neighbors, demon summoning Brujeria, killer A.I. taking over the world]. I mean, seriously, I get spooked [‘cus anything can happen LOL]. So how did I wind up attending Bill Posley's urban horror flick Bitch Ass? Well, it was the trailer at the Black Lens kick-off event that pulled me in. With the original CANDYMAN, Tony Todd, giving a pensive yet comedic narrative of the tale we would be watching unfold, I was torn between laughter and fear, and I had to find out why.

It was ridiculously EPIC!

There was not enough popcorn, candy, or vodka spritzers in the theater to keep my mouth stuffed enough to stop me from talking to the screen [which is usually a frowned-upon practice in a public setting] but I was not alone. Voices from around the theater chimed in with laughter, blurts of disbelief like “How Sway?”, and the effervescent rounds of “Oh Hell Naw!”. It was crazy and culturally comforting because if you know the joy of a good Blaxploitation film you know that it is the margin of familiarity that gets you going. The “common” characters of “urban” life [read between the lines] looped into this not so “fun house” and those ‘80s Street Fighter game-like graphics were just the right balance of humor to displace the blood splatter and torture that would normally have me gripping my seat in a panic. 

What Bitch Ass provided was a moment to be unapologetically unprepared for a movie. I could have never anticipated where the story would go, and how engaged the audience would be with the film. But just like many other horror films, there was a lesson to be learned. . . watch how you treat people. You never know when their “bitch ass” is going to come back and f*ck you up! 

[Explicit vocabulary required *wink wink*]

/Lexi

Check out post-audience reactions to Bitch Ass, captured by Tanasia Shaw [ /CW Intern Journalist].

Black Lens Shorts: Black Love Through a Black Lens

For the 2022 Milwaukee Film Festival, we attended the screening of “Black Lens Shorts: Black Love Through a Black Lens”. This collection of shorts truly details Black love through different lenses, as it not only focuses on the intimate love between two people, but the love for our culture and the love we have for one another as Black people. From the first film to the last my eyes were attached to the screen, I thoroughly enjoyed each film starting with Friendzone LA. 

Friendzone LA [Director: Angel Kristi Williams] 

At first, I was surprised by the fact that there was no dialogue between characters in the film, only music. But the soulful sounds of the R&B music and the chemistry of both friends spoke louder than any script. It seems innocent enough but as the 3 minute film progresses, the love that this man has for his best friend becomes noticeable and I start to understand the title. Director, Angel Kristi Williams really highlighted how silent adoration can speak volumes. 

Gales [Director: Ingred Prince & Tshay]

This was my absolute FAV! Nurse Indigo is trying to balance a work/school life and a love life. In the interim she runs into so many obstacles. One friend’s encouragement and another’s discouragement, mixed with her need to study for nursing school, pulls her back and forth but ultimately she decides to treat herself to the date. The whole plot of the movie is so relatable, for one because as a Black woman I can say that I find it hard to find a balance between work and pleasure because of the minuscule amount of guilt that trails my decision if I choose the latter over work. And just when she FINALLY makes the decision to choose pleasure, she OVERSLEPT for the date and misses it! I was in the theater punching the air y’all! Overall, I loved this film. It was funny, it was relatable, and it kept me engaged. Shoutout to Ingred Prince and Tshay on their amazing film. 

Pure [Director: Natalie Jasmine Harris]

I loved this film in its entirety. The main character lives a life that’s been defined by others: how she should live, how she should love, what love looks like, etc. It’s amazing to watch her come into the discovery of what she truly likes no matter what anyone else thinks. I especially loved the ending at the cotillion when she danced with her lover in spite of what others may have thought. Love is love, and no matter where you come from or what others may have taught you to believe, love will always be love. Natalie Jasmine Harris, thank you for this experience.

Things At Rest [Director: Desirae Lee]

All I kept repeating as I left the theater was “GIVE ME BACK MY STUFF!!” If you’ve seen “For Colored Girls” or “Beauty Salon” you’d understand the feels that this film gave me. The parts of both of those movies where the elders recited spoken word to uplift their sisters was so similar to Things At Rest. The tribal dance and the clips of Black aesthetics! This whole film was like a compilation of how dope Black people are and I lived! 

