[bright music] - Welcome to cinema of the Afrofuture.

This is Celia Peters your rusty hosts.

Very glad to be here with you and really excited about the conversation that we are going to have today.

As you know, this is the sort of interactive portion of the Blackness Revisualized Afrofuturist Film Festival that is now running on allarts.org.

The festival launched in March, and will be running through January of 2022.

So we've turned the corner, but you still have plenty of time to catch these fantastic Afrofuturist films.

We have 10 films that are streaming live, from I believe, five different countries.

We have shorts and feature link films, and all coming from a very, very wide range of perspectives, very different source of stories, and very a wide range of intriguing and exciting characters.

So today we have two of the directors of the films that are featured in the festival.

We have Janeen Talbott who is the director of "Sight", and we also have Nick Attin, who is the director of "Tomb" and as if that weren't wonderful enough, we also have Ingrid LaFleur, who is the founder of the afrofutures Strategies Institute.

So we're really excited about talking film, but also talking about the sort of transition from fictional stories to real life.

So thank you to everybody who's on the panel today, am very excited to be here with you and to talk with you.

Some of you I've talked to you before, some of you, I have not talked to you before, so it'll be good to get to know you a little bit.

You know, I'd like to start off asking the directors a couple of things, and I think I'm gonna start with Janeen.

Janeen, you are based in Florida.

- Yes I am.

- You directed "Sight", which is a really wonderful short film but it's also very unique.

One of the things, you know, I...

There's a few things about it that are very unique.

One I think is a sort of community, so it takes place in a community, so that's very interesting as well.

I mean, it felt very organically of the diaspora in that sense.

But the other thing that really struck me was the look of the film and the fact that you had these very, very realistic sets that incorporated nature very, very heavily.

I mean, you have exteriors, you have interiors, but there's just all of it together gave me the sense that we were in this place, whatever this place was.

So I wonder if you could talk about how you created such a realistic ultimate world for the film.

- So when I was thinking about the community and how I would love to see the future look for everyone, the first thing that came to my mind was nature and environment, because we're dealing with so much environmental trauma right now with global warming and things of that sort.

So when I think of I guess, a future that I would love to see, I always think of a future that has like nature, but it works in tandem with technology, it doesn't work against it, so the two work cohesively.

So that was my first thought, and that's why it looks that way and feels that way.

And then as far as like locations, before we shot that film, I was always looking for places like, as I was thinking about the film in my mind and what I wanted it to feel like and look like the house that is used for Abanuku's home is a house I used to drive by.

It's a actual place, like it's an actual home that people live in-- - [Celia] Oh, wow.

- And it was supposed to be built for planes.

Like it was a plane location at first, so it looks kind of strange, but someone bought it and they live in there with their family and we knocked on the door and asked if they would be open to us using their home and we got it.

And then all of the other exterior locations are just locations that Florida just offers up naturally, you know, we are warm, we have lots of these beautiful places that are very green and lush - Wow, so, you know, so you are Florida based and I wondered if just sort of going out a little bigger picture, can you tell us the origin story of "Sight"?

Like how did this film come to be made?

- So I was grappling with my own faith based issues at the time.

And like, am I good enough?

Not just about like God and like the big light, broad strokes, like, is there a God, is there like a greater being?

But more so like the greater being within me, like, am I worthy of making films?

Am I good enough?

Like, will I get further dealing with like imposter syndrome?

It was right around the time I was getting ready to graduate.

And so I was like, is film for me?

Am I like cut out for this?

And then at the same time my grandmother had passed recently.

So the Abanuku character was originally supposed to be a woman.

And that's why he's an older, like a patriarchal type of figure.

And I just always thought of her as this wise, wise, wise woman that is just all knowing and all seeing and all powerful.

She was a lot older than me, she died at 105 so just to give it some context.

And it was just like a collaboration of these things, these elements, all of these elements happening at once.

I was going through a breakup at the time too, so it was just like all of these things happening at once and I kinda just like squish them together and made something out of it [chuckles] - Well, kudos to you.

I mean, you had a hell of a lot going on, wow.

[Janeen chuckles] And to really...

I mean, that's, like I said, like you brought all of these things together to make something beautiful and really powerful, but it-- Yeah and for the audience, I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not telling you too much about these films because we want you to watch the film.

They're all available on allarts.org so please, I highly recommend that you check them out.

Yeah, kudos to you, kudos to you.

- Thank you, I appreciate that.

- Oh, no doubt.

Nick, so we're going with "Tomb" we're going to a very, very different place.

We're going to a film that takes place very far in the future, we know that and also that takes place in space as well as other places.

And so I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about your journey as a director, first of all, and then I'll get into "Tomb" a little bit.

- Hi, thank you very much for having me.

And I've been involved in filmmaking for the last 10 years.

Primarily making films within the Caribbean diaspora because I lived all my life in the Caribbean, especially in Trinidad and I.

- Oh, you froze a little bit there.

