Navigate Him: An Intergenerational Conversation Among African-American Men in New Orleans.
The documentary Navigate Him: An Intergenerational Conversation Among African-American Men In New Orleans, will premiere at the AMC Elmwood Palace 20 Movie Theater, located at 1200 Elmwood Park Blvd, on April 18, 2015, at 1:00 p.m.
Navigate Him investigates the experiences of African-American men, across the life course, in the city of New Orleans. Through a series of short interviews of 36 men, representing a cross-section of ages, Navigate Him celebrates the resilience of African-American males in this world class city. The documentary explores the experiences of the black men featured, through their contributions to the economy, political landscape, race relations, culture and progression of the city of New Orleans.
The cast, ranging from the tender age of 5 to the sagacious age of 90, features many of the city’s local treasures such as retired Montford Point Marine and retired coach and teacher, Winston Burns Sr., Councilmember-At-Large Jason Rogers Williams, educator Dr. Raynard Sanders, local business owners Bill Rouselle and Ronnie Burns, publisher Vincent Sylvain, restauranteurs Wayne Baquet and Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, the Honorable Judge Kern Reese, President of Liberty Bank Alden McDonald, WBOK “The Good Morning Show” host Oliver Thomas, and many more.
The wisdom of the adult male cast members is balanced by the innocence of the school aged cast members. The film interlocks the experiences of New Orleans black males across 4 generations, and shows the interplay among those generations, as the adult males introspectively reflect on their younger selves, and the school aged cast members expound upon the aspirations of their future selves.
Navigate Him takes an opposing direction from the negative images of black men, that media consumers have historically been inundated with. The film seeks to provide viewers with a more realistic picture of the New Orleans black male experience, marked by a relentless dedication to a successful well-being.
Navigate Him is a Navigate Nola production. Local social worker, Danielle Wright is the writer, executive producer and curator of the film. Eric Carle Jr. is the Director of Photography and the Editor of the film. The film is narrated by local business owner Eric Wright.
Proceeds from the screening will benefit the Navigate Her Leadership Institute, a 9-month long leadership training program for high-school adolescent girls across the greater New Orleans area. The program is currently being implemented at two local high-schools.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please contact navigatenola@gmail.com.