Divide - Time to Breathe

It all began in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd
in the spring of 2020. The advent of Covid-19 brought forth a period of unwanted complacency for filmmakers. 2 months of being quarantined had caused me to become creatively stagnant. That is until late May, when the video went viral. Suddenly a fire was lit across America and the world. People were out in the streets, standing up for their right to live, protesting against systematic oppression. I had seen similar events take place over the years, but nothing as visceral and wide spread as this. I wanted to do my part as an artist, to bring light to the situation without being lost in the giant wave of social commentary that was to come. I had to think differently.

Bringing awareness to the topic of police brutality through the lens of a family dynamic was something I hadn’t seen before. “Divide - Time to Breathe” is a film that explores the delicate relationship between an African American Father and son who are put at odds due to their opposing beliefs surrounding Black Lives Matter. What is it like to live as a Black cop during these turbulent times? How does it affect the relationships in your life? Are you seen as an enemy within your own community? For some reason, these questions weren’t being asked by the people around me; so I took it upon myself to ask them.

The main catalyst for the film came from a number of videos I had come across of Black Americans denouncing the BLM movement for various reasons. At first, I was perplexed, but then I started thinking...There seems to be a common misconception among us that one’s own opinion is representative of their group as a whole. Especially for topics that are meant to be universally unifying. We constantly subconsciously relegate individuals into categories indicative of their race. When in actuality, each person forms their own opinions based on their unique circumstances and surroundings. The notion that every African American will stand united against police brutality is a reasonable one, but it’s far from the case.

The characters of Gerald and Jerome stand independently on opposing ends of a spectrum. Despite the two sharing the physical similarities that would subject both to the same racial discrimination. At their core, they are complete opposites. I wanted to create a space where both perspectives were treated fairly and given a platform to express themselves without judgement. This film is meant to open an unbiased dialogue crucial to communicating with one another and understanding our differences.