Filmmaker Statement

New Moon is a short film dedicated to Black mothers and sons and the love and inspiration that keeps them inspired through immeasurable hardships. Laurie Lathem, writer and educator sparked our interest in the power of animation as she encouraged Colman’s solo play “A Boy and His Soul” to be developed into an animated work. We began our work in earnest online. Through Dropbox folders, video conferences, language barriers, hours of rotoscopy sessions directed and shot by Raúl, where ever Colman happened to be on the planet. We went down the rabbit hole of this peculiar yet satisfying journey of adapting a short piece of text into a full blown experience of animated storytelling while maintaining its origins of the theater. We had no idea what we were creating or how to really do it. We just knew that we found partners who wanted to put a beautiful message out into the world that is basically about the love of mothers, black boys, dreams and the power of Aretha Franklin.