Experiencing Interruptions?

[the listening heart.]

[the listening heart] is an Afro-Native Futuristic film about self-love and deep listening, bringing to life an original story grounded in Mayan and Yoruba cosmologies. Our protagonist, named after the Mayan Goddess Ix Chel, is a child healer who searches for the meaning of love. This story follows a common paradigm of women who are hurt when going against social norms—but in this film, reclaim their voices through self-healing.

  • storäe michele
    Director
  • storäe michele
    Writer
  • storäe michele
    Producer
  • je hooper
    Producer
  • alexandra oneal
    Key Cast
    "ix chel"
  • jadele mcpherson
    Key Cast
    "mama"
  • kevonnie shelton
    Key Cast
    "ochun"
  • shantez tolbut
    Key Cast
    "yemaya"
  • jaguar mary
    Key Cast
    "nana buluku"
  • cocoa sarai
    Key Cast
    "grandmother moon"
  • jaye watts
    Key Cast
    "grandfather sun"
  • storäe michele
    Key Cast
    "storyteller"
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 5, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    H.264
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • brooklyn, ny
    United States
    April 6, 2017
    Primere
    Robert E. Seaver Award
Director Biography - storäe michele

storäe michele, [known by her ancestors as Michele Stanback] is an artist, art therapist, eco-feminist, writer, director and educator of ten years. As an Interdisciplinary M.Div. graduate of Union Theological Seminary, storäe infuses the arts into theological inquiries: exploring rituals and breathing life into sacred spaces for meaningful reflection through performance, movement and film. Her heart-work addresses the ritualized fragmentation of black women into caricatures—in order to call back their bodies, black women must both write and [re]mythologize the story of their bodies. Using her artistic license, she intentionally writes and engages with voices using the language of poetry—honoring its epistemology of healing and transformation. storäe is committed to the sharing of these stories with women of color as subject, while unearthing the narratives of our ancestors.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As a black queer womyn, my POV centers women of color of varying orientations and gender expressions. I retell our stories with radical truths that allow for simultaneously wild and holy beings to exist. I challenge and subvert constructions of power, reframing the human condition of women of color. Drawing from Indigenous and Greek mythology, I explore new meanings in well-known stories and excavate lesser known details of the archetypes in seeking healing and self-love stories with these wounded-healers as subject.