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Q:When it comes to storytelling, where do you get your inspiration from?

I grew up around a lot of storytelling. Not necessarily formal, although oral histories are definitely part of my upbringing, but because I grew up away from my parent’s country of birth. Whenever someone came to visit there was always so much storytelling around catching up on all the events. My relatives used such colorful descriptions and painted such amazing scenes with their depictions of who had gone astray, who had conjured up another crazy scheme, the final moments of someone else…its how I met my family…

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Q: When it comes to storytelling, where do you get your inspiration from?

Mostly it’s the life around me that inspires me. Also, the way people behave.

Q: Anton, playing three integral roles: pre-production(writing), production (directing) and post production with editing? Did the final edit of your film match what was written in the final draft of the script? and how did you effectively play these three roles?

In fact there are four main roles — I also was one of the producers of the film. But it’s hard to separate yourself from other processes, for example, creating a…

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Q:When it comes to storytelling, where do you get your inspiration from?

Images and specific real dramatic situations are the primary sources of ideas to me. An interesting Image, which can be from my personal/ life experiences, can develop into a story’s core. The situation may turn into my script’s beginning or ending, and sometimes the research and imagination process may transform the whole idea to a new concept. I always imagine that an imaginary character has trapped in an uncommon emotional, mental, or physical situation and that made-up condition can lead me toward a new storyline.

Q:Sonia, given…

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Q:When it comes to storytelling, where do you get your inspiration from?

For me, the best stories always come from life. The human experience is different for each and every one of us. Nuances in our perceptions and responses to life’s turns and challenges are the bedrock to stories.

Q: Chloe, playing two integral roles: Production (directing) and post-production with editing, did everything you capture translate well on the final edit? and how did you effectively play these two roles?

I think what made me effective in both these roles is that I gave myself a lot of time…

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Q:When it comes to storytelling, where do you get your inspiration from?

Right now, I’m inspired by true stories, real events: my childhood, the people I grew up around, the people I love, the people I meet when I travel, the places I have gotten stranded in; overheard conversations. I try to read a lot of nonfiction and news stories from different parts of the world. I especially try to understand certain experiences or issues through the lens of my own life. I find that lately if it’s not true to my own emotional experience, I can’t tell that…

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Q: How did you come into contact with Lena Waithe and how did her role help conception to completion?

Lena slid into my DM’s a couple of years back, she’d seen a visual EP I did for H.E.R. We met in New York, chopped it up over some coffee and pancakes, and the rest is history..She was pivotal in ‘Further Away’, firstly putting me forward for the opportunity, connecting Cathy (Writer) & I, while supporting us throughout — she came to see me on set and gave invaluable notes on the early cuts.

Q: What was your visual approach…

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Q: When it comes to storytelling, where do you get your inspiration from?

My primary goal as an artist at this time is to create more content that highlights the spectrum of possible black male expression while simultaneously challenging the systems designed to restrict it. My story telling is inspired by my community, my personal experiences and the storytellers whose work has convicted me to only write with abandon and intention and a sense of wonder: Toni Morrison, Marlon Riggs, Julie Dash…

Q: How does being a poet facilities your script writing and/or directing process?

Poetry and scriptwriting actually…

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Q: When it comes to storytelling, where do you get your inspiration from?

Most of the times I get inspired from my life experiences and memories, things I see and hear around me.

Q: Describe the process you navigated translating your script writing into film while directing Song-of-clouds?

I never stick to the script. I stick to the core idea of the script. Being an independent filmmaker working on a shoestring budget, it’s hard to get what you want on set and you need to improvise and that’s when something surprising and truly creative happens. Hence, the way you…