One Story Up (TV)
Debuting on October 15 on Topic, “One Story Up” is a great example of a filmmaker, using his clout, to raise up filmmakers and voices to a wider audience. In this series, the filmmaker in question is Roger Ross Williams who, in 2010, became the first African American director to win an Academy Award for his short subject documentary, “Music by Prudence.” In each episode of this series, which I have seen the first two of, he is presenting a short film from filmmakers of different colors and races and orientations, and then doing a Q&A session with them. As representation becomes all the more important in the industry, seeing Williams do something like this for other people’s work is inspiring, and the type of thing we could use more of.
In the debut episode, Williams offers up “Cherish,” a lovely, 6-minute short about an introverted boy attending worship services, and inspired by what he perceives as images of flight, from poet and filmmaker Terrence Daye. Next month’s episode features the short film, “Mizuko,” a beautiful and moving animated film inspired by the Buddhist ritual for ending abortions, by directors Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo. In beginning with these two shorts, Williams is setting up a series where no topic is off-limits, and creativity and imagination play a big role in how each filmmaker tells their story. The Q&As Williams hold with the directors after the film is important to how the series succeeds, because it allows us to hear why Williams thought these filmmakers were important ones to lift up. Each episode reminded me of a film festival screening, where we get the programmer’s introduction of the film, the film, and then a discussion afterwards about what inspired the film. Williams is the curator, and I’ll be honest, I really like the voices he’s bringing forth in his little film festival for Topic.
