Interview with film company Y2E productions

Transcript

Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Turn that radio up. Nostalgia pro DJ S is mixing the best and new and O G hip hop on BC G. And now ladies and gentlemen, the one and only big coming up to y'all Driving Direct with bridging the gap. We gonna give you our old school and our, it was me and my man. They, so we gonna do with it. Hip hop is black. All right, ladies and gentlemen, we are speaking today with Miss Brandy. She is from uh the black film production company. Yet to evolve productions A K A the next 40 acres in a mule. She is one of the uh co-founders of this company and we are glad to have her here with us on the show. How are you doing these days, Brandy? I'm doing great big slice. How are you? I'm just, I'm excited to be here today. Uh Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm doing good man. I'm just ducking this pandemic one day at a time. You know what I mean? Yeah, I know. Um So are the numbers high as far as uh where you're at as far as the pandemic is concerned? Um You know, I'm, I'm actually not really sure because right now I'm, I left, I'm from New York and I left the state a while to be with family. So right now I'm in the south and I haven't really been paying attention to the numbers out here, but I've been hearing about the numbers in New York and, whereas our numbers were getting really low now I'm learning that the numbers are going back up. So, um I'm a little nervous about that because I will be returning to New York shortly. Um You know, got to make sure I cast my vote and everything. So, yeah. OK. OK. Well, prayers up in New York and really this whole entire country that seems to love this stupid virus anyways. Uh So you're one of the co-founders of this company, uh who are, who are some of the other people involved. So I am the owner of all production. Um It was co-founded with Adrianne Moultrie who is actually my cousin, but she is no longer an owner. She's, she is just the um a co-founder. Um But she'll always be a part of Y two E and um and then the latest project, which is a two part documentary entitled Betrayal of a Nation with that project in itself. I have a co writer, um which her name is Genesis Scott and she's a very talented writer. I also have a copro producer named Trina Aid, also talented black woman. And um and then I have, and then I am the director of that project. OK. OK. So give us the, the back story of uh why you decided to become a filmmaker in big slice. So I actually um had no intentions of being a filmmaker. I initially thought I was going to be an actress. When I was eight years old, I started performing in plays and I was in different acting programs and I knew that that's what I always wanted to do. And by the time I got to college, I was about 19, I wrote my first play and then I had a couple of people around me encouraging me um to go ahead and produce it. And I was like, ok, well, I've been in enough place to know all the elements involved in putting it together. So I set out to produce my first production. My mom, mom actually gave me the, the funds to rent out the theater, um to be able to get the production crew to get everything that I needed to make this happen. Now, I had to pay her back. So I had that, that, that fear on my shoulders and everything. But, um that was when I got my first feel for what it was like to actually um do a production, production management, you know, and then I produced a few plays over the following years. And then I had this one play called Sincere Heart. And it's my favorite play. And it's actually the last play that I produced, I produced that play in 2009. And I loved that story so much that I felt like I couldn't just leave it on the stage. I needed to make it a film. And so I converted the stage play into a script, a film script and I ended up just trying to make it happen and getting the elements together. But only this time it's, it's a film and I learned a whole lot of doing that. I guess I kind of jumped right in because most people, they start off producing short and work their way up to a feature film. But I jumped right in. So this was a almost a two hour film that I ended up producing and this is my first film since there's heart. And um um and since then I just wanted to do film. So that's kind of the realm that I'm in now. Of course, theater is my first love and performing is also my first love, but producing film is a second love and it's something that I'm really passionate about. I love to amplify the stories of my people and their theater and film has they have their differences. But each of those differences are great, you know, like with theater, there's nothing like the element of live theater, right? There's something new every night, every show. But with film, you get to capture something that is documented and you can watch it over and over and over, it can reach more people. And you know, those are the benefits of film. So when I'm telling the stories of my people, I feel like that's something that is great for, for theater, but it's wonderful for film because you just, it can reach many people. OK. All right. All