Deception
A 17 year old in Georgia, United States of America, 1932. He was lynched and left for dead tied to a ground pick. One of many stories that were never told in African American culture.
“Raw emotion. The untold story of the United States of America, presented in visceral detail”
In Depth with the Director -
Jamel Hewitt
Hello Jamel, tell us a little about yourself and your background in filmmaking
Hello my name is Jamel also known as Cos. Born and raised in Chicago. I've been a photographer and filmmaker for 7 years. I'm creative and I collaborate with other creatives in order to make great projects in the city.
How did Deception first come together as a project?
Deception was a video for Thaione Davis’ Still Hear album courtesy of Culture Power 45. Thaione took a family trip to a plantation museum in Alabama. He discovered the photo at the end of the video. He sent it to me and asked have I ever seen it before? I responded no. He came back home and we talked about that photo. There's so many stories that happened during that time period that we haven't discovered yet. So we re-enacted the theoretical situation in film as a message about deception from people, race and creed.
The themes of Deception still resonate today in the world. Did the currently political climate influence you at all?
Yes, the political climate was a major influence to show how the system is still working in some sorts of different ways. Oppression by others, classism, racism still applies to this day. The system isn't designed for Black People in America. If you try to escape it may consume you.
The scenes of Thaione Davis being lynched are quite violent and graphic. How did decide how far to push the violence on-screen?
This was about emotion. I didn’t want it to look like torture porn. So we set up the shots to capture the emotion rather than the actual violence. It could've gone crazy. It was about emotions of the lynching. I wanted to be subtle with the violence, so I focused on the close and mid shots of Thaione to capture the pain he was enduring.
What was the biggest challenge in making this film?
The set up itself was strange because off camera I had the experience of watching a black man tie a noose for himself, some trippy shit to talk about, right? The biggest challenge was making sure Thaione was comfortable but able to display the pain when the camera was rolling. We actually tied him up around that pick. I felt for him during certain scenes it was cold as shit outside as well. I would yell cut and run towards him to make sure he's cool after the scene. Another challenge was making sure everybody was on the same page. That's important. Everybody brought their A game and we pulled it off in a couple of hours.
What projects are coming for you in the future?
I managed to do several photo shoots and filming this year despite the plandemic circumstances. Many videos with local artists coming soon. Rita-J, Kfleye, Thaione Davis, Jenora Rok, Culture Power 45, Pugz Atomz, Gold Standard Collective, Fable, Primemeridian, Rashid Hadee, Neak, Philmore Greene, Paradigm Grey, Vic Spencer and more. Check out the animated feature I shot with Pugz Atomz titled "Lost".
Do you have any message for our Melbourne audience?
My message to the Melbourne audience is: the world is changing and we don't know the endgame. Please protect yourselves and your families. Stay positive and raise your vibrations and be peaceful amongst each other. Peace!