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For independent filmmakers, there are often many additional challenges to film production and distribution which films made through the studio system avoid. Because of this, many independent films never get critical attention or the chance to have an audience. For Detroit native Sultan Sharrief and his film Bilal’s Stand, this was not the case when it showed in the NEXT category at Sundance.
“It was a whirlwind, and it was completely luck of the draw,” Sharrief said. “We submitted online without a box, we didn’t have any connections, we didn’t have any hook-ups or anything like that.” Still, what Bilal’s Stand did seem to have was a good story with social relevance.
“I came up with the idea actually while finishing another film called the Spiral Project,” Sharrief said. “I felt like what we were doing wasn’t living up to its potential. We pulled off this amazing feat on a tiny budget, but the story wasn’t something that was captivating and didn’t do justice to the organizing feat we were pulling off.”
Drawing on Sharrief’s own life, Bilal’s Stand explores the different aspects of growing up in Detroit in a unique way. “The pitch for the film was Amelie meets Goodfellas meets Boyz in the Hood,” Sharrief said. “We were trying to find this medium between having something quirky and kinda fun, but in the same way really sort of gritty and in the streets.”
The story of Bilal’s Stand revolves around an African American Muslim living in Detroit who tries to find money for college through an ice-carving scholarship. Despite the story’s unusual details, however, it still resonates universally.
“That’s the part that took four years,” Sharrief said with a laugh. “What we did when we had our rough cut screening, we invited people from all walks of life. We would screen the film and get everybody’s feedback, and that actually turned into a two year process. And I kept doing that until I got to a point where everybody was kind of getting it and everybody felt connected to the story and the characters.”
The film’s message has added relevance now with the widespread economic struggles, despite being made years before the crisis. “I act like it was foresight on my part, but we made the film like two years before all the economy stuff,” Sharrief said. “Some of the movie changed to reflect some of that afterwards - we tried to flush out certain scenes.”
In addition to the Sundance screening spreading awareness for Bilal’s Stand, Sharrief said that the film festival also changed viewers perceptions of the film. “Once you get that Sundance label, people think to think more about your film,” Sharrief said. “Even though the film is not your typical Hollywood film, they saw that we were making choices. They saw how what we were trying to do was part of a longer legacy of filmmaking.”
Sharrief’s struggle to keep his dream alive during production is reflected in the film itself, with a reference to Langston Hughes’ famous poem “Dream Deferred.”
“That line came about two years in and the movie wasn’t getting where I wanted it to,” he said. “I was ready to give up. That poem, I read it somewhere and understood it in a different way. It’s a scary thing, what does happen to a dream deferred? And how do you even have dreams after that if you let something slip away? So I think I explored it in the story, but also within myself.”
For independent filmmakers, there are often many additional challenges to film production and distribution which films made through the studio system avoid. Because of this, many independent films never get critical attention or the chance to have an audience. For Detroit native Sultan Sharrief and his film Bilal’s Stand, this was not the case when it showed in the NEXT category at Sundance.
“It was a whirlwind, and it was completely luck of the draw,” Sharrief said. “We submitted online without a box, we didn’t have any connections, we didn’t have any hook-ups or anything like that.” Still, what Bilal’s Stand did seem to have was a good story with social relevance.
“I came up with the idea actually while finishing another film called the Spiral Project,” Sharrief said. “I felt like what we were doing wasn’t living up to its potential. We pulled off this amazing feat on a tiny budget, but the story wasn’t something that was captivating and didn’t do justice to the organizing feat we were pulling off.”
Drawing on Sharrief’s own life, Bilal’s Stand explores the different aspects of growing up in Detroit in a unique way. “The pitch for the film was Amelie meets Goodfellas meets Boyz in the Hood,” Sharrief said. “We were trying to find this medium between having something quirky and kinda fun, but in the same way really sort of gritty and in the streets.”
The story of Bilal’s Stand revolves around an African American Muslim living in Detroit who tries to find money for college through an ice-carving scholarship. Despite the story’s unusual details, however, it still resonates universally.
“That’s the part that took four years,” Sharrief said with a laugh. “What we did when we had our rough cut screening, we invited people from all walks of life. We would screen the film and get everybody’s feedback, and that actually turned into a two year process. And I kept doing that until I got to a point where everybody was kind of getting it and everybody felt connected to the story and the characters.”
The film’s message has added relevance now with the widespread economic struggles, despite being made years before the crisis. “I act like it was foresight on my part, but we made the film like two years before all the economy stuff,” Sharrief said. “Some of the movie changed to reflect some of that afterwards - we tried to flush out certain scenes.”
In addition to the Sundance screening spreading awareness for Bilal’s Stand, Sharrief said that the film festival also changed viewers perceptions of the film. “Once you get that Sundance label, people think to think more about your film,” Sharrief said. “Even though the film is not your typical Hollywood film, they saw that we were making choices. They saw how what we were trying to do was part of a longer legacy of filmmaking.”
Sharrief’s struggle to keep his dream alive during production is reflected in the film itself, with a reference to Langston Hughes’ famous poem “Dream Deferred.”
“That line came about two years in and the movie wasn’t getting where I wanted it to,” he said. “I was ready to give up. That poem, I read it somewhere and understood it in a different way. It’s a scary thing, what does happen to a dream deferred? And how do you even have dreams after that if you let something slip away? So I think I explored it in the story, but also within myself.”
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Saturday, May 19, 2012
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