With another Black man murdered by police racism, it is no wonder this particular scene still gently resonates and affirms what I continue to feel, alone, at after midnight in the twilight hours while trying to both calm myself and keep myself agitated. Wonderfully interpreted by Che Ayende (Luis Laporte) – we shot this scene in Harlem in the dead of night, January 2000. Still drunk on the aftermath of the Amadou Diallo murder, we knew we could all be victims…and we knew just by making this film we were engaging in something special. We just didn’t know how special.
Keep the anger, let it fuel you. If you’re a revolutionary, by all means – find a new prescription for literal guerrilla warfare and share it with us all.
If you don’t at have the acumen for literal artillery: don’t shoot bullets, try shooting films. Perhaps the creative uncharted territory of your soul must be explored.
The outraged must make outrageous art.
Creating is even more dangerous than destroying. Some write songs. I wrote scripts. And when I was crazy and 24 and eternally angry I made a film about it. Now I am 44 and crazy and eternally angry. Still crazy after all these years. No folks. Things don’t change. They simply get worse as we get older…
Rest in peace my murdered brothers and sisters. And remain ever conscious my living brothers and sisters.
Dennis Leroy Kangalee 