Private Project

DOC: Race, Revolution, Relativity & The Confessions of a Time Traveling Terrorist

The year is 1969, and poet and musician Gil Scott Heron introduces Julio Benson to Doc, an infamous and enigmatic figure in the Black power movement. Julio interviews Doc on his New York City public access television show, Revolt, and as the interview unfolds, Julio quickly finds Doc’s claim that he is ‘a time traveler’ impossible to discredit. This lost episode of Revolt was recently found and made public for the first time. It is Doc's message in a bottle, his last chance to save the world.

  • Tarik Rashaan Davis
    Writer
    Page One (2017), Lucas Sinclair's A.V. Club Interview: My Crazy Uncle Jack (2019), Host Invite (2020), WGA Awards (2017),
  • Tarik Rashaan Davis
    Key Cast
    "Doc"
    The Amber Ruffin Show, The Undoing, Ray Donovan, ​​The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers.
  • Ben Jaeger-Thomas
    Key Cast
    "Julio Benson"
    And Just Like That…, Escaping Ohio, Above Average Presents, That Damn Michael Che, Bull, The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show,
  • Tarik Rashaan Davis
    Director
  • Laura K Nicoll
    Director
    Live Performance Choreography: Dora Maar, Kirdle & Miffins, MLTI READS ME, BrandoCapote, Private Dancer, PROMENADE, CasablancaBox, Tyson vs. Ali // Video Installation: MLTI FEEDS ME, A Reel, DANCE MOVIE NIGHTS
  • Chenoa Estrada
    Producer
    2 Dope Queens, Marc Maron: Thinky Pain, Go/Don't Go
  • Micah Sherman
    Producer
    Host Invite, Old School Sketch Show: Pitch to Stage in Seven Days, The Scene: Improvised One Act Plays, Improvising, McGillucuddy & Martin, The Bob Ross Challenge.
  • Mark Stetson
    Producer
    U Need To Know, Mashable Screening, The Bob Ross Challenge, Cookie Monster and Brian Cox, ATTENDANT
  • Laura K Nicoll
    Producer
  • Tarik Rashaan Davis
    Producer
    Page One (2017), Lucas Sinclair's A.V. Club Interview: My Crazy Uncle Jack (2019), Host Invite (2020)
  • Mark Stetson
    Cinematographer / Editor
    Mashable Screening, The Bob Ross Challenge, Cookie Monster and Brian Cox, ATTENDANT
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 2, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital (.mp4)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2k - 2560x14
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Tarik Rashaan Davis, Laura K Nicoll

Tarik Rashaan Davis is an actor/writer/avid pop culture consumer based in New York City with over 20 years of experience acting, performing and writing. He strives to cross-pollinate performance styles and audiences in all his work. As a writer / creator, Tarik has made short films, web comics, comedy sketches, and published critical essays. Tarik has created several short films including, DOC: Race, Revolution, Relativity & The Confessions of a Time Traveling Terrorist (2023) Page One (2017) a Stranger Things fan fiction piece called Lucas Sinclair's A.V. Club Interview: My Crazy Uncle Jack (2019), and a horror play that was set on Zoom, Host Invite (2020). T.V. credits include: The Amber Ruffin Show, The Undoing, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Ray Donovan, Friends From College, Last Week Tonight: with John Oliver, The Iliza Shlesinger Show and more. Tarik performed in Freestyle Love Supreme at The Kennedy Center and at The Booth Theater on Broadway where the show received a special Tony Award. Tarik is a founding member of the monthly improv show Comedy People’s Time and was a member of the longest running improv team at The PIT, The Baldwins. Past theater / improv credits also include: Baby Wants Candy and Shamilton at UCB Hells Kitchen, The Upright Citizens Brigade in NY, Boom Chicago in Amsterdam and The Second City in Chicago. In 2018 he performed at The Brooklyn Museum in David Levine's Some of the People All of the Time, which was selected as the New York Times Best Art of 2018. Tarik also teaches improv and theater to both children & adults.

Laura K. Nicoll is a choreographer / performer / filmmaker / arts administrator. She is a classically trained dancer who often creates performances in public space and non-traditional dance venues, as well as short films, and multimedia theater. Prior to moving to New York in 2007, Laura was a member of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and danced on a cruise ship. As a choreographer and filmmaker Laura has created digital collages for the Center for Contemporary Art in Rockland, ME and as part of LA Arts Virtual Art Walk in Lewiston, ME. She recently performed in and was the assistant director of Mendacity, an official selection in the NYC Indie Theater Film Festival in 2022. Her other ongoing collaborations are with Reid Farrington / Foxy Films, Deville Cohen / Hand to Mouth, Rufus Nicoll / Kreilkamp Nicoll. Laura also does marketing and has worked for Performance Space 122, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Bates Dance Festival, The Atlantic Festival, and other artists and organizations.

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Director Statement

This summer, we found ourselves approaching the 60th anniversary of The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, amidst the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and still in the throes of a pandemic. This 30-minute film is our meditation on activism, protest, race and racism, and flawed heroes as complex as the times we live in. Our interest in character studies (we love watching any documentary about lesser known figures in Black history!), quiet yet powerful performances, and our rejection of the trend of corporate, celebrity-ridden, predictable, safe, forgettable “content” meant to be watched while you scroll on your phone, combined with our desire to see stories and characters and film productions that are truly independent in thought and vision, and resulted in, DOC. This short speaks to a bright future where there is more risk taking in filmmaking, more meaty, substantive challenges for the cast whether they be household names or not, more collaborative processes with more diverse teams.

Starring Tarik as Doc and Ben Jaeger-Thomas as Julio Benson, the film is simple in concept––two actors sit across from each other in an interview that is imagined to take place on the set of a New York City public access television show, called Revolt. This “found footage” project, like many independently produced films, took a lot of time, effort, and experimentation behind the scenes to come to life. In this case, the actors memorized the full script to be able to get full run-throughs in one take as a nod to the format of the live television interview format that is the setting as well as our shared interest in live performance. The costumes and hair and makeup speak to the time period, and the music, editing, and production overall carefully considers the haunting story Tarik wrote.

Hopefully, this is just the beginning for the character of Doc! We would love to continue working together on a feature film. The protagonist of the feature would be Doc’s great-grandchild, a Black, non-binary, queer character who is seventeen years old in 2023 and decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and join their great-grandfather in saving the world.