TINDERBOX

This film is intended to be a lighthearted ode to black love and my personal discovery that a relationship built on a shaky foundation cannot last. Last Fall, I struggled to complete this project as I was losing confidence in the story because I was still hurt by the inciting events that motivated me to write and direct this short. I decided to take a break and attended a picnic thrown by a group of black women, with a few black men in attendance.

We enjoyed each other’s company all afternoon when the inevitable topic of dating in Los Angeles arose, specifically the theme of Black Love. Many questions and concerns came from shared personal experiences and upon further interrogation we found a lot of failed relationships, most of which were preceded by a significant lack of communication. We also discovered a divide in how the expression of love is perceived by the different genders and how today’s black male understanding of what love looks like is overshadowed or sometimes ignored. Yet, we all agreed black bodies have been sexualized to a point of obsession in art and cinema, while the study of black love has proven to be far more elusive.

After the picnic, I realized my artistic voice is absent from the discussion of black love and I needed to find a subversive way to join the conversation. I now believe, like filmmakers before me, my work is relevant to the conversation and interrogation of the phenomenon known as “the meaning of love.” Thus, I am the right person to tell this story and there’s no better time than now because relatable stories, like my short film, are happening every day and young, black lovers want to talk about what it means to us.