deadCenter 2020: Black filmmaker roundup

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Available to stream through June 21 as part of Episodic shorts at deacenterfilm.org.

Director: Sev DeMy
Screenwriter: Sev DeMy
Producer: Sev DeMy, L. Maxwell McKissick
Cast: Rufus Burns, Selynne Silver

James deals with multiple interruptions from his girlfriend and friends on his day off.

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Brother

Available to stream through June 20 as part of Modern Family Shorts at deadcenterfilm.org.

Director: Ya’Ke
Screenwriter: Ya’Ke
Producer: Marisela Campos, Chuka Agbaraji
Cast: Justin Arnold, Lexter Santana, Joseph Preston

The dynamic of longtime friends Jason and Caleb is interrupted by the arrival of Caleb’s troubled brother Casey.

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Buck

Available to stream at deadcenterfilm.org.

Director: Elegance Bratton, Jovan James
Screenwriter: Elegance Bratton, Jovan James
Producer: Chester Algernal Gordon, Elegance Bratton, Jovan James, Valerie Steinberg
Executive Producer: Elegance Bratton, Jovan James, Simbi Kali
Co-Producer: Valerie Steinberg
Cast: Malik Shakur, Biko Eisen Martin, Simbi Khali, Bruce Jackson, Gabe Peyton, Antonio, Alex Egner
Editor: Kristan William Sprague
Production Design: Daniel Ornitz

Depressive Lynn embarks on a troubled quest for happiness.

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Justin

Available to stream through June 21 in the United States as part of Okie Shorts Mix-Tape Vol. 2 at deadcenterfilm.org.

Director: Brando Jyrome
Screenwriter: Brando Jyrome, Ciara Jewel, Chandler Berrett
Producer: Bobby C Dodd, Brando Jyrome, Todd Roberts, Jacob Hightower, Laron Chapman
Cast: LaRonn Marzett, Kode Ransom, Pamela Kaye Jones

This short follows Justin throughout the day he is shot and killed.

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Test Pattern

Available to stream through June 21 in Oklahoma at deadcenterfilm.org.

Director: Shatara Michelle Ford
Screenwriter: Shatara Michelle Ford
Producer: Pin-Chun Liu, Shatara Michelle Ford, Yu-Hao Su, Lee Stobby
Cast: Brittany S. Hall, Will Brill, Gail Bean, Drew Fuller
Cinematographer: Ludovica Isidori
Editor: Matt Tassone, Katy Miller
Production Design: Eloise Ayala
Sound Design: Thomas Ouziel
Music: Robert Ouyang Rusli

After Renesha is raped, she and her white boyfriend visit multiple hospitals in search of a rape kit.

testpatternmovie.com/trailer

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Things of Beauty Burn

Available to stream through June 21 as part of Allies and Adversaries Shorts at deadcenterfilm.org.

Director: Skinner Myers
Screenwriter: Skinner Myers
Producer: Skinner Myers, Micaela Hammond, Tanner Sawitz
Cast: Eugene Alper, Justin Wiggins, Melanie Neilan, Liana Giniatullina, Samantha Beckey

Afro-Russian teen Xander makes a life-or-death decision after an encounter with a pastor’s daughter.

This article appears in Alcoholmanac 2020.