Reasons [Director: Yvette Pabon]

This SHORT film needs to be an entire film. Y’all remember how Brenda was in the movies on “Scary Movie”? That was ME! “I know he didn’t just hit her!!!” “Why doesn’t she just date the milk man?” “I KNOWWW he ain’t cheating in a house he don’t pay bills in, I just know”. The main character struggles with being a single mother and truly understanding her value as a partner, so much so that although she really likes one guy, she can’t seem to escape the other. And the reason this was so good to me is because it speaks volumes about “broken homes”. They’ve always been defined as places where two parents aren’t together but the REAL brokenness comes from the forcing two people to tolerate each other for the sake of their child. She moves away from this narrative as she stands her ground and advocates for herself and her happiness. And in the end she got the fairy tale ending! 10/10 I loved! 

Pink and Blue [Director: Carmen LoBue]

Director Carmen LoBue tells a story of a trans couple who’s expecting a new baby. The conflict of the film comes from within the relationship, contrary to what I thought before the film started. From misgendering their child to figuring out just how they will raise their baby in a world so set on labeling everyone, this couple is determined to succeed in this thing called parenting. 

You Can’t Stop Spirit [Director: Vashni Korin]

I almost booked a flight to New Orleans after I saw this film. Because before this, I never knew much about Mardi Gras culture. The Baby Doll masking tradition is something started by Black women that allows them to be free and liberated and unapologetically Black. The costumes are beautiful and the honor of becoming a Baby Doll is something that’s coveted by young women all around New Orleans. This powerful ensemble of women sent a vibration through the cinema. 

Postmates [Director: Grasie Mercedes]

This film was simple but the message was clear as day: PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SPOUSE! The wife is bored with everyday life, her routines are becoming mundane. So to get excitement, she constantly orders Postmates and entangles the delivery driver into a web of conversations and “therapist” like questions, leaving them in a mist of confusion as her husband comes home and forces her to release them. And to some people, this would be an obvious sign that she needs companionship. But her husband seems oblivious to the fact, maybe it’s because he’s consumed by working 12 and 16 hour shifts or maybe he truly doesn’t notice. But in the end, her feelings go unnoticed and her husband goes to bed. I feel you girl, I feel you. Shoutout to Gracie Mercedes for being a voice for women who go through this silently! 

Seeing that this was my first film festival, I had no preconceived notions. I didn’t know what to expect but what I received was an authentic, enlightening, comedic and heartfelt experience. Each of these films, none lasting any longer than 22 minutes, taught me some sort of lesson at the end. Whether it was to appreciate your relationships or prioritize self care, I was highly satisfied with each film of this short series and I can’t wait for next year! 

/Pam

Look At Me: XXXtentacion [Director Sabaah Folayan]

As Milwaukee Film Fest neared its conclusion, a film tribute to someone who was larger than life was a proper end to this celebration of the cinematic mastery and video documentation.

Look At Me is a grand opportunity to get an unveiled view of the lifestyle of JahSeh “XXXtentacion” Onfroy. Director Sabaah Folayan and Producer Chloe Campion carefully and honestly depicted the high highs and the low lows of this modern day rockstar, with the grace of his mother Cleopatra Bernard, they were able to artistically guide us through his musical journey, from his serendipitous beginnings to his rise to fame becoming the voice of many troubled youth, to his tragic murder in 2018. This film exposed him to be as imperfect as they come; as imperfect as anyone else. 

Many dynamics and relationship perspectives were given from friends like rapper Ski Mask the Slump God, his mother, his ex-girlfriend, and we even were given a short glance of the fatherhood situation that would have become an addition to his life just before his death. Though there were a few broken hearts leaving the theater due to the disappointment in ‘X’s reality, this film shows that telling all stories is of some importance and that the motivation to live a good life can come from the darkest of moments, even when they are not your own.