So Nick, I don't know if you can hear me, but you froze.

So how about we we'll come back to you for sure and hopefully find very soon you'll be unfrozen.

Ingrid, it's really wonderful to see you again, we've been on a few things together, it's always a pleasure.

And, you know, I guess, could you tell us two big things, I got two big questions for you.

One is, can you tell us about the Afrofuture Strategies Institute for one and sort of what it is that you do?

But also maybe first, can you tell us what afrofuturism means to you?

- Sure, thank you so much for having me, it's a pleasure to be on this beautiful panel.

So afrofuturism, the way that I define it is a multi-temporal, multi-dimensional intersectional cultural movement.

It pulls from an African diasporic spiritual practices, cosmologies, mythologies legend.

It also looks at the intersection of race and technology and in science, especially emerging tech and emerging science and how that will affect black bodies into the future.

All of this is expressed through speculative modalities, science fiction, fantasy or magical realism.

And it centers, black bodies, it centers black imagination, and practitioners of Afrofuturism tend to either express what could be the possibility or possible trajectory that we might go on if we don't change course activity about there's good for that one [chuckles] - Indeed.

- And then many are thinking about ways to make our futures as black body people better outside of the colonial narrative.

So it's a very decolonizing kind of a tool to some degree, if you think of Afrofuturism as a form of tech.

I like to really emphasize two things, the centering of black bodies, I think is very healthy and a way to tackle anti-blackness that is everywhere in this world and tends to not get the focus that it needs, because I think it's really, that's hard for people to admit that they might have some anti-blackness subconsciously, consciously.

So I think Afrofuturism helps to create a new relationship to blackness, to the black body.

And I say that because people might love, you know, black culture, but don't wanna fight for rights for black bodies, right?

So, you know, it gets into these different dynamics.

And then the other part of it is that it's nonlinear as expressed in Janeen's film "Sight" that probably is one of the biggest things.

So future doesn't, it's not exactly a linear the way that we know past, present, future, that's a very Europeanized way of thinking of time.

And so Afrofuturism helps us to create a new relationship with time where the past is always present, the future is always close to us.

We can access spirit worlds, ancestors, the ancient past, the near past, all of which is always influencing our futures that we're creating in every moment.

And the Afrofuture Strategies Institute was my way of kind of bringing together a lot of my work.

I work across different industries, art, emerging technology, like blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, design.

I'm now is starting to doubled in the space industry.

And all of this is to look at how the new tech and science could possibly affect us.

So I like to keep an eye on things, that's why the space industry, for instance.

But I'm really into experimenting and looking at ways to bring the theories and the imagination of Afrofuturism and to practice into our real world so that we're actually manifesting that which we are desiring.

That is fully in control by black people.

- Well, you know, first of all, congratulations, and I guess along with that a huge thank you because I think this whole idea of practicality is something that it's critical.

It's critical that black people and other people of color understand that all of these sorts of these things that seem far flow are not.

And that we need to be engaging with these ideas.

When you talk about time, it made me think about, I recently was doing a presentation about Afrofuturism and I was talking about the Doug hall, the Yoruba and ancient Egypt.

And one of the things that they have in common is this embrace of time as a nonlinear thing.

It's really, you know... And then on the flip side, we have this quote from Einstein where he refers to times this is for those of us who believe in physics, we understand that time is a stubbornly persistent illusion.

And so you're really onto something, and I think bridging that gap is like everything, you know, so that people understand it is a part of the here and now.

And I believe that we have Nick back.

- Yeah, I'm sorry, my connection dropped, sorry about that.

- No worries, no worries.

So if you could go ahead and finish telling us about your journey as a filmmaker, you were talking about that most of your time has been spent in Trinidad.

- Yeah, like I said, so filmmaking is not a well-established industry in Trinidad.

So it was a huge challenge doing the kinds of films that I wanted to do.

But I had to just say, I'm not gonna ask anyone for permission to do it.

I'm just gonna do it because it needs to be done.

- Right on.

- It needs to be done, you know, and it's been 10 years now and you know, I'm still here.

- Right on, well, the writer who's done the editorial piece for "Tomb" is Cadwell Turnbull, who is also Caribbean, he's from the US Virgin islands.

And that, you know, his Caribbean identity also features very heavily in his science fiction writing.

And so I was thinking about this idea of your story, where you have a space program that is based in Trinidad and Tobago.

So I wonder, you know... And I remember there was a line where one of your character, the character Diane says to Charles, "the rest of the world is ready.

Why must we always be last?"

And so that seems such a big, you know, it seemed like such a big and profound statement that sort of resonated beyond the immediate story.

So I wondered if you could tell me, how do you think that a Caribbean space program would be unique in terms of structure, in terms of priorities?

I mean, off the top of my head, I just think about how the space program of a nation that's an island nation might differ from the United States or even India or Russia.

So please tell us how you imagine that would be different?

- Well, the whole thing is what I envisioned for this future was that it's not because of different problems that we experienced throughout the world that there's this problem of overpopulation.

