Interview:
Ya’Ke Smith,
director,
"Dear Bruh: A Eulogy. A Baptism. A Call to Action"
Prompted by the Feb. 23 murder of Georgia jogger Ahmaud Arbery, Austin-based filmmaker’s Ya’Ke Smith’s short film Dear Bruh: A Eulogy. A Baptism. A Call to Action commemorates the Black people who have lost their lives to hate crimes and police violence. Six actors recite lines from Smith’s poem “Dear Bruh,” which he wrote several years ago in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and Mike Brown in 2014, against powerful images of today’s Black experience.Dear Bruhalso features University of Texas student Ahsjah Exumé performing a rendition of “Trouble of the World” to a montage that recalls America’s history of racism but ultimately offers a glimpse of a hopeful future.Dear Bruh: A Eulogy. A Baptism. A Call to Action is now available to stream at Ya’Ke Smith’s Youtube channel. Ya’Ke Smith previously directed the feature film WOLF, the web series The Beginning and Ending of Everything, and the short films Dawn and One Hitta Quitta. Ya’Ke Smith also is an Associate Professor of film at the University of Texas at Austin’s Radio-Television-Film department and Moody College’s first Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He is currently working on a new web series tentatively titled Love in the Time of Corona. Aired: July 2, 2020 Web sites: https://www.youtube.com/ https://www.facebook.com/yakefilmmaker |
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