The death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9th 2014 and those of countless others belonging to similarly unarmed black men over the last several years have left this team of filmmakers with a question: How do we, as Americans, use our platform to solve the black male crisis?
WHAT IS THIS PROJECT
Activist and filmmaker, Nate Parker and Academy award nominee, Amy Berg along with writer/director, Matthew Cooke seek to tackle the issue of this crisis.
In response to the growing problem of racial disparity due to the ongoing dehumanization of black men, actor and activist Nate Parker is setting out on a journey of investigation. He will venture into black communities to speak to various stakeholders about the crisis facing these men. Through the examination of specific cases, Nate will create relevant and responsive discourse with the intention of mining strong and tangible solutions to combat this ever-growing crisis. We will also highlight existing programs that are creating effective and sustainable counter action to the crisis.
The crisis itself will be brought forward and represented through interviews, news excerpts and historical footage. We find it extremely vital to recognize that the racial climate we exist in today is symptomatic of a larger problem that was established centuries ago. We will create a visual timeline of a systemic conditioning that will provide the viewer proper context for post Civil Rights America, where – in truth – very little has changed from times long past.
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WHERE ARE WE IN OUR PROCESS
This past August we set upon Ferguson and began filming. We knew that the time was of the essence; our goal - capture a moment that months prior to any grand jury verdict was already destined to set a nation on edge. We soon returned to Los Angeles with amazing footage, but the story is not yet complete.
The story of Michael Brown is but one story of sadly far too many and we plan to shoot a docu-series that will illuminate the magnitude of this pattern of the murder of black males in our country. The list below is only a partial list:
2010: MARCH 20, STEVEN EUGENE WASHINGTON UNARMED (autistic man) GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE IN LOS ANGELES, CA.
2010: DECEMBER 3, FREDERIC JERMAINE CARTER FOUND HANGED IN GREENWOOD, MISSISSIPPI
2011: JULY 16, KENNETH HARDING GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE AND UNASSISTED WITH MEDICAL CARE IN SAN FRANCISCO.
2012: FEBRUARY 3, REMARLEY GRAHAM UNARMED AND MURDERED BY POLICE IN BRONX, NY .
2012: FEBRUARY 10, MANUEL LOGGINS JR. UNARMED AND GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE IN SAN CLEMENTE, CA.
2012: FEBRUARY 26, TRAVYON BENJAMIN MARTIN UNARMED AND MURDERED IN SANFORD, FLORIDA.
2012: MARCH 1, DANTE PRICE UNARMED AND GUNNED DOWN BY TWO SECURITY GUARDS IN DAYTON, OH.
2012: MARCH 7, WENDALL ALLEN UNARMED AND GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE OFFICE IN NEW ORLEANS, LA.
2012: MARCH 24, KENDREC McDADE UNARMED AND GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE (UNASSISTED WITH MEDICAL CARE) NEAR PASADENA, CA.
2012: MARCH 25, ERVIN JEFFERSON UNARMED AND GUNNED DOWN BY SECURITY GUARDS IN ATLANTA, GA.
2013: MARCH 9, KIMANI GRAY GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE IN NYC.
2013: NOVEMBER 19, TYLER DAMON WOODS UNARMED AND GUNNED OWN BY POLICE IN LONG BEACH, CA.
2014: JULY 17, ERIC GARNER CHOKED AND MURDERED BY POLICE IN STATEN ISLAND, NY.
2014: AUGUST 9, MICHAEL BROWN UNARMED AND GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE FERGUSON, MO.
2014: AUGUST 11, EZELL FORD UNARMED, COMPLYING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND GUNNED DOWN BY POLICE IN LOS ANGELES, CA.
Americans need to take action. Black lives matter. All lives matter and we can’t tell their stories and help America changes its values without your help.
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WHO WE ARE
Nate Parker (producer):
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Nate Parker is an American actor as well as a social activist who is best known for his roles in PRIDE, THE GREAT DEBATERS, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, RED TAILS, and most recently, the critically acclaimed BEYOND THE LIGHTS. Nate and Amy Berg first met on the set of narrative feature EVERY SECRET THING (2015).
Amy Berg (director):
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No stranger to documentary filmmaking, Amy is a critically acclaimed and award winning filmmaker. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her documentary DELIVER US FROM EVIL (2006). Later, she directed WEST OF MEMPHIS (2012), a documentary about the failure of the justice system in the West Memphis Three case. The film was made in collaboration with producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. Amy’s Los Angeles based production company, Disarming Films, writes and produces long-form documentaries focusing on social justice.
Matthew Cooke (producer):
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Matthew Cooke is the writer/director of HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING DRUGS (Winner of the 2013 Writing Award from the International Documentary Association). Matthew and his company Saturday Entertainment previously collaborated with Amy and Disarming Films as the Producer and Editor on the 2006 documentary DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
WHY INDIEGOGO
We are not the press; we are the storytellers. In the documentary world, every dollar counts. There is no studio, there are no traditional financiers. We grab cameras and we go. We shoot until we can’t shoot anymore.
At the moment, we are on hold. We need to get moving as soon as we can and grab more of this amazing footage, all so that we can tell this incredibly powerful and demanding truth about race inequality in America.
With YOUR support, we can do this. We can tell these stories. We can make the voices of these men heard long after their violent and unjustified deaths.
We are seeking $25,000 here on Indiegogo. Though it is not the entirety of our budget, it gets us started. With this campaign we can:
· travel to on-location shoots
· hire experienced film crews
· rent camera equipment
· begin editing footage
You’ll notice that right now there are no traditional “perks” on the page, but this is not your traditional campaign. We literally need to pick up our cameras and go, and so we’re doing this as best as we can and as fast as we can.
We collectively reject the idea of exploiting this hot button issue, but instead are wholeheartedly COMMITTED TO USING THIS PROJECT TO INCITE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE.
If you are here, you are hoping for change too and we can do this together.
Disarming Films has always aimed to create social justice through our projects. The investigative work done on Amy Berg’s film WEST OF MEMPHIS (2012), with the help of Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson, resulted in the release of the West Memphis Three after 18 years of imprisonment.
Contribute if you can, ever dollar helps. If you can’t contribute, please share this campaign on Facebook. Tweet it on Twitter. Email it to your friends.
This project will be made with purpose. The end of the injustice can start now!
