I wanted to share my journey as a black filmmaker for Black History Month.

Part 1

I started developing my Black Salt franchise over 10 years ago because I was tired of seeing how they depicted black men in TV and film. I create a black hero who was strong, disciplined and people could look up to.

I loved martial arts, so I wanted my hero to have mastered Shaolin Kung Fu and be an Interpol agent, where he traveled around the world with great adventures, defeating the bad guys and standing up for justice. And I wanted him to be raised in another country.

I also wanted him to over come great odds as a kid, so we could see where he developed his principles, and the audiences would want to cheer him on.

Part 2

At 10 years old my hero’s father didn’t come back from the war and his mother took a teaching job in Japan. Not long after they moved to Japan, they were assaulted by common street thugs.

A Shaolin master saved the boy, but the mother tragically dies from an accidental knife stab to the heart. Filled with compassion the Master resolves to raise and train the newly orphaned boy.

Now, that I had all the characteristics for my hero, I started to work on the comic book series. I raised the money from a crowdfunding campaign.

Part 3

Once the comic book series was completed, I wanted to turn it into a film. The script, one sheet and budget were put together. As I pitch the project, I started to hear a black lead cannot sell overseas.

I even had a big production company that was very interested in doing the film, if I made the lead white.

As the project it a brick wall, I decided to produce a 30-minute proof of concept. I raised the funding through another successful crowdfunding campaign. The Black Salt proof of concept film won the Cinemax Urban Action Showcase out of 350 films and received a licensing deal with HBO.

I was starting to get some calls from production companies and then tragedy hit me. My mother was diagnosed with cancer, I put the project on the shelf for the next 4 years while I took care of my her until she passed away.

Part 4

I pulled the project off the shelf about 8 months ago and in development for the feature film.

While I was away from the industry the Black Panther grossed over a billion dollars in the box office in less than 30 days and shattered a lot of other records. And the Black Lives Matter moment hit and there is a big demand for content with more diversity. But black filmmakers are still at the bottom of the totem pole in receiving funding for their films.

But we have to keep pushing forward and make a change by networking and helping each other.

Thanks for allowing me to share my story!

Want to learn how you can support Black Creatives this month (and every day!)

Check out Stage 32 member Andre' Barnwell's blog: 5 Ways to Support Black artists this Black History Month