right. So, um your latest project is called the Betrayal of a Nation. Uh Basically calling for the indictment of America and its problem with systemic racism. Was there a certain event that sparked the creation of this documentary even though we have a long history of abuse. But was there anything in particular that despite this? Definitely and so betrayal of a Nation uh is an indictment, not so much to just say an indictment on America, but it's an indictment on the US government, right? I wanted to put the government on trial for all of the crimes it has committed against black and brown people. And so, yeah. And so this came about because um in 2016, there were the back to back killings by police of there was out in Sterling and there was Philando Castile. And for me, that was the breaking point. I mean, I, you know, had previously been upset about all the other numerous names. You have the Tamir Rice, the Eric Garner, the Trayvon Martin. And by the time it got to these and they were back to back. I was just set up and I remember talking it over with my cow writer Genesis Scott. We just sat there in my apartment at the time and we just started talking about how America is to blame. But then we needed to be more specific. Like what do you mean when you say America? And we realize that it's the government, no matter how you slice it because there's different levels of government, there's local government, right? There's state government, there's federal government. And so no matter how you slice it, it's the government that is responsible, even if it's responsible because of omission, failure to act, right? So there are certain situations whether it's poverty or certain things that are in place, if the government fails to act, they're still responsible, right? And so we started talking about how if it were you or I to commit a crime, what are they gonna do? They're gonna throw, right? They're gonna throw out black. Well, I don't, I'm sorry, I don't know if I cursed. But yeah, yeah, this is, this is all hand of your business, ok? But yeah, they're gonna throw out black ***** in jail, right? They're gonna throw the book at us. And so then that raises other questions. Well, the government has clearly committed crimes but you know, the government's not gonna put itself in jail, right? The government's not going to indict itself and that's where we came up with the concept. We were like, hey, you know, let's, let's indict the government, the people can indict the government and the people can put the government in jail now, not literally metaphorically. So we discussed the crimes at hand and then we came up with what the resolution should be and for us that's more so, um if America was to be, or the government was to be found guilty of these crimes, how would, how would we sentence America? What would that be like? Would that be reparations? What and what are, what is reparations? What, what does that look like for us as a people? And so we explore that as well. But yeah, that's how that concept came about. We were just fed up and we were just like, you know, we're gonna have to go ahead and invite the government because no one else will, the government's not going to indict itself. So we said, let's do it in the film. Right. Right. Right. You, you brought up the fact that, uh well, you spoke on what reparations should be in your mind. What do you think would be adequate reparations that the government should pay out? Well, honestly, I don't, I don't feel like just giving everybody a check is a move because it's first off, it's so hard to pin down who exactly would receive that check. Who here um were, you know, who is the direct descendant of, you know, a slave here, right? Um It's, it's so difficult to, to really pin that down. Um So when I think of reparations, honestly, I think of the word repair, how do you repair the black community? How do you repair the brown community? And so for me, it's more about that just coming up with different ways and ideas to rebuild communities that are suffering from poverty and high crime rates. And it's not due to their, you know, their own fault like they depicted in the media, but it's, that's also government involved as well. But how do you, how do you make it right? Make your wrongs, right, and repair our communities. How do you rebuild our communities and, and that's what reparations for me is about? Ok. Yeah, I agree. Uh You definitely can't give a check to everybody and on top of who would you give the check to? You know, a lot of people would definitely mismanage that money. I feel like too. Right. Right. We'll use the money up and, and then we're back to the, you know, back to square one and then our communities are still suffering. So, yeah, how do we, how do we actually repair our communities? Right. Well, um someone brought it up that uh that land, you know, giving us certain amounts of acres of land. Yeah, I think that would be the best, best bet. Uh you know, your own property then, you know what I'm saying? Who who can tell you against it. You know what I mean? Um, I'm actually a, a part of this, uh, Facebook group that's, uh, trying to do like the, uh, uh, it