Ballerina Boy

How did it come about? The journey of taking ownership of your life and learning to be yourself is the most universal growing pain we all must undergo. It’s a very intimate and vulnerable process that becomes more complicated as we also must navigate through the different social categories, roles, and expectations that are pushed onto us by society. Recently I’ve transitioned passed the hard part of accepting this responsibility and building the courage to claim my life. I believe this film is a reflection of my journey through art. It illustrates the internal and external conflicts I faced in terms of masculinity, fitting in, pursuing my passion, and becoming myself through the unique perspective of Albert. What we hope to achieve with the project? We want to show black boys that they are complex and nuanced individuals who don’t bind to any two extreme caricatures when it comes to how they shape their identities. We want to show them that they can be both weak and strong, vulnerable and guarded, cowardly and courageous, “feminine” and “masculine”, and everything in between. That black boys can be anything if they so choose it. Why now? Currently, the idea of masculinity is being reinvented by the new generation and I believe that this film will be one of the voices that will represent the young black perspective.