Open Call: Pitch Reels

Bi-Racial Hair Pitch:

"Slit my wrists, my blood does not excrete in black and white" prophesizes 13-year old Zora in her poem entitled "Bi-Racial Hair" which was performed live in front of 1500 of her peers and adult allies at the Urban Word NYC Teen Poetry Slam.

My proposed short film of the same title, is a satirical look at the racial tension young African American's experience who are of mixed ethnic backgrounds. Using Zora's poem as the thread, the film follows her initial comedic rant about the challenges she faces in stylizing her hair to her personal frustrations of being teased about her ethnicity by her African American peers. The film weaves between fictional reanctments of sections of her poem with candid interviews (conducted by Zora) of youth. Illustrating the struggles youth of mixed color face with identity and social position, the poet's resolution about proposing a "new race" sheds light on the complexity and depth of the racist wounds our nation still faces 150 years after the abolishment of slavery.