A love story behind the camera becomes one for the big screen
The director of indie films like Mooz-lum starring Evan Ross and Nia Long and Destined starring Cory Hardrict and Robert Christopher Riley, Qasim Basir, made his latest film with another stellar cast including Meagan Good and Omari Hardwick. The film entitled A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past January and was quickly picked up by a distributor.
But this film was very different than the previous.
It’s a love story at its core.
Two strangers meet in Los Angeles the night Donald Trump was elected and they’re forced to examine whether each of them is living life to the fullest. It’s relatable, it’s a night we all remember, it’s sexy – but that’s not why it’s different. If you’re a film buff, you’ll be excited to know, it’s a one take film – meaning it was shot in one night without any cuts. Meagan and Omari had to memorize 70 pages of a script and perform honest and entertaining ad libs as well.
But that is also not what makes this film different.
Qasim wrote this film with the love of his life, writer and actress Samantha Tanner. Together they put their own emotions, tensions, and hope on the page and screen.
We asked them to give us the scoop on what it was like to work together on this intimate film and what they’ve shared below is a love letter to one another and to their audience.
by Qasim Basir
This boy was on a journey to find himself, to make his way back from one of the most difficult periods in his life including self doubt and a career lull. And then he found her – a stunning, beautiful sight. From those green & gold eyes to her shiny, strong cheekbones to the beauty she had inside that immediately radiated out to the world. She saw the best of me. And didn’t accept less.
She brought me into joy, happiness, vulnerability and strength in ways I haven’t experienced them before. And I fell again, this time, not in a bad way. I fell in love. Hard.
And from the moment we began seeing each other, we never stopped. And in a town where people play games, play it cool, we played none. We both agreed, if we’re gonna try this, let’s try this. If it doesn’t work we’ll move on. But no games. And it did work. It wasn’t easy. IT WAS NOT EASY. But we came a long ass way to this day…
by Samantha Tanner
This girl here fell in love with a boy. Bear with me as I attempt to put words to something that still leaves me speechless.
As the founder of the “I Got This All By Myself!” school of thought one can assume my surprise, confusion, when Love came knocking at my heart.
I hadn’t even realized I’d evicted Love from this space until I opened the door and there was this unwavering compassion and accountability that shed light into corners long ago forgotten, or ignored. When I look into the eyes of my partner in work, in play and in life, I see a pure radiation of love, beauty, creativity, strength, and wisdom. I don’t know how a person has such magnificence. It should physically be impossible. But therein lies the rub… when all is improbable or impossible, he hears and sees within me that I AM POSSIBLE. When I look into my partner’s eyes I see limitless inspiration. I also see him holding a mirror up so I can see myself as clearly.
co-written by “Qa-Sam”
And on this day, our movie comes out in theaters. A movie that I (Qasim) thought could be a fun love story about a man going through some difficulties, who stopped believing in himself. A man like me. Then I saw some of what Sam could do as a writer. I already knew she was a fantastic actress, but the writing was hidden. And when I passed the script along to her, she brought it to a new place; a beautiful, vulnerable place.
This vulnerable place was one that I (Sam) had only rediscovered when I met Qasim and I quickly realized it was not a weakness that needed shuttering away. It was time to peel away the scar tissue of my own deferred and doubted dreams. When I got my eyes on this script, I chose to step into a world that I’ve grown to know well. A world where Love wins. I have experienced this healing power in our relationship and knew even if we could capture just a glimmer of it through this film, we could break a cycle for generations to come.
We intend for A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. to create a heart space for everyone who has been in love or wants to be in love. For the daydreamer’s that have created plans for a brighter future tucked away in a drawer. For those struggling to maintain motivation and drive. Know that it all starts with an honest, compassionate conversation of accountability and then the loving act of choosing to lean in and do something about it.
We have a DREAM.
A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. is in theatres right now! Locations and tickets are available here: https://www.aboyagirladreamfilm.com/
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