was a black family in Georgia or whatever. I guess they bought, like, they bought blocks of, uh, houses and started to black community. Right. So, I think that's another idea that they can help with, you know what I mean? Yes, I think that that concept is amazing first off. Right. And um, yeah, I read that article and it said, I believe from what I remember their reason, their reason for doing so was because they didn't want police involved in their community, they wanted a community that they actually felt like they would be safe in. Right. Right. Right. And um when I heard that it instantly made me feel like I wanna do that. I wanna do it in that community, you know. Um and then I started thinking about how do we like, how do, how do we do that though? Like obviously if they're doing it, they, they figured something out which is great, right? But how do we do that on a bigger scale? Because I started thinking about what happens when police try to still insert themselves somehow and within that community and everything that we've ever had and ever built, you know, there was some government agency that helped to destroy that black community. Like when you talk about Black Wall Street, the neighborhood of Greenwood and there's, and there's other Black Wall Streets out there too. Wilmington, North Carolina and Rosewood. And so every time we have something they come and they try to destroy. So what I wanna figure out uh with, with my community is how can we have a destruction proof community? What can we do knowing how the opposition, how they plot and scheme right on us. How can we defeat that? How can we be two steps ahead? And I feel like when we figure that out, then I, then I feel like I'm really ready to, to go ahead and build. Um So actually, this whole project, this is the perfect time for this. You know what I mean with all that's going on in this country right now, people protesting and you know, just Black Lives movement and everything like that. This is the perfect time for this project. So how, how can people view view this project? So right now I'm currently seeking distribution for betrayal of a nation. We want to get it on a platform where uh people can see it where, you know, it can reach the most people. Um I would love for say a Netflix or Hulu to show interest and to authorize a distribution deal. But I would even more so love a black owned distribution company like U MC uh to, to take interest and, and offer us a distribution deal. So, right, now we're just doing a campaign to, to just put it out there. You know, we have this, like you said, important yet timely film and we feel like it's in demand because at the end of the day, our people are set up and I don't know about you, but I know I personally would jump at the chance to watch an indictment on the government knowing everything that I've experienced in America and not just myself, but my ancestors, right? I feel like there's an excitement, OK, I, I wanna see that. And so, you know, so I just feel like um it's an important yet timely film and you know, getting it out there is really essential. It's essential for the people. I think this is a film that would serve also as a motivator. Um It'll motivate people to wanna amplify their voices, have their voices heard and to even explore what their role is in this movement because everybody has a role in this movement. I believe my role is to be a filmmaker and to amplify the stories of others. But um everybody has a role, whether you're a music artist and you feel like you need to sing songs about the movement to keep the people that are out there on the front lines going or, you know, so everybody has a role and I feel like the trail of the nation also helps people to explore that. And so we just wanna get it on the best platform possible. And so we're humble, we're humbly putting that out there making that announcement and we have a couple of challenges going too on social media that we're hoping people will want to be engaged with. So for an example, in the actual documentary, we have what we call the B O N challenge. But in the documentary, you have the trial that opens the film and then the judge says the people have charged the United States government with the following charges. And then it goes to these black and white selfie type videos and each person is giving their charge to the government. So the people are delivering the charges everyday citizens. And so we took that idea from the film and decided to make it a social media challenge where people record themselves wearing all black, they are behind a white or whiteish wall, they turn the video black and white and they just come up with their own charges. It could be whatever you want, whatever you feel like the government should be charged with, you, go ahead and you deliver that charge and, and then you just post it, ok? You know you're hearing that audience, ok? So you know, participate and, and do what she tells you. All right, we need uh all the participation we can get. This is a, this is a wonderful thing you're doing with this uh brand new like baby film company coming out and uh I, I wish you guys the best of luck. Now, let