CAREFREE
CAREFREE is a visual exploration that birthed the project Carefree the Collective. It was born out of the turbulence of the 2020 global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Uprising. Jordan Rome crafted this concept during a four-year sabbatical traveling, specifically in the jungles of Nayarit, Mexico, driven by a deep desire to understand how BIPOC women could cultivate a sense of carefreeness amidst global chaos and awakening. She found profound inspiration in the "carefree Black girl" hashtag, initiated by Zebablay in 2013, and embarked on a journey to discover how all Black women could embrace a carefree existence despite the societal systems constraining them. Jordan developed a visual and performative exploration to delve further into this concept, inviting participants to share and explore their own cultural traumas and treasures. The insights gained were brought to life within creatively designed film sets to facilitate emotional, intellectual, and spiritual processing and growth. This then transformed into a bigger project, inviting all BIPOC women to be in community with others who desire to live an authentic life in alignment with all of creation.
Furthermore, this film contributes to an existing body of work from creators across many fields and disciplines who have explored this cultural movement and ideology of Black women living a "carefree" existence. This film adds to the archive of Black Liberatory work and the growing trend we understand as carefree.
365 Ways to Kill an American
365 TKA is a short film series inspired by the rise of media attention to the incessant cases of anti-black policing. It explores various sensationalized cases of police brutality through alternate perspectives. It attempts to humanize the lives of those involved and start much-needed conversations.
Sandra Bland
Sandra Bland was a civil rights activist in Chicago and an active participant in The Black Lives Matter Movement. She died in police custody three days after being arrested during a traffic stop.
This short portrays a race reversal of the footage of Bland's arrest. Throughout creating the film, the only footage available to the public was from the police's point of view. This interpretation is meant to engage viewers intimately in Sandra's perspective. Interestingly enough, four years after her arrest, a cellphone video Bland took of her arrest resurfaced, allowing the public to further understand the victim's suppressed narrative.
365 Ways to Kill an American
365 TKA is a short film series inspired by the rise of media attention to the incessant cases of anti-black policing. It explores various sensationalized cases of police brutality through alternate perspectives. It attempts to humanize the lives of those involved and start much-needed conversations.
Philando Castile
Philando Castile was a 32-year-old Black man pulled over on July 06, 2016, while driving in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. He was killed by Jeronimo Yanez, a St. Anthony, Minnesota officer. This short is dedicated to Philando, Diamond and Dae'Anna Reynolds and the countless names lost to senseless and racist acts of policing.
The complete film is unavailable for public viewing upon request of Valerie Castile, Philando Castile's mother. This film has been shown at private screenings at the Latin School of Chicago and Collaboraction Theatre.