00:00My name is Lacey Schwartz. I grew up in Woodstock, New York, and I live in Montclair, New Jersey.
00:10I became a filmmaker because I love the impact that media can have on people.
00:15My name is Maret Mandafro. I'm originally from Ethiopia. I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia,
00:20and I became a filmmaker because I believe storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to teach people,
00:25and I think it is a very powerful way to connect across divides.
00:29Our production company is called TruthAid for a reason, right?
00:32I mean, I think that telling the truth is a hard thing to do in general,
00:35so we look for those kind of difficult truths to tell in all stories.
00:38Aid Dorian had a very impactful thing happen to her, and I think something like that can happen,
00:45and it either breaks you or it makes you stronger.
00:48She has incredible energy. I mean, when we first, we spent a lot of time looking at different people's stories,
00:53and her story really took us because it was about how she really was able to not only turn her own story into something positive,
01:01but to help other people do that as well. And so the energy that she brings to Spaces is incredibly inspiring.
01:07And she has a lot of light. You know, she just kind of radiates. She's a very buoyant spirit.
01:12Shooting this black girl magic piece has honestly been pretty magical.
01:17Getting these young girls together. We're here directing them, but we're really just here to witness their energy
01:23and witness how they interact with each other, how they inspire each other.
01:27Beyond capturing a Dorian's amazing energy, we're also partnering with a visual artist to help animate these images.
01:36Totally fanned out on this girl. Her name is Galila Mesfin. I found her on Instagram, and she's this young artist
01:41who does these amazing visual digital drawings, and it's just visually stunning.
01:47And I think as filmmakers, we're constantly trying to find ways of pushing convention and form
01:51and looking for interesting ways to marry ideas. So when we saw the visuals, we were like,
01:55oh, this totally excited us, and made us want to work with her.
01:59It felt like her actual process. I mean, she does it on her iPhone.
02:02She kind of brings still photographs or still images to life, and it actually felt like what she was embodying,
02:08her process, was black girl magic. Like, it was actually visualizing what we saw black girl magic as.
02:14She herself is a young girl, so it was just this idea of having all of these young black women
02:19collaborating together, layering it on top. We just loved that idea.
02:24Who is special and important?
02:34Who is special?
02:36Who is special?
02:38Only the most special...
02:40Who is special?
02:43Who is special?
02:45Who is special?
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