i had the pleasure of meeting a really thoughtful young documentary filmmaker yesterday. octavio warnock-graham is a biracial filmmaker whose made a really wonderful documentary called silences. the 20-minute film chronicles octavio's quest to break the silence about his biracial identity. raised by his white mother and her white husband (the only person he ever knew as his father), octavio never got the full story about his racial identity. but growing up in an almost all-white town, octavio knew he was different and relates stories about how other children tormented him seeing his difference--even if it was a difference he couldn't articulate.
i'm not able to explain how moving this film was. i wept for a good few minutes after watching it (i was very lucky to receive a copy from octavio--the film isn't scheduled for another screening right now though it should be. it's won several awards and it seems like octavio is getting some well-deserved attention in the press like this Amsterdam News profile.) race isn't something we talk about in the public, in the world. it's particularly not something we talk about at home. we want to keep It out there--but there's a consequence to that too. i think you will love this documentary. there's a short trailer of silences on the website. please check it out.
