
This Not Too Distant Tomorrow
Donation protected
In 1963, racial injustice ran rampant in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, the most segregated city in America. While leading a non-violent campaign against racial injustice, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and placed into solitary confinement.
"…in solitary confinement…those were the longest, most frustrating and bewildering hours I have lived... You will never know the meaning of utter darkness until you have lain in such a dungeon, knowing that sunlight is streaming overhead and still seeing only darkness below."
Here, in the Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. faced his most potent enemy, the enemy of silence and moderation, stemming from eight white clergymen's misguided "Call For Unity," a stark criticism on MLK's timing and tactics.
Instead of succumbing to defeat, throwing in the towel, or wallowing in despair, Dr. King responded to his critics with love, "My Dear Fellow Clergyman..." His response to their attack became the famous "Letter From Birmingham Jail."
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
This letter was started on jailhouse toilet paper and is now one of the most important and influential historical documents ever written. Its influence has become a banner for justice all over the world... even today in "this not too distant tomorrow."
My name is Shea Sizemore. My wife, Lile, and I are both filmmakers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Take a look at some of our work.
Our goal is to make a short film that follows Dr. King through that dark and hopeless 24 hours while in solitary confinement until the moment he started "The Letter". We want an audience to experience the doubts and potential defeat that he must have faced. But more importantly, we want an audience to see that our hero chose love and forgiveness in dealing with his oppressors. We want the audience to feel the conviction we felt when understanding his words and grasping the truth that silence is the greatest enemy to justice.
Forty or fifty years from now, when someone from the next generation asks what we were doing during the pivotal year of 2020, we want to say that we spoke up. We want to be able to say that we said something in the only way we knew how... by making a movie. We are humbly asking if you'd like to be a part of that too.
Any money given will go towards building the 1960's solitary confinement, renting the studio space to film it in, renting the proper production equipment, and paying for the talented actors. Also, filming within a pandemic brings more production costs (masks, hand sanitizers, food restrictions, and on-site COVID professionals). Ultimately, all the money is being put on the screen and for safety behind the scenes.
Your support will enable us to tell a story that we feel the world needs today more than ever. A story that we believe brings revelation and light to people's hearts during this dark year. What Dr. King faced in the '60s isn't too different from what we're feeling in the streets of today- division, prejudice, and injustice. Our short film will not points fingers, but will hopefully open eyes and repair the bridges torn down by silence.
If you'd like to read the script or see the lookbook please contact us directly.
"…in solitary confinement…those were the longest, most frustrating and bewildering hours I have lived... You will never know the meaning of utter darkness until you have lain in such a dungeon, knowing that sunlight is streaming overhead and still seeing only darkness below."
Here, in the Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. faced his most potent enemy, the enemy of silence and moderation, stemming from eight white clergymen's misguided "Call For Unity," a stark criticism on MLK's timing and tactics.
Instead of succumbing to defeat, throwing in the towel, or wallowing in despair, Dr. King responded to his critics with love, "My Dear Fellow Clergyman..." His response to their attack became the famous "Letter From Birmingham Jail."
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
This letter was started on jailhouse toilet paper and is now one of the most important and influential historical documents ever written. Its influence has become a banner for justice all over the world... even today in "this not too distant tomorrow."
My name is Shea Sizemore. My wife, Lile, and I are both filmmakers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Take a look at some of our work.
Our goal is to make a short film that follows Dr. King through that dark and hopeless 24 hours while in solitary confinement until the moment he started "The Letter". We want an audience to experience the doubts and potential defeat that he must have faced. But more importantly, we want an audience to see that our hero chose love and forgiveness in dealing with his oppressors. We want the audience to feel the conviction we felt when understanding his words and grasping the truth that silence is the greatest enemy to justice.
Forty or fifty years from now, when someone from the next generation asks what we were doing during the pivotal year of 2020, we want to say that we spoke up. We want to be able to say that we said something in the only way we knew how... by making a movie. We are humbly asking if you'd like to be a part of that too.
Any money given will go towards building the 1960's solitary confinement, renting the studio space to film it in, renting the proper production equipment, and paying for the talented actors. Also, filming within a pandemic brings more production costs (masks, hand sanitizers, food restrictions, and on-site COVID professionals). Ultimately, all the money is being put on the screen and for safety behind the scenes.
Your support will enable us to tell a story that we feel the world needs today more than ever. A story that we believe brings revelation and light to people's hearts during this dark year. What Dr. King faced in the '60s isn't too different from what we're feeling in the streets of today- division, prejudice, and injustice. Our short film will not points fingers, but will hopefully open eyes and repair the bridges torn down by silence.
If you'd like to read the script or see the lookbook please contact us directly.
Organizer
Shea Sizemore
Organizer
Charlotte, NC