Behind The Film(s)
Filmed on the Canon EOS 90D
Blaxpression* is an expansion of my short documentary Blaxpression, filmed and edited between October of 2023 and May of 2024. At its core, it is an exploration of Black creative expression and an attempt to create a space in which Black people are able to operate without the influence of outside perception. Without the time constraints placed upon its predecessor, Blaxpression* features an additional artist and additional scenes of the original three, further showcasing their artwork and personalities. The production of Blaxpression* was made possible by funding from Colby College's Big Idea Fund.
Blaxpression featured three artists attending PWI's in Maine, and the ways in which their art helped them navigate their experience in the US' whitest state. Taking a nod from Zora Neale Hurston's Characteristics of Negro Expression, the film takes each subject's active artistic expression (namely, theater, visual art, and music) alongside their daily modes of expression, including their speech and interactions. Conceptualized, filmed, scored, and edited in the 2022-2023 academic year as a part of Colby College's "Contemporary Documentary Filmmaking" and "Advanced Contemporary Documentary Filmmaking" courses, Blaxpression received an award and was screened at the 2023 Student World Impact Film Festival. The production of Blaxpression was made possible due to funding from Colby College's Lyon Arts Lab.