A SONG FOR ECHO

LOGLINE: This is a story about PhaeMonae, a Black female dance artist based in Atlanta, GA as she loves and builds a life for her child Echo, in a world that wasn’t designed for them. It is a blooming multi-year reflection on the multi-generational dynamics of black motherhood, and the significance of dance practice as a form of storytelling and healing. It is a magical-verite account of the joys and hardships they find in surviving these dark times.

AWARDS + SELECTIONS

2020 FIGA Spring Grant Winner

Official Selection for Airport Shorts 5.0

Synopsis: Jazzmine “PhaeMonae” Brooks gave birth to Echo Mahogany Agotime Ritfeld in the 7th room of the 7th floor, on Sunday, July 7th at 7:43 AM. She had the support of her partner Andrew Ritfield, her friend and chosen godmother Sharon Carelock, her doula Cory and the hospital staff. Throughout the night-long labor, and into the morning, her friend and film director Lev Omelchenko, captured the event. A film that started out about a woman’s expectation of her first child, has now formed into a film about their new life together.

Phae comes from a long line of black women artists, and believes dance literally saved her life. Who Echo will be is still a mystery, but mom has already breastfed her during a performance at the High Museum of Art as part of her work with glo. That event was also captured by Lev. In these moments, as with the labor, the camera is an observer, documenting the beauty and struggle. And in some moments, where Phae decides to create art that directly speaks to her journey, the film works in tandem, to translate and adapt her vision into a cinematic time-space.

Some facts:

As of 2017, GA is tied for 8th place in the US for infant mortality.

As of 2018, GA is 2nd in the US for maternal mortality. “Georgia’s maternal mortality rate is especially alarming for black women, who have a rate of 66.6 per 100,000 live births in the Peach State (compared to 43.2 for white women), and for women between the ages of 35 and 44, with a rate of nearly 90 deaths per 100,000 live births.” - US News

These numbers highlight the harsh realities that black women, black mothers, endure in the South. This is something we would like to highlight in our work. This is the context in which Phae and Echo build a life of creativity and joy. This film captures the first year of their lives together.