No, it's that people are people, people live, people have their culture, people have their needs and as technology increases, there's a need for more space.

And as a result, they came the need for exploring space to find more space.

And that line, why is it we're always the last in this race was sort of that catapult for this whole aspect of us saying, yeah, we're part of this as well.

And not only are we part of it, within this entire big spiraling picture, there's a profound story that's about to happen, that's very personal and very dear to the main character in this story, yes.

- Right on.

Yeah, I can see that, I totally, I see that.

Janeen, I'm gonna circle back to you because I'm still processing some of the things that you said about the origin of "Sight" but one of the other things that struck me about the film was that the story, obviously is very rich and this community is so tangible and it's so clear.

But the other thing that jumped out to me is that within the community that you created in the story, there seems... Not there seems to be, there is this gender parody.

And so you have these different characters who have different agendas if you will, but none of it seems to be affected by gender, just so you know, there are male characters and female characters, no one is...

There's no hierarchy with regard to that.

So I wonder, was that something that was intentional?

And can you talk a little bit about that?

- Yes, thank you for that question.

For sure, it definitely was intentional.

Like I said earlier, when thinking about "Sight" and thinking about like a future that I would like to see, I brought all of the elements that I would like to see.

And as someone who considers themselves to be more of a womanist than a feminist, I think that people like men and women are equal in every right.

And I think that if we just approach things as such, that we would have a lot less problems.

And so I thought it was important to show those types of relationships and those types of interactions that have nothing to do with gender or sex, but at the same time has everything to do with it because in seeing it, you'll notice it, and you're like, well, you start asking yourself questions.

Well, why is it that we aren't that way?

Why is it that it's not being addressed?

And how can that be applied to life now?

So I thought it was interesting to do that, but I did feel it was very important for the main character to be female, to show that a female could be the matriarch of such a community, that she could sit at the helm, she could sit at the forefront of a community like that.

And it not be seen as some weird thing, it not be seen as something strange or other or not possible or intangible.

So yes, it was all intentional for sure.

- Right and as we know, you know, there are many cultures on the continent that are matriarchal as well.

I wonder if you could, for the audience, for those who may not know, can you tell us what the distinction is for you between womanist and feminist?

- I think that the distinction between womanist and feminist or womanism and feminism is more so a cultural understanding of both of those things, because I think they both inherently want the same things.

They both want women to be seen as equal.

I just think that the approach and the way that they're interpreted and sometimes perceived comes off differently.

For example, I think that when people think of some people think of the term feminism, they think of women who want to just be empowered and rule the world and burn their bras and burn their underwear and just, I guess, run everything right.

And there's nothing wrong with that, I'm not saying anything is wrong with feminism, but I think that the distinction, the thing that makes them different in the way that they're interpreted is that womenism is more so like an understanding on the surface level that men and women are equal and we work together.

It's not about trying to compete for one, to be higher than the other, it's more so that we work together.

And I think feminism is the same thing, I just think that people see it differently.

And so that's why I make that difference.

And then I also think that womanism is centered around blackness, the root of versus feminism, which tends to have a white face and tends to kind of be centered to white, or I should say Caucasian ideals, whereas womanism is different in that it focuses on the black family, like in a male and female sense dynamic.

So that's...

I hope that makes sense.

I hope I didn't just talk in circle around myself, but yeah.

That's how I look at them as two different things.

- I mean, it's certainly, when we look at the origins of feminism in this country, we saw, you know, early on, there was a conflict when it came to race.

And so there was, you know, many white feminists who made the choice to identify with women when it comes to oppress people, as opposed to black people who were also being oppressed.

And so I think that probably, you know, that is significant as well-- - Yes, sorry to cut you off.

But I think that-- - [Celia] No-- Feminism to a degree lacks intersectionality in a lot of ways.

And I think that can be very dangerous, whereas womenism is not that way.

And so that's why I consider myself to be a womanist.

- Sure, I mean, I think when we think about, as thought becomes more and more elevated and evolves, and we have this sense of interconnectedness that is undeniable, going the more holistic route and the more inclusive route is probably gonna be, you know, the best for everyone, right?

So Ingrid, I'm gonna ask you now why... You know, we know that you're dealing with very tangible sort of, if not day-to-day, but like real life communities, real life concepts, real life practices.

So why is Afrofuturist storytelling important?

Why does it matter?

[Ingrid clears throat] - I think Afrofuture storytelling helped to create like a framework for which to kind of work from it's very inspiring, it helps us to move beyond our own limitations and boundaries that we have within our own imagination.

It helps us to expand ideas around blackness and its evolution.

And I think all of these things are important when you are considering very real-world things like policy like government policies, or even corporate policies when you're thinking about economics.

So one of the reasons that I am a curator as well, I curate art exhibitions and I do make artwork, but this aspect of my practice is important because what I found after returning home to Detroit 10 years ago, is that people just don't have the space or the time to imagine.