/Naomi Rea’

GRAIN [Directed by Alex Contell & Tomasso Sacconi]

Through the literal lens of professional and beginner photographers, whether published or just an admirer of the everyday Kodak Moment, GRAIN brings forth the pride of analogue and the weight that it holds in a digital age. For anyone in the audience who is a fan of film photography, watching the process from lens to dark room would be nothing short of satisfying. Many would detest a full length film dedicated to film, but there is a humanity in the art that Directors Alex Contell and Tomasso Sacconi deemed worthy to capture. If this film does anything it will prove two things to be true: 

1. In a physical world, physical mementos are good for the psyche 

And - 

2. The ways of old will always find their way back to the present

Seeing film on film is just different.

/Naomi Rea’

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Honorable Mentions

The Exchange. In White America. Kaukauna & King 50 Years Later [Director: Joanne Williams]

In 1966, during the Civil Rights era, students from Rufus King High School and Kaukauna High School participated in an exchange program that culminated in a production of Martin Duberman’s play ‘In White America.’ Over fifty years later, the original students who participated were able to come together with a new generation reprising the play at King. I got the chance to speak with Joanne Williams, the mastermind behind this documentary, and find out how this all came about.

CW: “You said you started this back in 2016, how are you feeling at this moment now that the public is able to see this film you’ve been working so hard on?”

Joanne: “I was very happy that they laughed in the right spots and cried in the right spots. I think everybody got the message of the film which is empathy, optimism and hope. I’m glad it’s now out in the world.”

CW: “What would you say was the hardest part about putting it all together? Because like you said, there was a lot of film to go through. Was that the toughest part you would say?”

Joanne: “No, the toughest part was raising the money to pay for it, which I’m still doing. It won’t all be paid off for a while, but that was very difficult.”

CW: “Is there somewhere people can donate?”\

Joanne: “Yes, you can send a check to Milwaukee Film in care of The Exchange.”

CW: “The part that was interesting to me was the actual exchange, it was deeper than just the play. And I see what type of benefit that it really had for the community to do it. Do you think that it would be beneficial to keep that going with MPS schools and suburban schools that we have throughout Wisconsin, so people can see both sides?”

Joanne: “Well it would have to be an exchange like they did at Kaukauna and King. Not just a day or two. . . they literally lived with families for a month in both communities and they were immersed in their communities. So I think it would be worth it but it takes a lot of work to do that kind of exchange. If some school district or two school districts want to do that work, I say go for it! They can watch the film and be inspired.”

CW: “Exactly. Now with King, they just did the ‘In White America’ play back in 2016 and you had your hand in that, I’m sure that felt like a full circle moment, so how was it?” 

Joanne: “It was pretty emotional. I was happy to be back in my high school and watch them do the play in the same classroom that I had theater classes in. And I was glad to see that 50 years later a new generation with a multi-ethnic cast could do the play.”

CW: “How did you get everyone back together again from 1966? We have social media now so it helps, but getting everyone together, was that difficult?”

Joanne: “Well, we didn’t get everybody, we got many of them. And it was difficult to find people because they’re [the original exchange students] all over the country. Actually, we got together on one day and did the interviews, so that was a big challenge. I’m still in touch with them and hope to talk to them in the future and let them see the film. But that was a big challenge. There were a lot of days that were very rough.”

CW: “What inspired you to create this film?”

Joanne: “I knew about the story. I had the story in the back of my mind and in the back of my files for 50 years. I just was busy doing TV news, anchoring and reporting and didn’t have time to devote to do this. After I retired and found this newspaper in a box marked high school stuff, as Christina said, we looked at the King’s page and said, ‘This is a story and it’s time to tell it’.”

CW:  “And you are a great story teller so I feel like this is perfect for you. What’s next for you? Do you think you want to do more films or was this just the one film you wanted to do because it was a story that had significant meaning to you?”

Joanne: “I would like to continue doing films. I would like to work on other people’s films. But we have to get through this and then we have 10 other film festivals to which we submitted, so I may be going all around the country showing it at other festivals.”

CW: “What do you think the viewers here took from watching the film?”

Joanne: “I hope they got the feeling of how important it is to get to know people who are different from you, but you’ll have to ask them how they felt. I would love to hear what they thought!”

