“WARNING: This video may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.”
A terrified 14-year-old African American boy in a first-generation African household hides foreclosure notices from his family only to have his worse fears realized when the police arrive to remove them from their home…
Title:
Original Title:
Production Year:
Casts:
Producer:
Writer:
Editor:
Dir. of Photography:
Sound Design:
Festival:
Category:
Country:
Language:
Howard L. “GATO” Mitchell is an African American visual artist, writer, and director born in Panama City, Panama, and is of Afro-Latin descent. Under the pseudonym GATO, he uses Critical Theory and Critical Media Literacy to underscore his narratives in order to “…examine the fire beneath the ice of humanity.” He balances epic vision, immaculate aestheticism, resonant humanity with visceral entertainment. Currently, Mr. Mitchell has completed a short urban drama about the removal of an African American family from their home due to policies stemming from gentrification (late 2019), while also in development for a slate of a number of theatrical features.
Howard GATO Mitchell is a recent recipient of the 2018 Media Arts Fellowship Award, “…Having shown a commitment to the moving image arts and pushing his practice with new and engaging work.”
Director Statement
Within this story, we will discover the 14-year-old, “Trayvon” and Officer “Zimmerman” and Officer “Wilson” as they come to a fiery intersection with the dad whose name is Dante. The allusion to Dante’s Inferno is the allusion to the squalid bitterness, frustrations, and hellish rage boiling within black anger. We will discover them all through the eyes of Trayvon, who has been hiding threatening bank notices stating that they will repossess his family’s home. His worse fears are realized when the police arrive at the door.
In these unprecedented times, it’s impossible not to miss the references stripped from the front-page headlines of Trayvon Martin, Darrin Wilson and George Zimmerman and the salient, ever immediate community issues surrounding police brutality and gentrification in the African American community. It is my hope that this film will spark a discussion and that we work together to bring this movie to audiences and enrich our collective, cultural understanding of these two very important issues.
This film is the result of the 2018 Media Arts Fellowship Award, that I received, “..having shown a commitment to the moving image arts and pushing cinematic practice with new and engaging work,” as quoted by the Regional Arts Fellowship Council and the Oregon Arts Commission.