So here I am wanting people to dive into Afrofuturism to imagine new destinies for themselves and children are living without water.

And, you know, when they project our economic health in the future, it looks extremely bleak as black Americans, just black Americans.

And so it's important for me at least to figure out ways to create that space so people can imagine beyond whatever narrative has been set forth or given to them.

And especially when you're lower income, that narrative is hardcore written for you and trying to navigate that is really, really difficult.

And Detroit it became like this really beautiful microcosm of a lot of the challenges that black people face because it's 85% black and at the time when I was there, it was a 65% poverty rate if you add the working poor and yet they're putting in systems like facial recognition.

And we do have activists who are on the front lines trying to stop that because based on facial recognition, doesn't work, especially for black bodies, it miss identifies us, like I forgot the percentage, but it's ridiculous.

And so to employ that in an 85% black city is definitely creating new futures for people, right?

So we aren't becoming... We're already criminalized on the streets and policed in a particular way.

And now we're gonna have this predictive kind of tech that is going to criminalize us even further when it could be completely wrong, which has been already.

And so Afrofuturism you know, we've seen this already actually in stories to tell us that this was already going to come and that it is not going to be in our favor.

And so, you know, we already know the path, how do we change the trajectory?

And in staying on those front lines is really important, but Afrofuturist stories are just really helpful foundation for like moving forward and trying to create a new future for us.

And I do wanna just quickly say that if you wanna learn more about nonlinear time, Rashida Phillips is your person [chuckles] She's always my person on that.

And you know, all of this work is about like, why are we the last ones to know, we're the last ones to come in contact with a lot of this tech and science that is definitely trying to enslave us in new ways and we're always regulated as consumers or just the victims of, instead of the inventors and practitioners of, and so that becomes another motivating factor for me to make sure that we have access to the information that especially wealthier white people always get immediately and are able to play with and utilized to create their own futures.

And so, you know, Nick, like I completely understand [chuckles] We are the last to know, and how do we change that constantly?

And that's part of what Chelsea does.

- And you know, it's very ironic as well, because when we look to ancient cultures from the continent, that knowledge was there, the technologies were there, those thoughts were there, but somehow it's been sort of all twisted around and you know, sort of something that's imposed on us generally in a sort of punitive kind of way.

And you know for me, definitely Afrofuturist storytelling is that avenue to address that, and it doesn't have to be a binary, you know, dystopia or utopia, it can be sort of, this is where we are.

And instead of it playing out this way, that everybody predicts it can play it out a different way and I'm gonna show you how.

I mean, I saw some footage a couple of weeks ago, or maybe a month ago, where there was somebody in New York it was a man of color who was being arrested and he was being led out of a building and there was some, you know, cops with him, but then... And he was in handcuffs and then there was also one of those robo dogs, like kind of running along the side.

And I have to tell you, it was terrifying to me because all I could think about was the bias that is inherent, that's intrinsic in that technology, whether it's that or the facial recognition and how it's like a new avenue to oppress.

So I think with the power of media, we know the power of storytelling and just the power of seeing things on the screen, which is why representation matters.

You know, we have this opportunity to sort of create these ultimate pathways forward.

Speaking of pathways forward, Nick, one of the things about "Tomb" that kind of gets you right off, is these stunning, stunning visuals that you have.

- [Nick] Thank you.

- And, oh, you're welcome.

You know, they're just so epic and I have watched it on my screen on my laptop, but I kept thinking like, how would this be to see this on a full screen?

So can you...

I know that you did a lot on the film and maybe you can talk a little bit about that, your various roles, but also, can you talk about how you developed the future tech in the film?

You know, not only the landscapes, but also the devices, et cetera.

- Well, in terms of the roles I occupied again, this is not a well-established industry in Trinidad.

I know for various reasons, also I consider myself more an artist than anything else.

And it was really a joy in taking that journey of discovery, my architectural background allowed me to do all those 3D designs.

My musical background allowed me to do a lot of the scores.

I practiced cinematography for the last 10 years, so shot the film myself, as you can see where I'm going with the editing.

[Celia chuckles] And one of the things that I'm really good at, and this is very arrogant to say, but I'm really good at directing actors.

I'm really, really good at it, yes.

Now, in terms of the tech, okay.

One of the things that, especially growing up in Trinidad, this is growing up in a third world, let's just be real.

If I am bearing to say that I wanna step out on the world stage and talk the way, say Matt Damon and the martian talks, be the way they are.

I'm under a certain type of pressure.

If they're just like at level 10 good or level eight good, I have to be level 20.

I can't just say, I'm gonna be level eight I know I'm like, you know, Matt Damon and the martian and what I mean, when I say, well there was at one point when I was thinking about doing the tech about using regular switches and dials, for example, as a practical example.

And then I said, no, because I did a short proof of concept about 10 years ago, for a science fiction series I wanted to do, called "Seeds" it was an acronym for symbiotic [garbled speech]enhancement device.

