Experiencing Interruptions?

a love letter to Brian, Lesley, and Michelle

a love letter to Brian, Lesley, and Michelle is the result of human beings coming together, diverse in age, sexuality, race, and gender, talking with their bodies, minds, and souls, about Black lives. An interactive and experimental commentary that leaves the viewers looking inward, seeking justice from within. This is a film, a play, an experience, a concert dance, a work of art, a self-reflection, a protest.

Witness a compelling commentary covering topics such as WHITE FRAGILITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION, ANTI-BLACKNESS, ANTI-QUEERNESS & RACIAL FEAR. It forces viewers to step outside of their own bodies and into bodies that continue to be brutalized, objectified and minimized within America. The tension of everyday life and the experiences of Black and Brown people are brilliantly woven together.

  • Hettie Barnhill
    Director
    Actor- Finding Fela, Antarctica, Spiderman: Turn Off The DarkBroadway
  • Hettie Barnhill
    Writer
  • Robert Gertler
    Director of Photography and Editing
    Ass. Editor- Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
  • Create A Space NOW
    Producer
  • New York Council on the Arts
    Producer
  • Dance Force- NYSCA
    Producer
  • Suny Potsdam
    Producer
  • Alexis Davis
    Key Cast
  • Amya Brice
    Key Cast
  • Caz Lopata-Linn
    Key Cast
  • Dizz Young
    Key Cast
  • Hettie Barnhill
    Key Cast
  • Isa Reese
    Key Cast
  • Jerimiah Harper
    Key Cast
  • Liliam Montilla
    Key Cast
  • Reenah Oshun Golden
    Key Cast
  • Zachary Frazee
    Key Cast
  • Zoe Walders
    Key Cast
  • Eddie Corley
    Key Cast
  • Anthony Roar Decarlis
    Key Cast
  • Vishwas Wesley
    Key Cast
  • Trammell Logan
    Key Cast
  • Nicholas Michael Wagner
    Key Cast
  • Geri-Nikole Love
    Key Cast
  • Darron Singleton
    Key Cast
  • Maisha Mercee
    Key Cast
  • Emily Larger
    Key Cast
  • Monica Woods
    Key Cast
  • Sherman Rogers
    Key Cast
  • Destiney Lockhart
    Key Cast
  • Tiara Jahnay
    Key Cast
  • Solange Rodrigues
    Key Cast
  • Alexia Sky Colón
    Key Cast
  • Ta’Shayla Montgomery
    Key Cast
  • Em Allison
    Key Cast
  • Ta’Neesha Murphy
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Feature, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Drama, Spokenword, Dance, Urban, Political, Educational, Art, Interdisciplinary, Activism, Concert Dance, Immersive
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 1 minute 57 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 30, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    6,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital: 2 BMCPP's
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Hettie Barnhill

Hettie Barnhill is an accomplished Educator, Filmmaker, Director, and Choreographer, as well as the founder of Create A Space NOW, an interactive platform dedicated to using art to challenge bias, racism, and systemic oppression. She also produces the Activated Artist Fest in the Capital Region. Taking place at Proctors on August 9, 2025, this summer.

The newest recipient of the NYS Choreographers Initiative 2025 Grant (NYSCI), Hettie, has been nominated for the New York Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Choreography, and her contributions to communities through the intersection of art and social justice have earned her numerous accolades. These include the NAACP’s "Top 21 Leaders 40 & Under Award" in Arts & Culture, the Shirley Chisholm "Women of Excellence" Award, recognition as a “Rising Star” by the Young & Powerful for Obama Group, and most recently, an honor from the California Senate for “Using Film as a Vehicle for Community Engagement and Education.” Her film, A Love Letter to Brian, Lesley, and Michelle, has won awards at multiple national and international festivals.

As a performer, Hettie has over 20 years of professional experience in television, film, and theater, including Broadway performances in acclaimed productions such as Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, FELA! (original cast), and Leap Of Faith (original cast). She has also performed with multiple theater and dance companies, including Face Off Unlimited, Second City Chicago, and Urban Bush Women.

Her recent directing and choreography work includes productions such as Facing ‘Isms’ Under Towards a Shared Sky, 7 Plays 7 Days Festival Union College, Handle With Care, Conversations Embodied: Nina Simone and James Baldwin, Woke-Ness In The Body & Freedom Dance Floors, Skin|Disordered, LGB (Create A Space NOW), Once On This Island, No God In These Streets, Skeleton Crew (Black Theater Troupe, Upstate New York), She Kills Monsters (Cap Rep, Albany, NY), and This Is Me (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival). In addition, Hettie has directed music videos like Danielle Ponder’s Roll The Credits and has worked internationally with La Mama Umbria International in Spoleto, Italy.

As a presenter and speaker, Hettie has shared her work on art and activism with organizations such as the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility, MLK Saratoga, One Billion Rising, the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), SUNY Potsdam's Center for Diversity, and In Our Own Voices, Inc. She has also contributed to panels for the New York State Council on the Arts and worked with A Long Walk Home Inc., using art therapy to raise awareness and provide healing for survivors of rape and violence.

Off stage, Hettie has taught at multiple universities, emphasizing the importance of creating learning environments where technique, history, culture, and perspective are integrated. She currently teaches theater and dance at Union College. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago, she holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration in Performance Creation and Art Activism from Goddard College. For more information, visit HettieBarnhill.com.

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Director Statement

Movement is my first language and I use it to create work stemming from my reflection as a Black, queer woman. The work itself is a protest because of where it originates from.