'Comfort Farms' Is A Stoic But Powerful Doc on the Veteran Experience

There have been many films that address the veteran struggle, from 1979's Apocloyspe Now to 1998's Saving Private Ryan and even Spike Lee's most recent film, Da 5 Bloods. These films tell the story of war heroes on and off the battlefield. Over the years, audiences have been captivated by the stories of these soldiers. We've watched them press forward during the war and into the eerily silent aftermath. Yet, despite our society's collective fascination with war, and the veterans returning home afterward, there have been very few films addressing their trials and triumphs from their own words. 

Director Carlisle Kellam gives the vets back their story in his stoic but compelling Comfort Farms. Though we praise our armed service members as heroes, society seems unable to grapple with how to help veterans truly return home and find their beat in their respective communities. Veterans Affairs in its current state was implemented during World War I. However, like any government agency dependent on funds and lacking resources, the VA can only provide so much help. In turn, many vets have had to find their own ways to cope with life-- and some of them have been incredibly destructive. That's where former combat Army Ranger Jon Jackson's Comfort Farms comes in. 

Named for Jackson's fallen Ranger brother Captain Kyle A. Comfort, the farm has become not just Jackson's sanctuary but one for vets across the nation. After attempting to take his own life following six tours oversees, Jackson decided to take back his narrative. He found purpose in the earth, in its dirt, history, and animals' life cycles. Set in central Georgia, the farm helps vets become butchers, farmers, chefs, and activists. Comfort Farms gives them something solid to lean into while they rebuild a sense of camaraderie and self that is often lost in civilian life. It also provides them with the opportunity to stretch their hands toward their community. The farm has become a new mission for these vets, one that teaches them how to eat, live, and thrive. 

One of the most profound things about Comfort Farms is Kellam's choice to intertwine the footage from the farms and the war zones. This allows the vets to reflect on their past and connect it to their present. Vets like Trenton Free, Forrest Giles, Scott Kennedy, Bryan Kyzar, and Cr Sabathne make it clear that PTSD shouldn't be a catch-all phrase for vets. It only affects some vets. For others, it’s a battle that they are fighting in everyday life.

The film might have been even more effective if the structure had been shifted just slightly, Setting the audience in the middle of the farm first before pulling us back on the battlefield, but it’s still a solid film.

Since this is farming, Kellam does not shy away from addressing and putting a spotlight on the butchering that comes with it. Still, as we watch Jackson reflect on the deaths of animals and even demonstrate it, it's done humanely and with compassion. It's not supposed to be comfortable. Instead, the Agricultural Cognitive Behavior therapy forces an emotional connection for the vets and the viewers. It's a feeling that may have previously been buried deep inside. 

Comfort Farms is not always an easy film to watch. In the beginning, as you're trying to sink into Jackson's story and the story of Comfort Farm, it feels at times unsettling. But that's precisely the point. By allowing these men to tell their stories, Kellam empowers these vets to take back their lives in a way that is healthy, active, and on their own terms, It's certainly not a pretty picture, but that's what makes it one of the most powerful docs on veteran experience out there. 

Comfort Farms won the  Grand Jury Prize at Film Invasion Los Angeles for Feature Documentary. It will be released this year on Video on Demand.

'No Church In the Wild' ALL EPISODES OUT NOW

On this Freedom Day, I am so proud to present No Church In the Wild, Leslie Wagner-Wilson’s harrowing story of faith and survival. The mini-series chronicles her time in The Peoples Temple through her escape from Jonestown, Guyana. It’s a story that has weighed heavy on my spirit since director Richmond Obeng introduced me to it many months ago.

I am so happy he brought me on along with Lindsey Addawoo to produce. This is just the beginning of our journey. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽 ALL EPISODES OUT NOW via YouTube.

“It is easier to forget than to remember.” Leslie Wagner-Wilson 🤎🖤

'In Bright Axiom' Is A Beautiful Concept With Little Context

Since the beginning of time, humans have been obsessed with secret societies, elusive clubs, and cults. Many of these organizations are steeped in privilege and exclusive access, while others have become strongholds for tyrannical leaders who brainwash their followers for their own personal purposes. People begin these sorts of organizations for all types of reasons. When Jeff Hull created Latitude Society in the early 2010s, he wanted to do something distinctive. In his documentary film, In Bright Axiom, filmmaker Spencer McCall unpacks the secret society which shuttered its doors in 2015. The film looks to explore the belief system behind Hull's idea, what exactly caused Latitude's downfall and why so many former members are still profoundly enamored with it. 

By the time the San Francisco/Oakland based society closed in 2015, it was a well-known secret. The members indulged in symbols and rituals that many of us only read about in books or see on film. Latitude members seemed to thrive off of creating these unique experiences for one another. Though Latitude has been closed for years, In Bright Axiom, make it clear how much reverence some of these former members still hold for the group in their minds and hearts. 

