Experiencing Interruptions?

Pedigree

A first-time protester sharing her emotional experience with being arrested and disrespected, Pedigree is a solo performance short film about personal acceptance and recovery from the inexplicit influences of racial hatred and violence.

  • Brittney S. Harris
    Director
  • Russ Fulmore
    Director
    Precinct 757 (TV series), BioRhythms (TV Series), And You Call Yourself A Christian
  • Brittney S. Harris
    Writer
  • Russ Fulmore
    Producer
  • Brittney S. Harris
    Producer
  • Brittney S. Harris
    Key Cast
    "Person A"
  • D E Evans
    Director of Photography
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 46 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 28, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 11th International Social Change Film Festival
    Atlanta, GA
    United States
    Best Woman Director
  • Monarch Short-Film Festival
    Norfolk, VA
    United States
    Best Alumni Short-Film
  • 2023 Seven Cities Showcase of Hampton Roads
    Virginia Beach, Virginia
    United States
    Best Actress
Director Biography - Brittney S. Harris, Russ Fulmore

Brittney S. Harris is an Assistant Professor of Theatre in the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts at Old Dominion University. Featured directed performances/programming include Exodus Homecoming VA (InHEIRitance Project), Hidden History of the Banjo (Zeiders American Dream Theater), Symptomatic: IRL, Echoes: Transcending Through Story (ODURep Mainstage season) and Resilient Stillness: A Project about Stillness and Togetherness for the ODU Summer Arts Series. Her solo performance projects have been featured at several national interdisciplinary conferences and fringe festivals, most recently including the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference (ATHE), Borderlight International Fringe Festival, Rochester Fringe Festival, Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC), Black Theatre Network, Global Conference on Women and Gender, Racial Disposability and Cultures of Resistance Conference at Penn State University, Richmond Fringe Festival, and the Annual African, African American, & Diaspora Studies (AAAD) Conference at Howard University.

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Director Statement

From Brittney S. Harris:

'Embodying creative resistance against social inequality, Pedigree is a solo piece about personal acceptance and recovery from the inexplicit influences of racial hatred. This piece explores the lengths in which one declares to take back their power after years of mental and emotional torment at the hands of societal tormentors from her past to the present. In the wake of the political backdrop of the Black Lives Matter Movement, this applied theatre work is relevant to our Black community in providing insight to a cathartic resolution and engaging in civil dialogue.

The question explored is: can this type of embodied argumentation through character/movement been seen as an alternative way to storytelling and evolving how our Black narratives are shared, remembered, and perhaps incite a dialogue in promoting social reform and change?

Using artistic expression as a form of activism clarified for me the manner in which performance can be used to educate people about their attitude and mindset towards current conditions and work towards change. I seek to continue this conversation by engaging audiences, both civilly and aesthetically/ therapeutically, in addressing the mental strain of balancing everyday life against the myriad of racial equality and social injustice issues constantly broadcasted through our social media streams and personal conversations.'