The Milwaukee Film Festival returns for another season of inviting film lovers to "enjoy the show."
It’s back with many screenings, including international films, Black Lens and Genre Queer picks, and of course, regional and local productions. That final category gets our focus on this episode of Uniquely Milwaukee, as I talk to filmmakers Laura Dyan Kezman and William Howell, co-directors of CYCLE; and Elegance Bratton, director of Move Ya Body: The Birth of House.
CYCLE is a documentary that explores the narrative of police violence, profiling and accountability through the death of 18-year-old Ty’Rese West of Racine. In June 2019, West was shot twice in the head by a Mount Pleasant police officer who stopped him for not having a light on his bicycle. There was no body camera footage, no witnesses and no charges filed.
Kezman and Howell, both Racine natives, spent more than five years researching, filming and interviewing for the film, which the hope will confront injustice and spark lasting change.
“I do think that this is a point where we have the chance to lead the way,” Howell said. “CYCLE has the chance to be extremely successful — not only because it’s a great film, but because of what it caters to. You have young Black men in America who are finally being humanized through a film.”
The filmmakers worked closely with the West family, legal experts and local community activists to bring a call to action. “We want audiences to understand how our justice system operates, to see the stark contrast between official investigations and our own independent findings, and to feel the weight of what’s at stake,” said Kezman of LionArt Media. “Our goal is to save lives by making this film. Period.”
Our second film confronts biased systems and spotlights a movement of freedom, resistance and innovation. Move Ya Body: The Birth of House shares the history of the genre through the life of Vince Lawrence, who in 1984 in Chicago — along with his friend Jesse Saunders — recorded what many consider to be the first house song.
“One of my main goals for this film was to get people going to clubs again and get people focused on nightlife again, ‘cause nightlife is a really important space for the development of culture and resistance,” Bratton said. “Every time we gather, we are disproving the notion that we should all be separate.”
Through archival recreations and interviews with Lawrence and house pioneers, the film explores the genre's connection to queer Black, brown and femme dance culture. It also explains how the genre continues to influence the electronic dance music scene.
“It's already the rule of pop stardom that you kind of have to have one of these great songs, these dance songs,” Bratton said. “I think that's gonna become even more true in the future. And I hope that now that the technology is available to everybody, that the kids — the Black kids in the cities — get inspired by that and believe they can do it too. And let's continue to change the world and bring people together, one beat at a time.”
CYCLE premiers at the Milwaukee Film Festival this Sunday, May 4, with additional screenings May 6 and 7. The Milwaukee Film Festival runs through May 8.
