Body and Son
Story
Body and Son is the story of DeShawn, a 9-year-old boy who lives with his single mother. He comes across the dead body of a man he believes to be his absentee father and confides in it about being bullied at school until his real father unexpectedly returns causing DeShawn to react in the only way he knows how.
From the Director
This short film is an exploration of the effects of black fathers missing from African-American households in our urban neighborhoods. It also delves into the issue of over-policing and its impact on the psyches of black, urban youth.
This story is one that resonates deeply with me as one that could have been mine if my life had taken just a slightly different turn. The sheer circumstance of being born black, male and lower-class in America is such that it has the power to cast a foreboding shadow over one’s knowledge of self their entire life. That shadow seeps into the soul and infects his whole being. The assumption of guilt, the lack of opportunities and the denial of humanity add up to a cycle of despair that must be addressed first by calling it by its name.
My hope is that this film opens up a dialog about the state of our urban communities and what we can do to take up the challenge of bringing change together.
-Chris Anthony Hamilton
From
the
Set
The Team
Writer/Director
Chris is an award-winning Director and Cinematographer living in Atlanta, GA. With an education in film from Hofstra University, Chris honed his skills in New York City working with giants including Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay, Sesame Street and Ralph Lauren. His screenplay for Body and Son was a Finalist in the 2015 Harlem International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and a Semi-Finalist in the 2016 Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition among others. With the help of his tremendous team his short Something Bigger won the Audience Choice Award at the 2017 Atlanta Horror Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival. His most recent film Broken Branches won him the prize for Best Director at the 2018 Black Women Film Network Short Film Festival.
Director of Photogaphy
After studying Steadicam at the Maine Workshops, Alfeo had the opportunity to work alongside Steve Harris, Kimberly Elise and Tyler Perry, and yet again with Isaiah Washington and Shemar Moore. Alfeo returned to Maine for the completion of the Masters DP course and returned a third time to for 3D studies in stereoscopic cinema. Alfeo has worked with George Clooney, Janet Jackson, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Paula Abdul, Cecily Tyson, Angela Bassett, Sybil Shepard, Blair Underwood Robin Givens and Robert Rodriquez to drop a few more names. He recently received an Award of Merit for his outstanding cinematography on Chris’ latest short film Something Bigger.
The Cast
De'Jon Watts
"DeShawn"
Teea Loreal
"Janet"
Teea is a talented stage and screen actress of the rarest order hailing from Cincinatti, OH where she performed at the Aronoff Theater. She credits her grandmother who performed at the Apollo Theater as her muse and the source of her tremendous work ethic. After receiving a BA in Film/Video from Georgia State University, Teea now calls Atlanta home. She has performed on stage at the Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center and the Village Theater. She has appeared on screen in several web series, short films and was most recently cast in Steven Soderberg’s latest feature film. She received an Award of Merit from the Southern Shorts Awards for her starring role in Chris’ short film Something Bigger which is an Official Selection at the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival.
De'Jon "D.J." Watts began his acting career at the age of seven. It was then that he graced the stage with his first leading role in the play, Taking Back the Rainbow as Jabril. De'Jon continued to display his talent on the stage until he was about 10 years old at which time he began auditioning for TV and film. Now, at twelve years old, D.J. has several credits to his name that include Black Panther, House With the Clock in its Wall, War Angels (The Awakening) and Living Vee. Aside from acting, D.J.'s other talents include hip hop dance, taekwando, mime/praise dance and the art of stepping.
"Alex"
Keith is an LGBTQ actor who has appeared onstage at Kansas City Missouri Repertory Theatre, Main stage and Touring Company of Overland Park Kansas’ Theatre for Young America and the Main stage and Touring Company of The Saint Louis Repertory Theatre. He has performed onstage in California at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, The Magic Theatre, Theatre on the Square, and the Exit Theatre, where he received a Dramalogue Critic’s Award for his performance as boxer Cleveland Valentine. Keith recently moved to Atlanta, where he is a member of the Murder Mystery Company of Atlanta. He performed in Adele Ulrich and Ray Manlove’s “Becoming Human”; and later in “The MANologues”, where he met writer/director Chris Anthony Hamilton. Keith won the prize for Best Actor at the 2018 Black Women Film Network Short Film Festival for his role in Chris' previous short Broken Branches.
"Sharice"
Amandah Rochelle is an up and coming Actress/ filmmaker born in Milwaukee, WI. Amandah knew as a young girl that she wanted to leave her mark on the world. At that time she didn’t know it would be in the ever-so-vast Entertainment industry. When she was 8yrs old she won 2nd place state wide for the “I Have a Dream” essay contest. After meeting Dr. King’s youngest daughter on stage in the spotlight, in front of thousands, this sparked her dream of creating content while acting in it. Shortly after, she and her family moved to Minnesota where she remained in performing art schools through high school. After Graduating, Amandah studied at the University Of Minnesota in the Theater Arts program. She stayed for 3 years before she made a drastic decision to leave school altogether and move to Atlanta to follow her passion in Acting. In 2017 she co-starred in Chris' award-winning short film Something Bigger for which she received an Award of Merit from the Southern Shorts Awards.
Become a Backer
Making a film, even a short film, is a complicated endeavor that requires a great deal of coordination and resources. Even though the film is complete, there's more work to be done. From here on out contributions will go towards film festival submission fees, airfare and accommodations to travel to the festivals that accept us and original music for the film. Our backers will receive a screen credit based on their level of contribution.
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Up to $500 - Special Thanks
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Up to $1000 - Sponsored by
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Up to $2500 - In Association With (company), Associate Producer (individual)
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Up to $5000 - Executive Producer (individual), Solo Title Card (company)
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More than $5000 - Presented by
Find out where your donations will go and choose a specific part of the production to contribute to by clicking below.