me ask you this since you brought up the uh musician piece. Um If there was, you know, give me a list of rappers or uh hip hop artists that you would consider making a soundtrack for this album. I mean for this movie. Mm OK. So I really have to say that. So right now on the current soundtrack of this film, I have a bunch of independent artists and I love, there are some mainstream artists that I really love and I'm gonna mention those by the way. Um But first, I like, I have to shout out the independent artists that are working hard that are putting their blood, sweat and tears into their, their passion, their art and they're making great music, music that's just as great as these mainstream artists and, and even better. And so I would say uh I wanna shout out my artist, I have this one song called Keep Your Head Up. The artist. His name is Cherry. Uh So you can look out for him. The song is called Keep Your Head Up. Um Great song that we use. We also have another hip hop artist are known as Genesis B and she's also had other music and similar type of documentaries and everything. Genesis B and Ebony Smith. They, they put together a track called Life. I choose that was used in a documentary as Well, and now when you talk about mainstream artists, I would say Kendrick Lamar Common and really, that's about it. I, I would have said maybe a, a but really, I'm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna just keep it at common and Kendrick Lamar for the sound track. If, if I had to choose a mainstream artist who I feel like their message aligns with the message of, of the documentary, I would, I would have thought public enemy would make a good. Uh Definitely that too, that too, if you want to go old school with it. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Well, this is vision of gap. So, you know, when we mentioned the uh the newer artists, we gotta mention the old school of this too. You know what I'm saying? Shout out, shout out to everybody that does hip hop period, man. Uh Everybody that she mentioned and uh speaking of which you're welcome to uh send me any of these songs and uh you know, I'll be glad to spin them. You know what I mean? We uh we do the whole spectrum here no matter what the attitude, as long as it's real hip hop, you know what I mean? Oh, definitely, I, I love that because you know us independent uh artists, whether filmmakers, singers, rappers out here, like we need a platform, we need a platform and it's really, it's, it's not easy to be mainstream. But um so we, we gotta have our, our own and it's always great when we have outlets out there that speak to us, you know, and provide us a platform to showcase our talent. Right. Right. Right. Yeah, I'm all the more glad to do it. So, uh you know, that's why I'm here. Pretty much. All right. So, um we are definitely gonna support you Brandy and uh this uh movie and uh get to our productions. Hopefully you guys uh get the connection that you've been looking for and um give us some ways to keep in contact with you guys, uh social media, whatever. Absolutely. So if you want to follow up on Betrayal of a Nation documentary, you can check us out on Facebook, which is on Facebook and Instagram where Betrayal of a Nation. So if you just type that in those spaces, betrayal of a nation will come right up so you can follow us on id and Facebook and on Twitter, it is at Betrayed Nation. So you could definitely hit us up there. And if you wanna talk to me um beyond the scope of this project, my Instagram is I am Brandy Webb as so, so that's I am B R A N Z I W E B B OK. OK, cool. So, uh we will definitely be uh keeping in touch. As a matter of fact, we were just gonna call this uh part one of this interview because part two is gonna be when you get that distribution. You were looking for it and you come back and talk to us and let us know what's happening then. All right, definitely. I'm looking forward to it. Uh Thank you so much. Big. I really enjoyed this interview. Thank you for giving me the platform to share information about. Yes, we've all productions and betrayal of the nation. Um So I, I definitely look forward to doing this again soon. All right. Well, you take it easy and we'll be speaking soon. Absolutely. Take care. Bye. This podcast has been a production of Platinum Trunk LLC 2020. All rights reserved. All music produced by myself DJ. Big Slice for more D jing advertising and musical information. Contact us at area code 2167162048. Or hit us up on the email at nostalgia pro DJ S at gmail dot com and don't forget to check out bridging the gap five PM Eastern four PM central only on a post radio dot com. Peace people until the next time. So it's time for that big barbecue and you want this layout to be the best tasting ever. You have got to try crafted condiments, brand sauces and rubs, crafted condiments not only delivers on the most tangy and sweet flavors, but everything is made with 100% all natural organic ingredients, superior tastes. Without the high fructose corn syrup crafted condiments. We grow stuff for more info and purchase contact us at crafted condiments dot com, locally grown products right here in Cleveland, Ohio.