Although most of the people who watched the film were gone by the time Joanne and I finished chatting, I can honestly say I think the overall consensus of the film from everyone was well received. Like Joanne mentioned, you could hear and feel the crowd sharing the same emotions together either through a laugh or a cry and it was refreshing. 

After all that the United States has been through the last eight years or so–being in the Trump era, the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement and of course we can’t forget COVID bullying its way into our lives–it’s not often I find wholesome content that makes me have faith in humanity. However, watching The Exchange I was pleasantly surprised by the actions from Joanne Williams and her peers. With the exchange happening during the Civil Rights era, I wasn’t expecting to see the outcome be so successful. I would love to see if this type of exchange could work again today in 2022 mostly because I think with all that has been going on, there’s a disconnect between humanity. But if you want to make the world a better place, there’s no better place to start than with the kids – they are our future. 

/Carrie

THE STIGMA OF THE DURAG [Director: Justin Goodrum]

Give Justin Goodrum his flowers, a big tub of wave grease, and a couple thousand dollars [if you have it], for his short film, The Stigma of the Durag. His film was noted as an honorable mention amongst for the Cream City Cinema Jury Award, [which if he had won would have given him $5,000] and was a part of the Milwaukee Show I [one of CopyWrite Magazine’s Community Sponsored showings]. The Durag, is a utilitarian-cultural symbol that has been worn through the intimate confines of the Black home, out through the multifaceted terrain we call neighborhoods, right into the media spotlight of Hip Hop, and now floor length interpretations are making appearances on the most prestigious fashion runways of the world [Society, you’re welcome!].

So why is there a disconnect between what a durag is and who wears them? Justin gave us the run down on his film and the narrative he is confronting for the culture.

CW: “The Stigma of the Durag, how did you come up with that concept?”

JG: “It actually came from a project that I am working on that is more of a narrative and a feature film.  I wanted to include an experience that I had in college where I was putting my durag on at night and one of my roommates asked me if I was in a gang.”

CW: “I’m assuming this was a Caucasian roommate?”

JG: “Yes, and it was crazy because the thing is he really didn’t know and I always explain to people that my roommates were all cool. . .”

CW: “But if there is a cultural difference, where you are a person who doesn't need a durag or has never had that experience [outside of media] how would they know?”

JG: “Even the other producer on the project, I told him the scenario and even he didn’t know what [a durag] was.”

The producer had heard the term durag before and seen them but really was not sure what they were used for either.  From that conversation The Stigma of the Durag documentary short was born. The documentary uses the “man on the street” method where they go around and ask people about their knowledge of drugs and provide cultural tidbits that define, and humanize the durag and its wearer. 

JG: “Even with the incident that occurred to me, I never thought that people really did not know what [a durag is] or that they didn’t get. In popular culture, you see people saying a lot of things like ‘Bye Felicia’. Like a lot of people know [that saying]. . .”

CW: “But they don't knooooooow it.”

JG: “Right! So I just assume that they treat the durag like that.”

As we talked I discussed my understanding of the durag and how I have observed its cultural evolution of hair protection and maintenance, to it being as common as a baseball and fitted cap in the early 2000’s. 

CW: “I just think it is so fascinating how it has transformed in use. People who don’t even need durags are wearing them.”

JG: “There is a portion of the film where you can see that. I think the biggest take away from the film is to take away the stigma or the baggage that comes with wearing one. I have a cousin that maybe 80% of the time I see him, he has a durag on. I mean he is spinnin’ [We both laughed because the cultural connotation of a Black person wearing a durag usually means that their “waves” or hair pattern is impressively laid out underneath]. So of course I know why he has it on. I know he is not in a gang or anything like that. I don’t want him to have to go out in the world wanting to look nice, and be judged.”

The judgment comes with more than just crazy looks and mumbling. It also comes with social projections, barricaded opportunities, and the assertion of hierarchical assimilation. So changing the stigma of the durag is another step in eradicating the plight against cultural disenfranchisement.  

So next time you see a durag, ask yourself, “Are his waves on swim? Is that why they hate on him?” [Lol See POP culture can go two ways, if you know what I’m sayin’.]

/Lexi

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See you next year, with more films to see and memories to make!

Love & All Things Urban,

/CW Fam

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