Interview with the Film Team of BLACK STAINS. Winning Short Film

BLACK STAINS won BEST FILM at the July 2020 Experimental Film Festival.

What motivated you to make this film?

Trent D. Williams, Jr (TDW: From personal experience not seeing a lot of films surrounding the African-American male experience through dance. This film looks at different the African-American male experience in a multigenerational sense by capturing their lived experiences.

Tiffany Rhynard (TR): I saw a story that I believed needed to be told. I make work that addresses injustice and inequity in modern society, and I want to humanize stories that are otherwise suppressed, marginalized or narrowly represented. When I saw Trent’s choreography, I saw the potential for strong storytelling through film. Addressing racial justice is a matter of life and death, and showing the lived experience of African-American men is beautiful and normal and necessary.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you…