And what I saw coming in the future was being able to project holograms that were rooted from a chip within your pineal gland and it just project through your eyes.

And I took some of that what I felt was gonna come in future, it'll be here soon, I mean that tech.

Instead of using switches and dials on a board, my astronauts, just sermon holograms, right.

They just sermon holograms and that provides the interface with the ship and it's EA.

- That is so tripped out that you say that because I was looking at a series called "Disclosure" and it has guys Dr. Steven Greer, and he's talking to people as well as himself about encounters with extraterrestrials that he says that he's had and one of the things that he said is that for those advanced species they are directly connected to their ships, but there are no switches per say because it's all sort of coming from here into the actual, you know, yeah, wow, that's what's up [chuckles] that's what's up.

[Nick chuckles] But I mean, that's one of the things about Afrofuturism that it's not... One of the things that I love best is that it's not a genre of protest, it's an organic sort of proactive.

We are black storytellers and we are pulling from this well of our historys and our legacy.

And it's not in reaction to anybody else, it's not a reaction to white saifais, this is-- - Exactly.

- This is who we are and this is what we think about.

These are the questions that we face as well, that we are considering, how will technology, how will we evolve along with it?

How will it interface with our human bodies?

You know, there's so much to that.

I mean, we look at the idea of melanin being able to conduct electricity, I mean, that is proven, you know, quantified science, well, as a melanated person, what does that mean for me?

What does it mean for you?

So one of the things you mentioned was that you did the score.

And I wanted to say that both you and Janeen that as a music lover, both of you, the scores in your films were just spot on.

- Thank you.

- So Fantastic.

- Thank you.

- And they both...

The music that each of you chose fits your stories, perfectly, the timing, the vibe, like all of it.

I think that's very exciting and I think, you know, there are some filmmakers that I don't understand it, but they don't really seem to care that much about the music.

And I don't understand because to me, music is definitely a character in your film.

- Yes, yes.

- Janeen I wanted to ask you about faith.

And you talked about this in the beginning when you talked about the origin of "Sight", but Naji... One of the things stood out to me, Naji the lead character is a seer who doesn't believe in spirits, she says that about herself.

- Yes.

- She grapples with faith in the unseen, faith in those around her, faith in herself.

And I wondered if you could expound a little bit on why you chose this theme, you told us some of the things you were going through, so.

- Yes, I choose that theme because I think that at my age and going through the things that I was going through and then talking to other friends and just living in the crazy world that we're living in, I realized that everyone struggles with faith on some level.

And again, it doesn't have to deal with religion or like some sort of like practice or spiritual practice.

Sometimes it just has to do with faith in self in feeling worthy, in feeling as though you can do it, you can make a career change, you can make a move, you can have a baby and be a mother, or have a baby and be a father or change your gender, or you know, like come out and be sexually free to love whoever it is that you wanna love.

Like people struggle with trusting themselves and trusting their decisions and moving on those things all of the time.

With Naji, I wanted her to be a character who only believed in the tangible, who only believe in the tangible world, in the world that she could see, anything in front of her, she believed in because it's on its face, she can trust it, she can touch it, she can manipulate it, she can do what she needs to do anything beyond the world that she can't see was like a mystery to her.

And that's how I kind of think of time.

We've all been talking about time, it's such a mystery it's something that while it's happening right now, it's also not happening because we can't see what's gonna happen beyond now.

But we also know that the decisions that we're making right now affect what's going to happen later on.

And the decisions that we don't make right now will affect what happens later on.

And so I think that for her, it's really fear and it's fear in the power of self and fear in the unknown, that's really what it is.

And so it's just about like taking charge and grabbing those fears by the horns and taming them, that's really all it's about.

And stepping out on faith, whatever that means means to you and stepping into your own greatness, that's really all it boils down to.

- Nice, thank you for sharing, and thank you for sharing, you know those personal things that you were grappling with.

- Yes.

- You know, when the story came about, we really appreciate that because I think, you know, for people in the audience, and I'm sure we have some aspiring filmmakers, you really kind of laid out in a very beautiful way, how personal challenges and internal challenges can be channeled creatively.

You know, it can happen.

I mean, you give yourself time and space to feel it and experience it.

But you can take that and make something with it.

And it's something that speaks to other people because we are, you know, there's a universality of, you know, to this human experience, to the feelings we feel.

And so with that idea of faith, I wanna flip back to Nick and ask you with all of the things...

I mean, this film is a big film, and given the circumstances where you're saying you were in a country where the film industry is not so developed as other places necessarily it was even even bigger undertaking for you.

So can you tell us what was the most challenging part about making "Tomb" and what was the most rewarding aspect of making it?

- Well, most definitely the most challenging part would be the visual effects.

I was very, very, very worried about that.

How would this look?

Again, you know, grappling with whether or not we should actually make, you know, like interface with switches and dials and coming up with the solution to that.

The entire process was extremely difficult, but one in which I loved every, every moment of it, it took me about two years to complete.

