SHAKEEL - A Short Documentary

Shakeel is a documentary about gender identity in the non-binary community, as well as how the media treats queer talent. As a gay man, I felt as though I had a responsibility to represent my community in my work, it’s what inspires me the most. I listened and was inspired by my other teammate's inputs and creative visions and made it clear that ideas and visions needed to be in black and white in one collaborative, accessible space.

Planning this documentary felt productive and creative and I know from the beginning that I wanted to make a clear narrative structure, so I sectioned each three questions into acts.
The first section explored the expression and gender constructs. Talking about gender fluidity makes our video a clear focus topic, and hopefully educates you about something many would view as taboo. In the second act, an introduction of who Shakeel is (origin, interests and self-identity). The third act was planned to be uplifting, I collaborated with the cinematographer to come up with a colour palette and style that follows of iconic hip hop music videos, such as Beyonce. We wanted it to end with an array of dancing shots and different locations that vary in saturation.

I hope you like Shakeel as much as we do!