KASEY ELISE WALKER
HOOP DREAMS, 2022
The short film explores the vibrant colors of South LA through the eyes of Savannah Walker, an 8 year-old, African American girl who idolizes her mother’s resilient strength and mystical, golden hoop earrings. Walker's fear of speaking publicly in poetry class leads her to steal her mother's hoops with a belief that they'll help her overcome anything. Ultimately, her mother’s golden hoops transport her into a world beyond her greatest imagination.
“The powers within you baby!” This film ends on the note that defines it. Whimsical, dreamy yet determined is what this film is. It transports us all to our childhoods regardless of where we grew up reminding us of the fears we all once had and how some of us through beauty and pop culture overcame them and defined ourselves.
KASEY ELISE WALKER
Kasey Elise Walker is a Los Angeles-born writer, actress, and director known for her appearances in the Hulu series INTO THE DARK and the feature film NORTH HOLLYWOOD starring Vince Vaughn. Her writing slate includes Would you Care If I Left?, a narrative podcast starring Jorge Lendeborg and Alicia Wainwright and HOOP DREAMS, a narrative short that had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2022. Kasey Elise is presently in development for an episodic based on her experience growing up in South Los Angeles during the early 2000s which reflects the world she and her peers grew up in, as well as a feature adaptation of Kasey’s short film THE DISPUTE.
AYANNA DOZIER
SOFTER, 2020
Softer examines the demands of "softening" that are requested of Black women's bodies in society---from job prospects to romantic ones---be that in their voice, their manners, and, critically, their hair. The experimental short plays upon the grooming rituals of softening that are terrifyingly rough through a recreation of a permanent wave machine produced perm (popular in the 1930s-1950s). The short mediates on the historical ways in which Black women have tried to answer this demand on softness through respectable appearance and behavior.
CHRISTELLE DE CASTRO
JUST SAY, 2022
Just Say is a music video directed & produced by de Castro for her best friends, twin musicians; Coco & Breezy. It is a dance-centered film particularly honoring the genre of house. It is a window into Christelle's world, one that is eclectic, soulful, and celebrates the spectrum. This film was self funded by Christelle & the artists and made possible with the contribution of friends, both in front of the camera and behind the lens.
CHRISTINE YUAN
HOYEON AS THE INTERNATIONAL WOMAN OF MYSTERY, 2022
KILO KISH
DEATH FANTASY, 2022
This song and video serves as the American Gurl album “manifesto” - It’s asking who we are beyond definitions, and beyond who we appear to be to ourselves, and others. “I’ve struggled with this for a long time as I haven’t always fit neatly in any space so this song is actually a declaration of freedom in many ways.” Kilo Kish
As Kish aimlessly runs and writhes around the grounds of a Motel to her eerie and hypnotic song we are offered a glimpse into the self-reflective state Kish has been in. Her album goes through different characters and aesthetics of the American girl as seen in popular culture. This year's exhibition borrows its title and concepts from the American Gurl album.
KITTY CA$H
KITTY’S WORLD: GETTING TO THE MONEY, 2021
“Getting To The Money” by Kitty Ca$h invites viewers into the artist's mental landscape; through the 3D character, Kitty has an open discourse on achieving the American Dream through financial literacy and hip hop culture. This episode features live action guests featuring Aleali May, Amber Khan, ModernBlkGirl, and Beverly Beal.
LEILA JARMAN
THIS IS MARAWA, 2021
SARAH NICOLE FRANÇOIS
iGURL, 2022
Serving as a commentary on the everchanging “IG Baddie Aesthetic” sublimated in our cultural landscape. The tide for what is deemed attractive is shifting quicker and quicker and the expectation to keep up becomes heavy as technology progresses and social media influence spreads. Simultaneously, the access to change on how we look is instant as a fast food order. For those who relent to the demands of the tides, what are the consequences of these heavy expectations? How is this affecting our collective psyche as we get closer and closer to the Uncanny Valley?
Sarah’s work on first look is provocative and sometimes unsettling. The questions she presents through her work are as relevant as they come. Who is the real Sarah? This is the essence of her work, merging digital spaces with reality.