Filmmaking Artist and Professor Brianna J. Cox's film 18 Years: A Letter to Zora screens for crowdfunding campaign donors, following festival circuit debut earlier this year
BOSTON, MASS. [October 15, 2022] - This month, crowdfunding campaign donors enjoyed an exclusive screening of 18 Years: A Letter to Zora, a proof-of-concept film written, directed, edited, produced by, and starring Brianna J. Cox. Co-producer Anthony M. Cherry moderated the Q&A that followed the screening. Watch a video recap of the Q&A below, with closed captions available.
The film found its first audiences earlier this year in Boston: first during the Emerson College MFA Thesis Screening, then as it hit the silver screen at the world renowned Museum of Fine Arts via the 2022 Roxbury International Film Festival (RoxFilm) as an Official Selection in the Short Film, Navigating Our Truths section. The screenplay for the film was also read by actors and discussed at 2021's RoxFilm during their Daily Reads event.
18 Years details the origin story of of the ancestral line of women from the Blackstone family. It is implied that a future descendant named Onyx Blackstone, in the year 2175, will look back at this documentary to learn of her family's past on Earth. It is part of a greater TV series idea, Onyx and the Chronicle of the Seers, a series that Cox continues to write and develop independently.
Within the world of the film, protagonist Quasheba Blackstone, in the year 2020, creates a homemade documentary as a time capsule for her infant daughter Zora, who will be sent off on an intergalactic journey that will lead her to fulfill her destiny using her special Empathic powers. In light of all the persecution Empaths face on Earth, will their Day of Escape be successful?
After the donor exclusive screening, the filmmaker answered questions ranging from cinematic and literary inspirations, to discussions of the concept of Sankofa--the Adinkra symbol in which the film roots its themes, to classic sci-fi favorites.
To receive updates about the film and the world of Onyx and the Chronicle of the Seers, follow @OnyxTheSeries on Instagram and Twitter.
Still image from 18 Years: A Letter to Zora (2022) dir. Brianna J. Cox
CONTACT: onyxtheseries@gmail.com