Here's an update on a feature project we first alerted you to in April, when it launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $10,000 for production.
We haven't followed up with a post since then.
The campaign was successful, raising $510 more than its goal, and since then, the filmmakers have been at work, traveling the world, and shooting footage for the documentary – one that, as I said in April, was definitely worth contributing your dollars to, especially as we frequently lament the lack of diverse media representations of real-life black adult male figures in *favorable* positions that young black boys especially can emulate.
A promo reel of footage that has been shot so far was brought to my attention over the weekend, as well as several on-set still photos – all embedded within this post.
Recapping…
Titled Black Sun, the feature-length documentary is describes the project as follows:
The movie follows two astrophysicists who study the solar atmosphere during eclipses: Dr. Alphonse Sterling of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center stationed in Japan (a man who had early success in the US, but left his home country to further cultivate his wide-ranging interests); Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi of the Physics & Space Sciences department at the Florida Institute of Technology (a scientist who beat all of the odds: poverty, homelessness, single-parent, poor early education, etc., to get to where he is today). “Black Sun” explores how and why the two men became scientists, their opposing paths and personalities, their struggles as minorities in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) field, and their noteworthy accomplishments today. We begin in Tokyo following Dr. Sterling as he observes the annular eclipse in preparation for when he travels to Cairns, Australia, to observe the total solar eclipse in November.
The rest of the story can be found HERE.
The filmmakers – Jarita C Holbrook, Kelvin Z. Phillips, Carla L. Jackson – have been diligent about keeping their donors updated on their progress, and it was one of those donors who alerted me to the project's progress since April. Hence this follow-up.
So where are they now?
Well, the last entry is dated September 8, so just over a month ago, and states that they (the filmmakers, cast and crew) are preparing for the total solar eclipse in November, and also that the National Science Foundation gave the project some funding to support their travel to Australia! So kudos to them for that.
And they also state that they'd created an 8-minute preview of the film, which captures the annular eclipse in Tokyo, as well as one of the film's stars, NASA scientist Dr. Alphonse Sterling, at work.
A website has been set up for the project, so you can keep up to date by visiting it at: www.BlackSunMovie.com; on *like* their Facebook page HERE.
The 8-minute preview shot in Tokyo follows immediately below; and underneath, you'll find several photos:
Black Sun Demo Reel — Japan from FilmKZP Productions on Vimeo.
