Wisconsin (World Premiere)
Running Time: 14 minutes
Drama
September
Avalon Atmospheric Theater
2473 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207
Directors Bio:
His work lives at the intersection of healing, transformation, and truth-telling. Whether through film, writing, design, or performance, RJ approaches storytelling as a way to understand himself and connect with others, asking questions and making space for reflection.
He has contributed to a range of cultural, film, and educational projects, including work with Langston League on initiatives like the Wakanda Forever curriculum, PBS’s The Big Payback Reparations Toolkit, and Netflix’s African Queens and Queen Cleopatra guides.
With his first short film, The Side Effects of U, RJ steps more fully into his voice as an artist, one grounded in honesty, curiosity, and a willingness to grow in public.
At the core of it all, RJ is an artist learning to trust his instincts, honor his gifts, and embrace the journey.
Director's Statement:
I remember the sound before I understood the meaning, screams cutting through the quiet of the night, my mother’s voice unraveling as she received a phone call that would alter the trajectory of our family forever. I was six years old when I learned my father had been shot. By the time we reached the hospital, I still didn’t grasp the weight of what had happened. I only understood fear in its purest form, waiting, watching, and not knowing.
Hours later, a doctor entered the room and told us my father would survive, but he would be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life.
At that age, I didn’t yet have the language for grief, trauma, or loss. But I understood that something had been taken from us, and that nothing would ever feel the same again.
In the years that followed, my childhood was shaped by adjustment. My father battled his health. My mother carried the weight of providing for our family alone. And I, in turn, grew up faster than I was meant to, trying to make sense of a reality that felt both unfair and inescapable. What once felt like a joyful life slowly transformed into something heavier, quieter, and more uncertain.
The Side Effects of U is born from that silence.
This film is not just a retelling of events; it is an exploration of the emotional aftermath. It reflects the internal spiraling that can follow trauma, the confusion, the anger, the longing for control, and the search for peace. Through the character of Darius, I revisit my younger self, not to relive the pain, but to understand it.
The film exists in the space between memory and healing. It mirrors my family’s story while also imagining what it means to confront the source of that pain. In doing so, it asks a question I have carried for years: What does forgiveness look like when the wound never fully disappears?
Darius’s journey toward peace, and ultimately forgiveness, is not about excusing harm, but about reclaiming agency. It is about choosing to release what no longer serves you, even when the past remains unchanged.
This project is deeply personal, but it is also universal. Trauma does not end in the moment it occurs; it lingers, reshapes, and reveals itself in unexpected ways. The Side Effects of U seeks to give form to those invisible consequences, and to honor the resilience it takes to move forward.
This film is my testament to that journey.
It is a reflection of where I’ve been, and more importantly, how far I’ve come.
No comments:
Post a Comment