APRIL
A story of Faith, her magical magnolia tree April, and Hattie MaeCelebrating the concept of neighborhood for the Memphis Crosstown Arts Organization
Faith Jackson’s smile obscures the pain of the past and her fear of bullets flying past her mother’s apartment in the Soulsville neighborhood of Memphis. But Faith has a refuge: a magnolia tree that she named April gives her comfort. She enters April through a hole in the trunk. She waters April and checks her heartbeat. Nearby, a neighbor Hattie Mae is a fading echo of the young girl. The ailing older woman looks back and dreams of youth and health. She places handwritten messages on a giant battered tree stump in her front yard telling those who pass to live now.
Client: Memphis Crosstown Arts Organization
This short film was created by director Alan Spearman for the Memphis Crosstown Arts organization to celebrate the concept of neighborhood for an event called MemFEAST. Spearman worked with coproducer Nicki Newberger and cinematographer Mark Adams to find and document the principal characters of the film in the Soulsville neighborhood near STAX Music Academy.
Role: Cinematography
We contributed cinematography to this film, including the time-lapse sequence around the tree, and some of the nighttime shots of April taking shelter within her tree. The Story Speaks founder Lance Murphey and director Alan Spearman previously were co-directors on a 5-year documentary film called “Nobody” that was featured on the Dr. Phil Show and played in many of the country’s largest documentary festivals.
Takeaway: A universal and ecstatic truth
Inspired by filmmaker Werner Herzog, director Alan Spearman, made this film to experiment with the idea that invention, as opposed to recording the facts like an accountant, can lead to a deeper, universal and ecstatic truth. The resulting film was a critical success, earning a host of awards and playing in numerous film festivals including AmDocs, Atlanta, Indie Memphis and Slamdance Film Festival.