TO BE HEARD: Preparing Survivors of Domestic Violence for Testimony in Court
Short. Animation.
Inspired by my nationally accredited CLE program, and after more than twenty years representing survivors of domestic violence, this short illustrates how how attorneys can better support vulnerable witnesses in court.
✩ Bronze Telly Award
THE TWELVE - A screenplay
I wanted to tell a psychological suspense story where faith and history collide. Set beneath a historic Black church, it tells the story of a pastor haunted by mysterious voices beneath her church. As she uncovers the buried history beneath her church, she must determine whether those voices are born of trauma, something supernatural, or something even more dangerous.
✩ Finalist for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship.
BELLCLAIR TIMES - Feature Film
With Bellclair Times, I wanted to experiment with the way memory is represented on screen. Rather than recreating the past realistically, I staged every flashback on a theatrical set, inviting viewers to leave the world of the film and enter the world of memory. Set within the imagined history of an integrated American town, the film blends mystery with questions of race, memory, and the stories communities tell about themselves.
✩ Winner, Newark Black Film Festical
ASBURY PARK - Feature Film
When I made Asbury Park, many films focused on urban crime. I wanted to tell a different story, one that moved beyond the city and explored a side of Black life rarely seen on screen, rooted in the countryside, history, family, and the land. Drawing on the relationship between Black Americans and the land, the film sought to broaden where audiences imagined Black stories could take place.
✩ PREMIERE: Lincoln Center Independent Film Series
✩ WINNER: Gordon Parks Independent Film Award for Directing
THE DYNAMITE GANG - Short
The Dynamite Gang grew from a simple question: What if the revolutionary ideals that founded America had been used to justify armed resistance during the Civil Rights Movement? Combining archival and original footage, the film examines the tension between the nation's founding principles and its struggle for racial justice.
✩ Premiere: The San Francisco Black Film Festival
(CAN'T) RECALL - Short
Originally created as a production exercise for my filmmaking students, (Can't) Recall became an opportunity to explore the quiet sacrifices made by family caregivers. Through the story of a young woman postponing her own life to care for her father with Alzheimer's disease, the film reflects on love, responsibility, and the choices that often go unseen.
✩ Gold Medal Cindy Awards
ONE STEP - Short
The Supreme Court's marriage equality decision marked the culmination of countless individual acts of courage. One Step reflects on those quiet, personal moments of change—one person, one voice, one step at a time—through the juxtaposition of Ellen DeGeneres's coming-out episode, the Civil Rights Movement, and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.