VEILS - REQUIEM FOR TRAYVON
Narrative Feature | Duration: 2:00:00 | Drama BLOCK 3 | 10/5 | 12:00 PM
Bowie, MD - USA Carver Community Cultural Center
Directed by: Courtney Baker-Oliver
Description: Directed by Courtney Baker Oliver and adapted from Steven A. Butler, Jr.'s play, "Veils—Requiem For Trayvon" is a visual, musical, storytelling masterpiece. The artful cinematography and dynamic editing by Andre Strong is a full circle moment as Baker-Oliver, was Andre’s high school drama teacher at the legendary Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. Most of the cast and crew attended Howard University and came together to create this new film now touted as a Black Lives Matter “Hamilton”.
Sybrina’s teenaged son, Trayvon, has been brutally murdered by a self-appointed “neighborhood watchman” as he was walking home from a convenience store. As vigils are held across the country calling for justice for her son, Sybrina is paralyzed with grief.
On the morning of Trayvon’s funeral, Sybrina is gifted a veil by a well-meaning supporter, but she can’t bring herself to accept it. Acceptance of the mourning attire would mean accepting the reality that she has now joined a long list of mothers who have lost their children to violence, too soon.
After a fraught discussion with Trayvon’s father, Sybrina is visited (A Christmas Carol style) by Yemaya, the celebrated African orisha of mothers and children. Yemaya takes Sybrina on an unforgettable journey through the Civil Rights Movement, urging Sybrina to honor the legacy of her son by telling his story.
Yemaya shows Sybrina seminal moments in Black history making parallels between Sybrina’s tragic loss and the loss of so many others. From Mamie Till, Myrlie Evers, the mothers of the Four Little Girls killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and others, Sybrina draws strength; ultimately mustering the courage to tell her son’s story on the witness stand.
Shot at VU Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, the use of AI imagery catapults this cinematic play into a groundbreaking film. Stirring original music by Christopher John Burnett, Justin Thompson, and Baker-Oliver and classic historical vignettes leave viewers transformed in the film’s wise message of overcoming grief without forgetting the loss, revealing the strength in women of faith and ultimately understanding the ceaseless protective energy our fallen Ancestors continue to reign in our lives.
Veils—Requiem for Trayvon is impeccably cast with Broadway and music industry vocal stand outs and stars Roz White as Sybrina Fulton, Desiré DuBose as Yemaya, Kyra Da Costa as Myrlie Evers, Nova Y. Payton as Mrs. Collins, Corisa Myers as Mamie Till, Andrea Gerald as Fannie Lou Hamer, Kandace Foreman as Fannie Lee Chaney, Bridget Garwood as Jacqueline Kennedy and Bernie Alston as Lorena Ware.
Bowie, MD - USA Carver Community Cultural Center
Directed by: Courtney Baker-Oliver
Description: Directed by Courtney Baker Oliver and adapted from Steven A. Butler, Jr.'s play, "Veils—Requiem For Trayvon" is a visual, musical, storytelling masterpiece. The artful cinematography and dynamic editing by Andre Strong is a full circle moment as Baker-Oliver, was Andre’s high school drama teacher at the legendary Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. Most of the cast and crew attended Howard University and came together to create this new film now touted as a Black Lives Matter “Hamilton”.
Sybrina’s teenaged son, Trayvon, has been brutally murdered by a self-appointed “neighborhood watchman” as he was walking home from a convenience store. As vigils are held across the country calling for justice for her son, Sybrina is paralyzed with grief.
On the morning of Trayvon’s funeral, Sybrina is gifted a veil by a well-meaning supporter, but she can’t bring herself to accept it. Acceptance of the mourning attire would mean accepting the reality that she has now joined a long list of mothers who have lost their children to violence, too soon.
After a fraught discussion with Trayvon’s father, Sybrina is visited (A Christmas Carol style) by Yemaya, the celebrated African orisha of mothers and children. Yemaya takes Sybrina on an unforgettable journey through the Civil Rights Movement, urging Sybrina to honor the legacy of her son by telling his story.
Yemaya shows Sybrina seminal moments in Black history making parallels between Sybrina’s tragic loss and the loss of so many others. From Mamie Till, Myrlie Evers, the mothers of the Four Little Girls killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and others, Sybrina draws strength; ultimately mustering the courage to tell her son’s story on the witness stand.
Shot at VU Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, the use of AI imagery catapults this cinematic play into a groundbreaking film. Stirring original music by Christopher John Burnett, Justin Thompson, and Baker-Oliver and classic historical vignettes leave viewers transformed in the film’s wise message of overcoming grief without forgetting the loss, revealing the strength in women of faith and ultimately understanding the ceaseless protective energy our fallen Ancestors continue to reign in our lives.
Veils—Requiem for Trayvon is impeccably cast with Broadway and music industry vocal stand outs and stars Roz White as Sybrina Fulton, Desiré DuBose as Yemaya, Kyra Da Costa as Myrlie Evers, Nova Y. Payton as Mrs. Collins, Corisa Myers as Mamie Till, Andrea Gerald as Fannie Lou Hamer, Kandace Foreman as Fannie Lee Chaney, Bridget Garwood as Jacqueline Kennedy and Bernie Alston as Lorena Ware.
|
Filmmaker Bio:
Courtney Baker-Oliver
As a producer, director, writer, and teacher Courtney has spent more than twenty years training young people in the theatre. From his role as a faculty member at Duke Ellington School of the Arts (where he trained future stars including Corey Hawkins (The Color Purple), Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale), Serena Reeder (Get Rich or Die Trying), Amelia Workman (A Thousand and One) among many others to his work as Education Director of Theatre Washington (The Helen Hayes Awards) and beyond, he’s long been developing the skills set required to direct and produce large scale productions on the world’s stage.
With Steven A Butler, Jr., Courtney co-founded Restoration Stage, Inc., the premier Black-owned and operated professional theater company in the Washington, DC metro area. Courtney received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University, and the Alan Sharpe Cultural Award from the Center for Black Equity in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Always pushing for positive images of Blacks in the arts, Courtney has developed tributes presented before legendary leaders Maya Angelou, Cicely Tyson and Congressman John Lewis among others. Courtney wrote and directed the debut tributes for the U.S. Postal Service’s African American stamps honoring Paul Robeson (2004) and Marian Anderson (2005). He was a master teacher at Britney Spears’ Summer Arts Camp on Cape Cod. Courtney has worked with Diana Ross, Jasmine Guy, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Taraji P. Henson and more. |
