American Boy is a short film with a giant story. Alex is only ten, so he knows squat about the hostile world he was born into. Mom’s off working all day because she’s a paycheck away from eviction. Dad’s locked up because he’s a brown skinned man who fell into all the wrong traps. Alex’s older brother, Juan, is on the same trajectory, too young to realize he’s just another pawn for a trillion dollar drug cartel.
The film is written and directed by Audrey Arkins, who is a truly gifted writer with a strong, authentic voice. She’s started an Indiegogo campaign to raise $25,000 by June 30, 2017, to make this film. Audrey began her career teaching Politics at University in Ireland where she was born. Audrey made her first political documentary in the UK, then made international wildlife films for Discovery. After becoming a solo mum, she focused on screenwriting. She cowrote Missing Brendan (2004), and Farewell (2009). Audrey was hired to write Inkotanyi – the story of the Rwandan Genocide, among other projects currently in development. Filming kids moving in and out of the criminal justice system inspired her to write American Boy.
Audrey is a great artist and her film will be important. Please check out the video people, then go to her Indiegogo page to help the film meet its goal.
American_Boy from Audrey Arkins on Vimeo.
