Producers Wyatt Cagle and Gordon Williams are ecstatic about the recognition their award-winning short film Do You has received across the country. The project has been accepted to film festivals in Atlanta, Minneapolis and Seattle.
“We felt that we had a solid project but I am amazed by the amount of recognition we have received from Do You,” Cagle said.
Filmed entirely in Southeast Texas, Do You examines race relations as prejudices arise in unexpected places, leaving a young couple to navigate troubled waters to maintain their love.
In the film, Paula Teague and Frank Bradshaw only have one thing in common; they want their children to end their current relationship. The Bradshaws, a Southern white family, are surprised to meet their daughter Kesha's boyfriend, Cameron Teague, who is black. Surprise changes to outrage when Cameron introduces Kesha to his outspoken mother, Paula. When Kesha and Cameron decide to get married, the feelings and stereotypes of their over-protective parents become abundantly clear. Their opinions force Kesha and Cameron to take drastic measures to maintain their love.
After the film premiered to an audience of more than 300 in Beaumont in November 2008, Cagle and Williams submitted Do You to a number of festivals. The project began to collect accolades to go with the Honorable Mention Award they received from the Urban Media Makers Film Festival in October 2007. Do You won first place at The Fifth Annual Historically Black College and University Film Festival in Houston and screened at the That’s Not Mine Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina in February 2009.
The project won second place in the short film division at the Cine Noir Festival of Black Film in Wilmington, North Carolina and screened at the Louisiana State University Outhouse Film Festival in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in March 2009.
Do You has also screened at the Black Images in the Media Symposium Art and Film Festival in Houston and the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival in Seattle in April 2009. The project won first place and was selected “Best Drama” at the Writer’s in Literary Discussion Original Film Contest and won third place in the narrative short film division at the Boomtown Music and Film Festival in Beaumont, Texas in May 2009.
Do You screened at the Johnstown Wine and Film Festival in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in July 2009. The short film received Honorable Mention recognition at the Bayou City International Film Festival in Houston and also screened at the Roxbury Film Festival in Boston in August. In September, the project screened at the Twin Cities Black Film Festival in Minneapolis and was named “Best Comedy” at the Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival in Houston. The project is scheduled to screen at the Urban Media Makers Film Festival in Atlanta in October and The Red Wasp Film Festival in Bryan in November.
“The recognition that this project has received is a testament to the talented cast, crew, and musicians assembled to work on this film,” Williams said.
Do You features an ensemble cast including LA Young, Cheryl Guidry, Daisy Hargraves, Jamel Thomas, Osbie Shepard, Connie, Carter, Jennifer Almaguer and D. Wesson. The crew for the short film was composed of local media professionals and former graduates of the Department of Communication at Lamar University. The film score of Do You produced by composer Joel Love III and songs from independent artists Adonis The Great, Andre “Choirboy” Cassimere, The B.L.O.K Boyz, and Jamal “Playmaker” Wright.
Larry Young, a Houston actor who played the role of Frank Bradshaw in the film, enjoyed his experience on the project. "It was an extraordinary pleasure working with Gordon, Wyatt and a highly considerate and talented cast and crew in Do You," Young said.
For more information about Do You, visit www.doyouthemovie.com.
