Page 4 - Burden-theFilm PowerPoint Presentation

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Like the majority of people, I am very
disturbed by what is going on in America.
For people of color it is no shock to us that
racism, discrimination and inequality are
alive, widespread and strong. The recent
political climate removed the false veil for

many other people and revealed that what
people of color have been saying about the
current state of our country - and people of
color's place in it - is REAL.
With this film, my goal is to build empathy by showing
a day in the life of Black and brown men in America
through the eyes of Bennett. This film chronicles all of
the macro and micro aggression we face just walking

through life - no matter your status, success or anything
personal about you. Notwithstanding the seriousness of
the underlying issues, Burden is not heavy-handed in
the delivery of the "message," but instead skillfully
infuses comedy into the real life scenarios that Bennett
encounters throughout his day culminating in a
dramatic moment that any person - man or woman,
black or white - can understand.
Aristotle once said, "You don't change people's minds

with intellect; you do it through emotion." Film is the
most powerful tool to have an emotional impact.

Burden is my form of activism and my contribution to advancing the
conversation forward in a way only film/entertainment can. We want
to emotionally impact our audiences so that we can have healthy,
necessary and robust conversations about what I believe is the root
of all of America's internal problems - racism and discrimination.

“Let’s stop telling lies. The United States of America’s
foundation is genocide of native people and slavery.”
– Spike Lee

B U R D E N 4