KAEPERNICK & AMERICA
Directed by: Tommy Walker & Ross Hockrow | 82 min | 2022 | United States
Executive Producer: Don Lemon
It was the summer of 2016, an election year with unrest rumbling through America. There were numerous triggers —the murder videos of Philando Castille and Alton Sterling, the counterpunch of Alt-Right and Fake News, Black Lives Matter, and Russian meddling. All brewing a discordant national cauldron, ready to boil over. It was the birth of Trumpism, but nobody knew it yet
Then, Colin Kaepernick took a knee, and America lost its mind. Kaepernick's knee touched down on the divide between America's Black and white tectonic plates, creating an earthquake in the eternal race debate. Today, the aftershocks of his singular gesture continue to ripple. He took a stand by taking a knee.
PRECEDED BY THE SHORT FILM: Shine
Directed by: Greg Crompton & Abu-Bakarr Jalloh | 9 min | 2021 | Canada
Shine De God Son has been rapping since he could talk. He is now one of the most popular hip hop stars in the West African nation of Sierra Leone. However, his fame has not translated to wealth and he is struggling to make ends meet. Like most rappers in Sierra Leone he releases his music, does press, organizes concerts, and distributes his album with little support from his label. He has a dream of one day making it big.