Ahead of the online debut of writer/director/actor Ka’ramuu Kush’s short film And Then… this Wednesday – winner of the 3rd Shadow And Act Black Filmmaker Screenwriting Challenge – I thought we’d showcase some of his early work over the next 2 days, starting with this one…

Made in 2007, it’s titled Dear Me, which Kush co-wrote with T. Tara Turk, and which stars Kymberli Carter, Nisa Ward, Russell Hornsby, Lanre Idewu and Jessica Care Moore.

Here’s some necessary back-story on the making of the short, from Mr Kush:

Circa 2007, my frequent collaborator t.tara turk shared a series of journal entries penned by a fictitious character named AXL ELLINGTON. I found them to be sublime, raw, and endearingly hilarious. Thus, I was inspired to craft a story around these journal entries, mixed in with our mutual love for CLASSIC SOUL MUSIC, BLACK & WHITE STILL PHOTOGRAPHY, RETRO CINEMA, AIR JORDANS, Tennessee Williams’ A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and, the most dangerous weapon in a Black woman’s kitchen, GRITS.

Tomorrow I’ll share his most recent short film (prior to And Then…) titled Salvation Road, which stars Russell Hornsby.

An interview with Kush regarding the upcoming And Then… (again, premiering online on this blog this Wednesday) as well as his starring cast, is forthcoming.

In the meantime, check out one of his earliest shorts, 2007’s Dear Me, which follows a writer suffering through a debilitating bout of writers block for reasons that elude her in what is further classified as a stylistic melange of live and still photography culminating in a literally colorful climax: