More than more 72% of African American children grow up without a father in their household according to a study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. A group of Charlotte filmmakers are on a mission to change that sobering statistic.
One Day in June is an independently financed feature film about one father’s journey to find and reconnect with the children he abandoned. Charlotte film director Narcel Reedus and producers Charles Easley, Angela Washington plan to begin production by the end of 2013 and release the movie on Father’s Day 2014.
“We are committed to changing the perception of fathers particularly in the African American community by showing a man stepping up to establish an ongoing relationship with his kids”, says producer, writer and educator Charles Easley. “This is going to be more just a than a movie. This is a movement.”
The story of One Day in June focuses on the character Russ, an old man content in his simple world. One day he decides to find the children he fathered but did not raise. His journey takes him to Chris, his youngest son, who is an addict but more afraid that his partner has moved on. Russ finds Lisa his single and childless daughter who is consumed with books and paranoid about her job. Russ and Lisa visit his oldest son Jamal in prison. Jamal is the spitting image of Russ and has come to terms with the bad decisions he’s made in the past by vowing to live a life free of negativity and stress. He carries this annoying philosophy on his sleeve, which causes more stress and negativity around him. Finally there is Keisha, Russ’ oldest daughter. Keisha (aka K.L.) is a successful Black Republican who bullies her two children, husband and anyone that attempts to get her in way. She becomes completely unhinged when Russ arrives at her doorstep on Thanksgiving Day with the family she never knew.
The filmmakers have set up office space at the Garage at Packard Place, a small business hub for entrepreneurship and innovation in Uptown Charlotte. They are currently seeking funding for the $1.5M budget to begin production and are using the crowdsourcing portal Kickstarter to raise $10,000 for pre-production.
The One Day in June producers are using the strategy of launching a Kickstarter campaign (www.kickstarter.com/projects/1048081911/one-day-in-june) and social media to connect with their target audience before the film is even made. This new trend in film distribution, starting the marketing of a film before production begins, is actually an old strategy taken from the playbook of legendary Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux whose early silent films featured an all Black cast and relied on financial support from the African American community. Many independent filmmakers today are finding this model for film marketing and distribution critical to compete in a market place dominated by Hollywood blockbusters.
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