Beautifully shot, one of the best things about In Bright Axiom is that it does not immediately present as a documentary. The viewer might, at first, think they are watching a fictional piece or even a mockumentary. Yet, though they remain nameless, former members speak in awe about the society that allowed them to create magic for themselves in alluring rooms, libraries, and complex puzzles. However, since the film is a documentary, and should in theory provide straight-forward answers, its message becomes a bit muddled. 

Though the invitation into Latitude was alluring in all of its white-card and non-descript glory, none of the former members, nor even McCall seems to be able to articulate exactly what Latitude was, nor what purpose it served. Instead, In Bright Axiom presents the members as a group of people looking for ways to conjure up excitement and a bit of chaos in their lives. From the way the film depicts it, Latitude was an elite social media platform come to life. 

Since McCall is willing to provide very little information aside from members' initial indoctrination experiences, the documentary stumbles. It should also be noted that Hull is an executive producer of the film, which means that there are unquestionably some biases in how In Bright Axiom is presented. Because the film seems focused on maintaining some of Latitude's elusiveness, we never truly understand what this society is or is meant for. Instead, McCall depicts Hull as a Professor character (portrayed by Geordie Aitken) who seems to be on his own very personal journey, which is focused on convictions that neither the audience nor the former Latitude members can keep up with. 

In Bright Axiom certainly isn't a bad film, it simply feels like the director and subjects are in on a joke or an idea that the audience can't even begin to unpack. It might boil down to McCall being too close to the subject matter. In theory, Hull wanted to create a for-profit business with all of the dressings and allure of a living and breathing art installation, and he nearly succeeded. The trouble was, as is with this film, is Hull didn't quite know what his mission was. Instead, he chose to focus on how it looked. 

Former members have written long articles about their time in Latitude for outlets like Vice and Longreads. If you're looking for actually concrete answers about the society, then you'll find what you're seeking there. For its part, In Bright Axiom is simply a beautiful tapestry without much context. 

In Bright Axiom  will be released on July 14, 2020 on VOD platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Tubi, etc. in the US and Canada.

Amandla Stenberg Destroys Black Teen Stereotypes in Netflix Series, ‘The Eddy’

Typically when Paris is depicted on-screen, it is picturesque and flawless, centering the Eiffel Tower and all of the stereotypical themes that we’ve grown to associate with the City of Lights. Luckily, Amandla Stenberg has never had any interest in idealism and fluff. From the moment she stepped into our collective consciousness in 2012’s The Hunger Games, she caused ripples in Hollywood in both her personal and professional lives. From her 2015 school project on cultural appropriation, “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows” to one of her more recent roles in the film The Hate U Give, the intersectional feminist has always been wholly unapologetic.

In Stenberg’s latest role in the Netflix Limited Series The Eddy, Stenberg stars as Julie, a troubled and grieving teenager who leaves her hometown of New York City, in search of a connection with her expat father Elliot (André Holland). Dealing with his own inner turmoil, his struggling jazz club, some violent gangsters, and a tumultuous relationship with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Maja (Joanna Kulig), Elliot is ill-prepared to give Julie the relationship that she seeks from him.

The Damien Chazelle-helmed series recalls French Cinema of a past era and pays homage to jazz. More intriguing still, The Eddy centers a relationship between a Black father and Black daughter, a connection rarely seen on screen.

Last fall, ZORA sat with Stenberg in Paris on the set of The Eddy, learning more about the series and why she refused to allow Julie to become just another angst-filled teenager.

Continue reading at ZORA.

Netflix's 'Self Made' Director Kasi Lemmons On Resurrecting Madam C.J. Walker's Legacy

Madam C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove) is one of the most impactful figures of the 20th century. Still, as is the case with many Black historical figures, the general public knows very little about the first American woman and self-made millionaire. Born to recently freed slaves on a cotton plantation in Louisiana, Walker was a laundress before discovering her true passion, Black women's hair care. In addition to building her beauty empire, the entrepreneur and philanthropist worked diligently to enable other Black women to earn money outside of domestic labor.

At the turn of the 20th century, the world was incredibly dangerous and riddled with adversity for Black women. Walker encountered overwhelming racial and gender biases, along with personal betrayals and business rivalries. Yet, none of this deterred her from revolutionizing Black hair care and kicking open the door for the billion-dollar industry that it is today.

Now, 101 years after her death, Netflix is bringing Walker's magnificent life into the 21st century with a limited series helmed by prolific director Kasi Lemmons and director DeMane Davis (Queen Sugar, How To Get Away With Murder). Starring Academy-Award winning actress Octavia Spencer, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker follows the cultural icon's hard-earned journey, from the scalp disorder that caused her hair loss, to becoming the wealthiest woman in America. In addition to Spencer, the four-part series stars actors Blair Underwood as the entrepreneur's husband, C.J. Walker, Tiffany Haddish, as her daughter Lelia, and Carmen Ejogo as her business rival Addie Munroe. Garrett Morris, Kevin Carroll, and Bill Bellamy also star in the series, based on the biography On Her Own Ground by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.

Continue reading at VIBE.

Image: Netflix.