The Last Black Man on Earth

Would you trust a mentally ill artist to negotiate the fate of civilization with aliens over zoom?

Only if he were The Last Black Man on Earth.

A pretend virtual, documentary, sci-fi, small screen extravaganza.

Multi-disciplinary Artist Issa Ibrahim courageously presents his tragic and tumultuous life, and how creativity has helped him heal, to ominous yet compassionate aliens over a video conference. He may make his case…but is that enough to save mankind and prevent global catastrophe?

Taking advantage of the limitations of online presentations, incorporating deliberate glitches of uneven audio and choppy, pixelated video with an inventive tapestry of lost, found and borrowed footage, ‘The Last Black Man on Earth’ blurs the lines of documentary and sci-fi, creating an insightful, funny, and heartbreaking exploration into resilience, forgiveness, madness, and art.

  • Issa Ibrahim
    Director
    Cosmic Knockout, MAD LOVE, Patient's Rites
  • Issa Ibrahim
    Writer
    Pop Music Voodoo, Patient's Rites
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, documentary, short
  • Runtime:
    37 minutes 49 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • 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
Director Biography - Issa Ibrahim

After the successful screening of his politically charged 6-minute experimental film Dreaming in Black & White at the Queens Museum of Art in 2002, Ibrahim continued his interest in film. Using a mock therapeutic backdrop married to the music video idiom he presented an award-winning autobiographical 48-minute musical documentary titled Patients Rites. He has made many other short and long form musical documentaries, about the rise of MAGA, his relationship with his artist partner, growing up in Queens, NY, and other artistic filmic self-portraits.

FILMOGRAPHY:

• Dreaming in Black & White (2002)- co-produced with Kit Shapiro
• War Dance (2004)- Butoh performance art video, co-produced with The Living Museum and New York University for installation in Tokyo, Japan
• Patient’s Rites (2014)
• Pop Music Voodoo (2019)
• MAD LOVE (2020)- co-produced with Susan Spangenberg and Geo Geller
• Queens Homecoming (2023)
• The Cosmic Knockout (2024)
• Portrait of an Artist (2024) short documentary film co-produced with Geo Geller
• Songs and Stories of an Accidental Life (2024)
• Sexy Army Buddies (2024) short documentary film co-produced with Geo Geller
• Outside Man (2024) short documentary film co-produced with Geo Geller
• Marijuana & Me (2024) short documentary film co-produced with Geo Geller
• A Great Wonder in Heaven (2024) short documentary film co-produced with Geo Geller
• NUTS (2024) short documentary film co-produced with Geo Geller
• The Last Black Man on Earth (2024)

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Director Statement

Issa Ibrahim vows to continue challenging preconceived and prejudicial ideas in society, combat stigma, expose the realities of our broken mental health system and explore how openness can aid in respecting psychiatric sufferers and survivors who are our fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, friends, neighbors, and ourselves.