04
February 29, on the way to a party with my siblings and red wine already doing some of the talking, I proclaimed that I was going to make a documentary. I’m sure the Lyft driver felt the weirdness in the car my siblings gave off thinking to themselves - another one of Michael’s cracked-up ideas. Questioning my own cracked-up ideas over the years has been a journey of reflection unto its own. There is a moment in the space-time continuum where your head is and needs to play catch-up with your gut. 10 days later, mine met.
The notion of making a film was a little more than a daunting idea. What do I know about filming? I’ve been to more than my fair share of them. Frequent theatre visits to the The Ridge, The Fifth Avenue, The Cambie and The Carlton have indulged the visual storytelling that a film is. It can’t be that hard, uh…right?
Being a graphic designer for many years, it still brings a great sense of accomplishment and joy when a project comes to fruition. From conception to final, all creatives work their process and whatever journey the project will take to see it to its end. Being a PoC creative, the journey over a career has been nothing short of its own share of peaks and valleys. From the condescending pat on the head, being the only one in a room, knowing you have to work twice as hard to get half as far, and with too many instances to count, focusing on the ‘creative’ has always been a support, an outlet and a best friend.
The current state of affairs (est'd. June 2020) has led to an uprising of thought and communication amongst the masses we haven’t seen in some time. From the Red Woods of VanCity to the heel of Lecce, the outpouring of support for #blacklivesmatter cannot be measured.
I’m asking you, black and PoC creatives to get in touch and let the stories of our journeys be told. This film ALL COLOUR IS, will be the story of those stories. From the moment we knew we were creative and tearing through our first set of Laurentian pencil crayons, we’ve been looking for respect, to be taken seriously and the opportunities that others are given.
Should you hail from Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Architecture, Fashion, Advertising, Illustration, or Photography, say hello. Tell your friends, have their friends tell their friends and so on and so on and so on. Freddie ‘Boom Boom’ Washington is greeting visitors at the door and from what I gather, there is enough red wine to go around.
#allcolouris
#blacklivesmatter