IjabaFilms
Well-known member
Charise talking about skin cancer.
I just wanted to share a documentary I filmed this past April/May. I ended up filming two documentaries at the same time (I'll post the other one separately). This one is about my best friend who is an African American with Albinism. We have been friends forever and I'm always amazed by her. I saw this as a learning opportunity and I was also glad I did it because I also learned more about Albinism when I thought I already knew a lot about it. It also gave me a little bit of perspective on filming documentaries because you have a story and then when you shoot it, you have someone's life on camera. And you can see so much more than you saw from just interacting with them. I thought I could understand how tough it must be for Charise but when I made this film... it was really more than I could have imagined.
What was also cool about this is, it was the right time. I know my friend well and I don't think this would have happened any other time. It was very cool because it was like our friendship went to another level with this. From a filmmaking perspective, I also felt I should take care... (I'll explain this more when I talk about the second documentary I did.
I do wish that I'd gotten more B-roll. I also wish I was able to talk with a gastroenterologist (I guess I still can since I'm still editing this doc). I also wish I'd had the opportunity to interview her brother and father and some of her family. There just wasn't enough time. But they are some fantastic folks and would have added more wisdom to this project.
I live in NY and had to fly down to Florida to shoot these two docs. But I grew up there so it ended up being nothing but a good time.
I was also very lucky to find wonderful photographers to do photo shoots (for free) for both docs. I can't share my appreciation enough. The photos from the shoots were for promotional material and it's a wonderful thing to have them.
Charise: A Portrait of an African American with Albinism
Trailer 1
Trailer 2
Charise's Photoshoot
Official Website: http://www.myalbinism.com
Charise and her son.