And the actors that I work with, we've been working together for a very long time, and they understand my process and they're there to help me in every way.

I look at my actors as artists as well, you all are filmmakers too.

In a way, getting this film made was getting the actors to recognize that they had their job to do, which wasn't just to regurgitate lines.

I will always say that I'm the beginning and the end, you are the human, live your life in the scene.

So what I mean is, I just want this to start correctly and end correctly, but do whatever the hell you want in the performance, 'cause I know you're gonna give me something great because we trust each other.

So that whole cohesive thing, again, every single day was 100 different problems and I had to solve it every time.

But for the most part, it was the visual effects that was very challenging.

What was the most rewarding?

You know, the most rewarding thing was being able to say whoever this... Again, in meeting people, when it came to filming, you always tell people, especially when I was younger, you wanna do these things, it can't really be done.

It can really be done, you need money, you need this, you need that.

What was the most rewarding thing every single day saying, yes, it can be done, look, I'm doing it right now.

Look, we're doing it right now.

[Celia chuckles] What are you talking about?

- [Celia chuckles] Yes.

- What are you talking about?

- Spoken like a true independent filmmaker.

- Yeah, I mean, I say to myself, you know, people wanna do their projects, great, God bless do what you wanna do , see what you wanna see.

That's why my philosophy on this entire thing, be yourself, do what you have to do and just keep going.

There are gonna be people off to the side of your path they're saying, by the way, by the way, as you just keep going and going and going, you're gonna hear them until you don't hear anything other than what's in front of you.

And that what's the most rewarding thing reminding myself every single day that this can be done.

The Caribbean's first science fiction film was made.

It was made, you know-- - Yeah.

So that's my speech on that.

- No, straight up, like thank you for saying that again, you know, people need to hear that.

And people who are wanting to make their first film need to say that, people who are wanting to make their next film need to hear that.

So I wanna go back to Ingrid and I have some notes where I was writing about, I was recently in New York for the first time in awhile.

And I'm thinking about cities and cities where black communities are facing, you know, often wanna feel like unprecedented challenges.

You know, we have Flint with the water crisis obviously now, Benton Harbor.

We have challenges in Harlem with housing.

We look at constantly look at other places and, you know, look at Chicago.

There's so many places where there are things, there are pressing crises that needs to be addressed.

And so can you talk a little bit about how you see Afrofuturism playing a role in bringing security, stability, and health to communities to black communities in this country?

- Yeah, I mean, that's a very big task to ask about, for Afrofuturism.

[both Celia and Ingrid chuckle] I guess my best example would be me running for mayor of Detroit in 2017.

I didn't set out to create an Afrofuturist platform necessarily, but that's why I get into Afrofuturist theories and philosophy influencing me.

So one of the first things that I did was acknowledged the land that we're on in Detroit and wanting to discuss my idea of what that future could look like in Detroit.

And that's a very like a co-creative kind of government system that really does honor humans actually sees black people as human [chuckles] and treats them as such.

I created these... Well first I used the aesthetic of Afrofuturism and I think it's a great way to re-imagine politics.

They use the same boring aesthetic and so I kind of jazzed it up a little and that thanks to George Kriger who was the artist that I collaborated with for this.

And I co-creation sessions.

And I think that probably was like the biggest thing, because co-creation is a big element of Afrofuturism.

And so basically every single week at my campaign office, we addressed a different issue growing the creative economy, growing adult literacy, tax foreclosures, of course the cannabis industry was growing exponentially and definitely exiting out black people.

And this is before legalization happened, full legalization and cryptocurrency was another one restorative justice practices.

And I basically presented my idea and sat in a circle and people would offer their own ideas and really discuss the gray.

And from that, I created my plan of action, where I suggested that we create a universal basic income using the cryptocurrency that Detroit would create.

There was something very seductive of the idea that we could create a currency based on our own values and determine how it would operate in our city.

So in terms of like our relationship to our current economy, for instance, as black bodies, it's very contentious.

It's not, you know, the economic systems are not here to support us, to help us grow wealth.

In fact, it's really set up to prevent us from doing so red lining for instance, still happens.

And so just thinking about how do we reimagine the economic system so we can get out of economic oppression so we can imagine creating destinies.

And so I think that, that's why it's really important to understand the Afrofuturist materials as much as possible glean from it, different theories and principles.

And that is what we put into our work.

Like I even asked tech people to ask your ancestors, is this okay, what you're creating?

You know, it's like, you know, bringing the worlds together and not being afraid to do so.

And this is what I like about "Sight", because you do experience how this kind of mystical metaphysical, sexual, excuse me, sexual, aah spiritual path is [all laugh] - We'll take it, we'll take it.

[all laugh] - The spiritual practice could actually inform our futures in a real world way and redirect us and protect our people.

And that you know, I love that illustration probably most about "Sight."

And that's something that I think we're very much afraid of doing, but I think those of us who understand these practices, we can bring that into our work every day and let it show up.

