The Black Focus Film Festival is a film competition geared towards Alabama college students of Black and/or African descent. RSVP Here
A: Anna Ulrey, Aura Website Coordinator
D: DeSean Motley, Film Creator in the Black Focus Film Festival
A: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your background as a creator?
D: I do film, and I’m kind of new in the game. I started around four years ago when I just picked up the camera and started filming stuff. That led to me making short films; that led to me pursuing a minor in film. I submitted a few short films to festivals, including some UAB festivals. At that point, I just realized how much I like film over anything else, so I really wanted to commit to it. I went from pursuing a minor in film to majoring in film through the Honors College. I have so many different jobs dealing with filming, and I pretty much hold cameras for like sixteen hours a day. I work on festivals, production committees, filming for commissions, and I’m working with some non-profits right now. As far as film goes, I’m kind of everywhere and into everything right now.
A: What are some of the other festivals that you’ve submitted to or been a part of so far?
D: I worked for Sidewalk, so I got a free opportunity to submit to that festival and they haven’t selected the pieces yet. I also had a short last year called “Toy Story” that was in UAB Films Ablaze Film Festival.
A: So you’ve said that you’re involved in the executive side of many projects right now, and I know that you’re on the executive team for the Black Focus Film Festival. Can you tell me a little bit about what you do in your role?
D: I’m on the programming committee, so I helped to select the films. Then I’m also the Creative Director, so I help to create and steer the direction of the creative team for the festival. We have some really amazing creators that are doing some wild stuff, and instead of making as much content for this festival, I help direct that. A lot of the role is Tim telling me to calm down with it because I have these crazy ideas. Right now, I just finished previews for the festival, but it took us two weeks to figure out something manageable to do for it.
A: What did you submit to the festival? Is there a title and a general idea about it you can share with us?
D: “Dopeboy” is a look inside the life of minorities, and it’s kind of like a statement about the cycle of poverty and what it leads to in minority communities. It speaks to the fact that there are people who are born into these minority communities and they’re born into a system where not many of their parents have had educational opportunities. I’m the second person in my family to even go to college, so I wanted to portray the idea that ancestors in these communities were not afforded the opportunity to go to college and better themselves in that way. You also have to think about how they were born into a system that already ruined that chance for their ancestors, and now they have to find a way to somehow make it to college and to a better life with no example.
I tried to really accentuate the fact that there are people whose parents are working minimum-wage jobs because they weren’t afforded that education, and they’re working 60-hour weeks. They can’t be there for their sons and daughters, and that leads to them trying to make a hard decision. That’s where the title “Dopeboy” comes from. I know a lot of people in my life that I can relate to who don’t deal drugs for the reasons the media portrays them to; they aren’t thugs who want to deal drugs and kill people. They just know that they don’t have any money to survive on and the guy down the street told them that they’ll give them $20 to deliver a bag to someone. I mean, that’s food for the night. That’s food for everybody for the night, so they’re not really asking questions. They’re not doing it to get rich or anything, they’re selling drugs to get to school and have opportunities in a system where there’s nothing in place to help them do that. So that’s what the story’s about. It’s following the life of someone who’s in that same role.
A: After forming the idea for your film, how did you go about the actual process of producing it?
D: Things have been moving so fast for me. I’ve been doing this seriously for about two years, and the amount of opportunities that I’ve encountered is crazy. To even film “Dopeboy” was around two weeks of filming and it was hectic. I was the cameraman, director, audio-guy, and an actor, so I was kind of doing everything and that was hard. I called up pretty much all of my friends and asked them to come act for me.
A: How many people did that amount to?
D: I don’t even know, maybe twenty people. That made it even harder because I would call and see if everyone could meet at my room at a certain time. If I had to reshoot, not everyone that was in the original shoot could make it, so then continuity was an issue. There were times when people needed to leave early, and it was just a lot of craziness. I just said, “Everyone come to my room, and we’re going to figure this out.” I’m just so happy that it came together. This was my first serious film I shot in 4K, and I’m really proud of what it is. It could be better, but for what it was, I’m proud of it.
A: Could you speak a bit to why you chose the Black Focus Film Festival to share your film?
D: Last summer, my sophomore year, I was working for an organization called Fish Camp Films. At the time, I was realizing that it’s so difficult to work in film. There’s no set path in the industry. If you want to become a doctor, you go to medical school. For so many jobs, all you have to do is go to school and apply. But when you’re in a creative role like this, you have to produce work that people want to watch. I was at the point in my journey where I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew I wanted to do something. That’s all I could think in my head—you’ve got to do something, make something. Then one of my mentors told me that the difference between who they hire is that so many people come in with the drive to want to produce something, but they aren’t actually making anything; I was in the process of making things. So, I was working, and I got a call that Tim was looking for people to work on the Black Focus Film Festival. Of course, I joined because I need anything that will grow my connections and keep me moving in the film industry. “Dopeboy” came after that, in that time between agreeing to work on the festival and starting. We filmed it all, and I edited and finished it up. Then, Tim called and said that he was ready to get started.
