Where two black gays

The film, which is narrated by Jordan Stephens, follows the blossoming relationship of Dula and Eden, two teenage Black boys, who refuse to hide their love in a society wrought with homophobia and racism, so the pair create their own safe paradise where they can explore the themes of identity, belonging and sexuality.

Hold the Line Queer : The film, directed by Baz Sells, uses stop motion animation that feels reminiscent of 90s children’s television to tell the story of two young black men who fall in love but also encounter predujice on account of their race and sexuality

More so than any other project, I had to listen, which can be tricky because obviously, as a director, you want to take the lead, but ultimately, you have to make the right decision to drive the project forward. Watch on Deadline. What were your initial thoughts?

In the stop-motion animated short, Two Black Boys in Paradisedirected and co-written by Baz Sellsbased on the poem by award-winning writer Dean Attaenduring love is the endgame. How did you find yourself relating to this material? We got denied funding from a couple of different places at first [when pitching], so we then refined the outline and eventually went to the BFI, and that was when we started moving to storyboarding.

By Destiny Jackson. So, it was a bit of a back and forth between all of us and a real collaborative effort because these themes are so important. So, the scene in the market where the boys are holding hands was going to be the core of the short film that we were going to make together already.

That goes without saying. I was introduced to it by our producer Ben [Jackson], who heard Dean read at a poetry event. Hold the Line is a minute short film exploring the intimate lives of Mick, a frontline nurse, and Jerrell, a man. However, this is a very particular kind of story, which, from my point of view, really had to be about listening.

I am straight and white, and we did have discussions when we were first writing it, but more so when we were then trying to get funding.

So, although there is a lot of myself in there, the way I would craft a film, the process was built on a lot of conversation. The craft is incredibly tactile. Two Gay Niggas Kissing, also known as Two Black Guys Kissing or Two Dudes Kissing, is a viral image of two Black men kissing each other on the lips.

Why was stop-motion the right avenue to tell the story? Nothing is better than being able to live freely as you are and in your own skin without persecution. In the stop-motion animated short, Two Black Boys in Paradise, directed and co-written by Baz Sells, based on the poem by award-winning writer Dean Atta, enduring love is the endgame.

Some of it is difficult at times, and some of it is awkward, but this could only be done through a real collaborative effort. Two Black men struggle with love, trust, and survival during the twin crises. As soon as we got our heads together, both of us could see the possibility of a beautiful short film.

22 Black LGBTQ Films :

And in the middle of winter, when we were shooting, it got so cold that the puppets would split. The film is currently shortlisted for the Iris Prize, where it will air on Channel 4 in the U. Below, Deadline speaks to Sells about the tenderness required to create a poignant queer story.

I quite liked that, even though it brought its own unique set of challenges. It is. But it is painstaking work. I think it lends itself so well to the art of stop-motion because I feel like we could take a bit of a dual approach in terms of the visual imagery having senses rooted in reality, along with some of the struggles which the poem would speak of or hint at.

But that was a great process because obviously it helps you structure the film in terms of pacing on the page and helps get a sense of how long each scene will take and whether you need to take anything out or put anything in. I made sure to be considerate of the feedback and experiences being shared with me.