LMTMS (Let Me Tell My Story) and Momedia team up to create a short film during this pandemic: “Voices”. The height of a Chicago summer should be days at the beach, brunches in the city, and late night drives down Lake Shore drive. Instead, siblings Niaomi and Sean find themselves in a reality no one could have expected: COVID-19, peaceful protests, brutal police violence, and riots in the street all at the same time. The world suddenly explodes beyond the reach of their stoop, despite the restrictions confining them to just that. The two deal with the overwhelming news and find their places in the new normal. Siblings lean on each other as they navigate both the pride they have for their skin and identity, and the genuine fear from the danger of how the world chooses to see them. Their community falls apart and comes back triumphantly, and the two discover themselves in the midst of this movement.

WHATS THE REASON FOR “VOICES”

THE STORIES BEHIND THE PROPOSED PROJECT ARE THOSE OF MY FRIENDS AND I. THIS REFLECTS THE STORIES OF ERIC GARNER, FREDDY GRAY, SANDRA BLAND, AND MANY MORE FAILED BY THIS CORRUPTED SYSTEM LEFT AFRICAN AMERICANS TRAUMATISED.THE IRONY IN THIS SITUATION LAYS IN THE MIRROR IMAGE OF TODAY’S STRUGGLE TO THAT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS TO 20 YEARS AGO, 50 YEARS AGO, 150 YEARS AGO, EVEN 400 YEARS AGO. THE STRUGGLE HAS BEEN CONSTANT, BUT WE ARE NOT DONE FIGHTING. “I CAN’T BREATHE,” HAS BEEN AN ONGOING SLOGAN THROUGHOUT THE BLACK COMMUNITY TO EXPRESS NOT ONLY SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF POLICE VIOLENCE BUT THE WAY WHITE OPPRESSION LITERALLY TRIES TO CHOKE THE LIFE OUT OF BLACK SUCCESS. THE WRONGFUL MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD SET A MATCH TO GASOLINE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CITY BY WHITE OFFICIALS WHO SYSTEMICALLY WORKED TO LIMIT OPPORTUNITY AND GLORY IN THE SOUTH AND MINORITY CENTERED PARTS OF THE CITY. IN THE MIDST OF THESE STANDS AGAINST THE PEOPLE, CHICAGO SHOWED OUT. WHILE THE NEWS SHOWED ONLY RIOTS AND CHAOS, THE CITY GOT TOGETHER FOR PEACEFUL PROTESTS, FOOD DRIVES, AND AN ALL OVER EFFORT TO TAKE CARE OF THE NEXT. WITNESSING THIS, I KNEW I HAD TO CREATE A LASTING SPACE FOR THESE OVERLOOKED VOICES. THIS STORY IS IN REAL TIME, HISTORY IN THE MAKING.

LMTMS (Let Me Tell My Story) and Momedia team up to create a short film during this pandemic: “Voices”. The height of a Chicago summer should be days at the beach, brunches in the city, and late night drives down Lake Shore drive. Instead, siblings Niaomi and Sean find themselves in a reality no one could have expected: COVID-19, peaceful protests, brutal police violence, and riots in the street all at the same time. The world suddenly explodes beyond the reach of their stoop, despite the restrictions confining them to just that. The two deal with the overwhelming news and find their places in the new normal. Siblings lean on each other as they navigate both the pride they have for their skin and identity, and the genuine fear from the danger of how the world chooses to see them. Their community falls apart and comes back triumphantly, and the two discover themselves in the midst of this movement.

WHATS THE REASON FOR “VOICES”

THE STORIES BEHIND THE PROPOSED PROJECT ARE THOSE OF MY FRIENDS AND I. THIS REFLECTS THE STORIES OF ERIC GARNER, FREDDY GRAY, SANDRA BLAND, AND MANY MORE FAILED BY THIS CORRUPTED SYSTEM LEFT AFRICAN AMERICANS TRAUMATISED.THE IRONY IN THIS SITUATION LAYS IN THE MIRROR IMAGE OF TODAY’S STRUGGLE TO THAT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS TO 20 YEARS AGO, 50 YEARS AGO, 150 YEARS AGO, EVEN 400 YEARS AGO. THE STRUGGLE HAS BEEN CONSTANT, BUT WE ARE NOT DONE FIGHTING. “I CAN’T BREATHE,” HAS BEEN AN ONGOING SLOGAN THROUGHOUT THE BLACK COMMUNITY TO EXPRESS NOT ONLY SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF POLICE VIOLENCE BUT THE WAY WHITE OPPRESSION LITERALLY TRIES TO CHOKE THE LIFE OUT OF BLACK SUCCESS. THE WRONGFUL MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD SET A MATCH TO GASOLINE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CITY BY WHITE OFFICIALS WHO SYSTEMICALLY WORKED TO LIMIT OPPORTUNITY AND GLORY IN THE SOUTH AND MINORITY CENTERED PARTS OF THE CITY. IN THE MIDST OF THESE STANDS AGAINST THE PEOPLE, CHICAGO SHOWED OUT. WHILE THE NEWS SHOWED ONLY RIOTS AND CHAOS, THE CITY GOT TOGETHER FOR PEACEFUL PROTESTS, FOOD DRIVES, AND AN ALL OVER EFFORT TO TAKE CARE OF THE NEXT. WITNESSING THIS, I KNEW I HAD TO CREATE A LASTING SPACE FOR THESE OVERLOOKED VOICES. THIS STORY IS IN REAL TIME, HISTORY IN THE MAKING.