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CURRENT PROJECTS
Us: A Love Story
Click Here to
find out how to support this project
Starring.............................Kandiss
Edmundson
Tony Naumovski
Written and Directed by.................Alrick Brown
Directory of Photography.........Danny Vecchione
Executive Producer....................Andrea Sherrel
Producer......................................John Reefer
Post Production:
The short film "Us: A Love Story" is an allegorical representation of
the history and current state of Blacks and Whites in America. This
story is told through the paradigm of a couple sharing a large house
(America). A Black woman and a White man living under the torment of
domestic violence.
The cycles of abuse, the struggle for power, the social, physical,
spiritual, psychological torment--the confusion, the misunderstanding;
the need for, and fear of separation, as well as a twisted view of
love are all relevant.
America is an abusive household. This film asks the question, how can
this union consecrated in blood work, much less last? It answers the
question,
why can't WE just get over IT?
It is a simple tale, in a simple setting with two characters fighting
for their lives.
Click Here to
find out how to support this project. F/VA is now accepting online
donations on behalf of Us: A Love Story.
Directed by Micah Schaffer
Produced by alrick brown
As a part of HBO/Cinemax "Life Through
Our Lenses" project, my boy Micah Schaffer and I are currently
creating a documentary based on the lives of Amadou Diallo and Jesse
Thyne (Peace corps volunteers from Pasadena CA who was living in
Diallo's village at the time of his death) Jesse was also killed
a little while after...find out how this amazing story unfolds.
The Battle For
America
Director: Alrick Brown
Writer: Max Skolnik
Producer: Paola Mendoza
A few days after the 2004 election I
walked the streets and rode the subways of New York and was amazed at
the look of hopelessness on peoples' faces. They stole another election
and then we let them cripple our morale as well. They were winning
twice. I was getting ready to direct an NYU class project in response to
the "War on Terror" when I received a forwarded email in response to the
sentiments of the moment. The subject was "Get Up, Stand Up." After
about two paragraphs I got on my cell and tried to track down the person
who sent the original email. Within the hour I received the name Max
Skolnik, a Jewish kid from New York now living and working for a
non-profit in Washington DC. I explained to my friend, Paola Mendoza (On
the Outs) who found Max, how I wanted to bring the piece to life with
diverse faces. She said, "Let's do it." In the next few days we sent out
emails to family, friends and colleagues in and outside of the arts and
requested their participation in our project. Within in a week we
created a schedule, assembled a small volunteer crew; and we went out
and shot it. We ran into some enthusiastic people on the streets that
wanted their voices to be heard. Max took a train up from DC and helped
us as a production assistant/boom operator to bring his piece to life. I
told him that I would not change or edit his words because whatever
passion drove him to write it the way it was should be respected. The
purpose of the piece was not to start a movement or a revolution but to
inspire those would get up and start the movement, the paper, the
website, etc. Max did his job by getting off his ass and writing it. He
inspired me, thus getting me off my ass and I inspired "actors" and crew
to get off their asses. Our simple hope was that people would see this,
get up and go out there and do something productive and proactive. It is
not time to sulk or complain. It is time to stand up. "Never doubt that
a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead
The Adventures of Supernigger:
Episode I, The Final Chapter
Written and Directed by......Alrick Brown
Directory of Photography.....Cary Fukunaga
Producer...........................Marquette Jones
Starring: Kena Onyejekwe, Alan Davison, Timothy Warren & Andrew
Maclean as Lex Rudy
The title
of this film often catches people off guard, and as a result, they are
either instantly turned off or turned on. But it should be understood
that the title fits into the larger context of both the film and the life
of the filmmaker. “The Adventures of Supernigger…” is an allegory about
the shooting death of Amadou Diallo.
Although
it was not the first time an incident like this occurred, nor the last, it
was however, one of the most publicized cases of its kind. Amadou
Diallo’s death by four of “New York’s finest” was nothing less than
outrageous, including: the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the
number of bullets used, the acquittal of the officers, as well as the
incident’s aftermath and public outcry.
“The
Adventures of Supernigger…” will bring light to the undying issue of
police brutality and put a comical spin on the fear of the black man
shared by so many in the United States, including law enforcement.
During the
trial of the four officers who shot Diallo, they stated in their defense
that they were afraid for their lives. --And they had every reason to be
because after all, unarmed and defenseless, only Supernigger could evoke
that type of fear in mere mortal men. Super because their fear created an
entity they deemed larger than life, and N***** because he was unarmed and
shot 41 times by the very men paid to protect his way of life.
Alrick
Brown is also afraid, afraid for his own life, the lives of his “Super”
friends and the lives of his family. That is why he has to make this
film. He marched in the streets and now he brings his protest to the
screen.
Familiar
Fruit
Written and Directed by......Alrick Brown
Directory of Photography.....Wendy Cheng
(Photos by Vincenzo Tripodo)
Starring:
Michael Anastasio, Ronald Auguste, Kyle Mulrooney as the child
Synopsis
A man is reacquainted with a moment from his past. Without dialogue, the
film tells the story of a white deliveryman on his normal route in Harlem,
NY. The man appears very comfortable in the neighborhood as he wheels his
handcart down the street. By an act of fate, he passes the Schomburg
Center for Research in Black Culture. An exhibit on Lynching in America in
the building’s display case catches his eye. He recognizes himself as a
child in one of the photos.
The deliveryman relives the incident. He is lead by his father through the
woods to a clearing where he witnesses the hanging of a young black man.
The lynchers then pose for a picture with the swaying body.
As the camera flashes, our deliveryman re-awakens in a somewhat different
Harlem than the one he left. His comfort is replaced by fear, guilt and
confusion, or has it? Familiar Fruit
is a modern day Greek tragedy that leaves the audience holding the torch.
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