I do wanna just mention really, really quickly.

So 2044 is when United States becomes a majority, minority country.

And there's this really interesting university in North Texas is doing a series on this.

And they're pulling from this essay that Bennett Capers created "A Road on Afrofuturism, Critical Race Theory, and Policing."

And so when you were talking about policing, I think this is something that we really need to look at.

And I like that there is legal futurology that's been in development that even looks at the legal aspects of, you know, our futures and what could happen and how that could affect us and how we can prevent that through a legal means.

So it just an example of how Afrofuturism is thinking about everything [chuckles] - Sure.

- And Afrofuturism, we're getting into every nitty gritty, trying to protect black bodies and make sure that we experience love, joy, peace in the future, as much as possible.

- Well, right on.

And with everything that you've said, what I'm hearing at the core also is freedom, it's liberation, because you're talking about some of us freeing our minds from these previously sort of these previous schema of like how we need to think about politics, how we...

Yes, ask your ancestors, if this is okay, why not?

Why not?

I think that's really exciting.

And I think when you know your candidacy, I remember your candidacy, well, we met soon after that, it was exciting in of itself.

The fact that you were there running for mayor in Detroit and saying the things that you were saying in the way that you were saying them, that was, you know, that was a watershed moment, I believe.

And you know, and I'm really happy to see the way that you evolve forward with the things that you're doing now, because it is important.

You know, I refer to you in one of the presentations that I do as a cultural steward, and that's important for, you know, we need people to sort of bridge that gap between stories and reality.

And with that idea of stories in mind, we do have a question from the audience, and I guess I will deflect this to Janeen and Nick, for someone who is new to Afrofuturism, is there a film you'd recommend as an entry point?

- Would Janeen go fast?

- With whoever has the answer [chuckles] - Well, I think that a lot of people would go with "Black Panther" first because it's just something that's like recognizable on a global scale, but something that is on a smaller scale that I think is a very intimate thing and it's more...

It's not like linear storytelling also, it's very different in that way, it's called "Astronauts" [indistinct chatter] Great thing to just watch because the visuals are just so beautiful.

Like you watch that and you're just like in awe of just the visual, just so arresting, so I think-- - It's a short film.

- Yes, yes.

- But can you say sort of a little bit about what it's about.

It's another film about a space program.

- Yeah, and it basically is what it sounds like it's just about an astronaut who is black.

Well, it's called "Astronauts," so it's a black astronaut.

And for me, honestly, what stuck with me most were just the visuals of the film.

Like I don't really watch it with sound, I just watch it to see-- - The visuals.

- Literally just to see the images and I don't wanna really tell much about it, but there's an albino character in there.

And she's gorgeous, just watch the film, please, please, please.

- I remember when the teaser for that came out and it was literally, I think it's like 20 seconds or 25 seconds.

And it's just it's in slow motion, it's just these visuals that I remember being like, oh my God, what is this?

Like, it's so stunning.

Okay, great, great, thank you for that recommendation.

So "Astronauts" and "Black Panther" are your recommendations.

Nick, did you have some wrecks for the audience?

- Every time I've been thinking about it, but it didn't feel like Afrofuturism to me, but I'm a works from this Ethiopian filmmaker, Haile Gerima I would listen to his talks a lot and a lot of that influenced what I was doing with this film and believe it or not listening to Dick Gregory a lot too.

- Yeah, interesting.

- But his films, again, they're not futurist type films, but they're on a different dimension, a different level.

and perhaps it's something that you can look at and it doesn't have to be technology, doesn't have to be, you know, a George Jetson type era, but, you know, part of my film explores being another dimension.

So looking at his work and perhaps, you know, using that as a platform, into making something that of that type.

- Right and well, revolutionary thinking, you know.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, revolutionary thinking.

So we have one other question for specifically for Nick, and then I have a final question for all three of you.

So Nick from the audience, what are some of the themes from Caribbean Afrofuture stories that make it distinct from other Afrofuture stories?

- Oh boy, okay.

When it came to making this film, the most important thing I focus on was just being myself.

We're talking about black culture, black identity, you're looking at someone who's Asian.

So let's just dispense the 500 pound elephant in the room but I was born here, I lived all my life here.

My influences, most of my teachers are from Nigeria and Ghana and other cultures Trinidad is a melting pot of all types of cultures.

And I did not know the actual term Afrofuturism until maybe a year into editing and someone pointed it out to me.

- Into editing, wow.

- And they said, wow, you're into Afrofuturism as well.

I said, is that what this is?

This is just natural, it's not me attempting to be an ally.

It's not me attempting to be trying to fit in, this is natural.

It came for me because the cultures within me and without me.

And just be yourself, if you want to make a film of this type, be yourself on when you are honest with yourself, when you understand what you wanna do is pure because I believe the work that I have done is pure.

It doesn't come with an agenda.

