AN ACT OF UNITY
In AN ACT OF UNITY, predominantly Asian American and Pacific Islander American demonstrators in Oakland, CA., chose to mark African American Michael Brown's life and death. Michael Brown, at 18 and unarmed, was killed in 2014 in a police shooting. The demonstrators chose to physicalize their protest against police killings of unarmed Black people symbolically-- for the exact amount of time Micheal Brown's body laid lifeless in the Ferguson, Missouri street.
With the increase of USA police killings in 2019-2020, filmmaker Cedric O'Bannon realized that he had footage of the aforementioned demonstration. A video journalist, it did not escape O'Bannon that mainstream media rarely shows people of color supporting the dignity of others--particularly not other peoples of color. Still, O'Bannon was holding his own unused footage of the demonstration of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans in support of Black Lives.
The short film, AN ACT OF UNITY, was born to show the solidarity between those who historically have suffered the same journeys. The Michael Brown demonstration proceeded the COVID pandemic. We now have documented the increased racist hate crimes suffered by Asian and Pacific Islanders in the USA by those ignorantly blaming them for COVID. AN ACT OF UNITY is not only an acknowledgment by the filmmakers of the solidarity between these afore mentioned peoples-- but also-- a thank you.
( An Act of Unity is close caption in many other languages which use or translate accurately via in Latin script.)
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Cedric O'BannonDirectorBACKLASH (2021), AN EXERCISE IN EMPATHY (2020)
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Cedric O'BannonWriterBACKLASH (2021), An EXERCISE IN EMPATHY (2020)
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September WilliamsWriterBACKLASH (2021), WHEN WE ARE ASKED: ABOUT CROSSING OVER (2016, 2021), DANCE FOR JOY (2008)
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Cedric O'BannonProducerBACKLASH (2021), AN EXERCISE IN EMPATHY (2020)
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September WilliamsProducerBACKLASH (2021), WHEN WE ARE ASKED: ABOUT CROSSING OVER (2016, 2021), DANCE FOR JOY (2008)
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Protestor ActivistsKey Cast"Protestor Activists"
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Emmette CookComposer/MusicianInvisible (2021), Broken Birds 2020 (2020), Opera (2020), Toast (2020),Vital Sign (2020), Madagasikara (2018)
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Harpo MarksComposer/MusicianChamp (2019)
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Project Title (Original Language):AN ACT OF UNITY
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Project Type:Documentary, Experimental, Short
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Genres:Social Commentary
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Runtime:7 minutes
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Completion Date:April 21, 2021
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Production Budget:6,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English, Spanish
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Shooting Format:Digital Video
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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No public screening prior to festival submision
Distribution Information
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Ninth Month Productions/Cedric O'BannonDistributorCountry: WorldwideRights: All Rights
Cedric O'Bannon is a Black American freelance video journalist and documentary filmmaker. A member of the National Writers Union/International Federation of Journalists, O'Bannon's work advances humanitarian goals by clarifying the past in support of a better future. Cedric O'Bannon's journalistic focus clarified in 2012. That was the year unarmed 17 year old, Trayvon Martin, was fatally shot, walking to his father's home in a closed community in Florida.
By 2016, O'Bannon was filming political rallies of the man who would soon become the chief executive officer of the United States.
Cedric O'Bannon's formal film and journalism education evolved from 1991 to 2000. Its venues included the National Broadcasting School, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, and the Academy of Arts University, San Francisco. Director O'Bannon's work in motion pictures, and membership in the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees ( IATSE) as an archivist, and numerous theatrical settings, define his exquisite representations of the intersection between eras in history and contemporary events.
It was June of 2016, while working as a video journalist, that Cedric O'Bannon was stabbed by a Neo-Nazi, wielding a spear at the end of a flag pole—which still bore an American flag. And so—history handed Cedric O'Bannon his documentary film and journalistic destiny, well before the siege on the USA capitol building in January, 2021. Filmmaker Cedric O’Bannon is based in Oakland, CA.
This decade (the 2020s) already demands a rapid turnaround of creative information exchange. It is an era which out of necessity is dominated by screen narratives. From the analog world of motion picture film to the world of digital cinema, and journalism my multidisciplinary experience has given me insight into film, television, and live theatrical workflows that not only save money but can save a production.
Since the murder of Travon Martin in the United States, my work has been focused entirely on documenting the history and resurgence of fascism- and the subsequent anti-fascist movement.
I have worked to developed as a quintessential filmmaker, with a bent for team building, and a focus on organization, journalistic reflection, and rapid project turnover.
My goal is continual growth in the audiovisual arts and science—collaborating with others to do the same—at a time in history when this is not optional but essential.