Hello Meltingpot Readers,
If you’ve been listening to Season 2 of the MAMP podcast, then you know that the Meltingpot is a media partner for a Philadelphia-based organization called the 5 Shorts Project. The 5 Shorts Project helps aspiring filmmakers create their first short film, from concept to finished product and then gets those films screened on television and on the big screen at a red carpet event. Five Shorts founder, Shameka Sawyer, started the organization five years ago because she wanted to see more diverse stories in the media ecosystem.
This year’s red carpet premiere event will take place on Saturday April 27 from 5-9pm in Philadelphia. And even though it’s called 5 Shorts, this year Sawyer says the entries were so good, she decided to work with 10 filmmakers instead of five, because she just couldn’t narrow down the quality films. For details about purchasing tickets to the red carpet screening, or for more information about the organization, please visit the 5 Shorts website.
In the meantime, I had the opportunity to chat with one of the filmmakers whose short film will be shown on April 27. Her name is Angel Hogan. By day, Hogan is a poet and educator, but she stepped into the role of filmmaker with the help of 5 Shorts and made a documentary called By Law, By Love: A Documentary about Race, Family and Identity. Here’s what Angel told me about the film and the process of making a movie about a very intimate journey.
Q & A with Filmmaker Angel Hogan on Family, Race + Identity
Lori Tharps: What is your film, By Law, By Love about?
Angel Hogan: The simple way to describe it would be to say it’s about a Biracial adoptee who discusses his challenging journey of self-discovery, and how a DNA kit revealed missing pieces of his past while connecting him to his birth family. But I’m also trying to answer the questions; What is identity? Who gets to decide? What makes a family?
LT: What was the inspiration behind By Law, By Love?
AH: As an adopted person with little knowledge of my background, the idea of DNA testing is exciting and daunting. These tests have the potential to unlock exhilarating, illuminating doors for folks like me with little or no understanding of our genetic background. This knowledge also has the ability to unsettle: what if you find you are not who you thought you were? The title of the film comes from my own family folklore. As cross-racial adoptees my brother and I stood out, and sought reassurance about what made us “real.” Without birth tales and genetic connection, we needed another story. My parents would assure us, over and over throughout childhood; they were ours, we were theirs, we belonged together. We are a real family: by law and by love.
LT: As a poet, what was it like stepping into the role of filmmaker?
AH: I have never worked with film before and I am incredibly excited to work with 5 Shorts. While small, the organization’s commitment and contribution to increased diversity and inclusion in independent film making is significant. As an artist who deeply believes in the life changing power of storytelling, I am profoundly grateful to 5 Shorts founder Shameka S.L. Sawyer for her mutual dedication to this vision. Though often difficult, sharing experience can be a mighty community and compassion builder. If we are willing, our stories help us learn, awaken, understand, grow and heal. This level of empathy is especially urgent now, during a time when so many are divided afresh by our current political landscape.
LT: So you’re a poet and an educator. Now you can add filmmaker to your resume. What’s next for you, Angel?
AH: Next up, I’m delighted to be a part of Heather Blakeslee’s new project Root Quarterly—one part magazine, one part collaborative art project, and one part social experiment. Launch party is in May, and you can find more details at Heather’s website.
If you’d like to know more about Angel and her poetry, check out this interview she did with Earlie Bird Productions. And if you’re in the Philadelphia area, come see her work at the 5 Shorts Red Carpet premier on April 27.
Peace!