I'm not trying to impress anyone and I'm not trying to be anyone's ally, I'm just trying to be me, be yourself, right?

Once you do that, don't worry, the work will speak the rest of the language.

- That's so interesting that you say that because to be completely frank with you, I assumed that you were black.

[Nick laughs] I did because, you know, because I have two nephews who are biracial, they're Asian and black.

- Right.

- And they look very much...

I mean, they're three years old, so they look different than you, but they also look very similarly to you.

And so that was sort of in my mind, and also being aware of the mirage of races and ethnicities that are in the Caribbean and all throughout the Caribbean.

So there's that as well but I think, you know, good advice as well to be yourself and this whole idea of, I don't know being an ally, you know, that can be a slippery slope, so-- - I listen enough to Malcolm X. I listened to many of his speeches, I listened to his speeches.

- You really listened.

- And I followed what he said I did.

- Well, I think he would be pleased.

So we're running out of time, but before we do, I do want to ask each of you this question, and I think I had decided to reword it, but I didn't do it on everybody.

So I'm gonna go with the version of this question that I prefer and we'll start with Ingrid.

What would you do if there were a large scale alien visitation?

- I absolutely love this question.

So as I was thinking about this question, I was thinking now, is this alien, like sun rock space is the place alien, someone who's like a black hand coming from another planet, or, you know, what kind of alien is it?

And it just really depends.

And I'm just gonna go with the "Sun Rock" version, that's another film, by the way that you should watch.

- Yes.

- And I would really wanna just engage and like sit down and be like, okay, so now that you hear what you're gonna do, like, why are you here?

You know, are you about to help us out?

Like, what's the purpose, and yeah, I think it would be just a really fascinating, especially if they came in like center up, like with like ancient Egyptian regalia and really a spaceship that like travels based on music and sound.

I would be totally into it.

And I liked this re-imagining because usually the aliens are like gross and dangerous and scary.

Like I want somebody I can engage with and talk to you.

So that's what I'm definitely hoping for.

- Nice, Janeen.

What would you do in the case of a large-scale alien invitation?

- Sometimes I wonder if humankind is the alien invasion [Celia laughs] If we are then I would just continue living my life as I am living my life.

But if it was a different type of alien invasion, I would be more so concerned about just like what Ms. Ingrid said, like, is it a peaceful thing or is it something that's a little bit more malicious?

And if it was a peaceful type of invasion where like, I could actually like interact with them, whether it be on a spiritual level, like if there are just like body less, formless things, you know, that are just here, or I could actually engage with them, they have faces and stuff, I would engage with them.

I think that stuff is really cool, creepy, but cool.

If they were more so scary, then I would be underground.

I'm not gonna lie to you.

[Celia chuckles] I wouldn't be in Florida 'cause we can't go underground here, we're a little bit too much below sea level for that, but I would find somewhere and be underground 'cause that's terrifying to me.

- Okay, Nick, you know, actually there was somebody I asked previously in another talk and they like couple people talked about just getting a bottle of tequila or mezcal and like going and sitting on a mountain side, what yo gonna do?

Nick what would your response be in the visitation?

- Okay, given what I have learned, given what I've read about, given the current status of this reality, this time lane currently occupying.

If there's gonna be an invasion, don't worry more than likely it's going to be holograms, okay.

Don't worry, don't be afraid, don't panic.

Chances are whoever's projected their backs against the wall.

And it's probably the last leg they're standing now that's this reality.

What I think aliens are just our descendants, way into the future discovered time travel, I would just sightseeing, so don't be afraid either way.

- I think it's really interesting that none of you assumed hostility.

You all were very open to, it could be either way, which I think is amazing, you know, I think it's realistic as well.

I don't think there's a reason to assume hostility.

Well, we are now out of time, but I want to say I'm very heartfelt and very strong thank you to all of you for being here with us today.

We appreciate you not only sharing your work, but sharing your experiences with us.

It's really important these conversations are how Afrofuturism continues to live and grow and expand, which obviously does benefits all of us.

For the audience, please check out Blackness Revisualize The Virtual Film Festival, excuse me, Virtual Film Festival, which is now running on allarts.org.

As I said, there are 10 films that are from five different countries.

There's short, there's features, there's space-based, there's community-based, there's all kinds of different stories and all kinds of different characters.

So I think it's safe to say that there's something for everyone, but it's all very fantastic.

And I think that, you know, you may be surprised about the wide range of stories that Afrofuturist filmmakers are creating.

We also have a playlist that's a part of the festivals, so there's a soundtrack for, you know, your Afrofuturist vibe.

And then we also have for each one of the films that are featured in the festival, we have an editorial piece that was written by a writer, various writers that really isn't sort of play on the film and just sort of a piece that's in conversation with the film.

So you don't have to worry about spoilers.

You check out the story, you can check out the film and please enjoy all this content.

Thanks to all our allarts.org, thanks to WSET 13 in New York, this is the beauty of public media.

So please continue to support and thanks a lot.

Everyone take good care.