What I Mean By Mercy

This project began with poetry, a thinking-through of mercy—it bloomed into a generative opportunity to collaborate and build Mother Mercy’s creative community. As our first production, WIMBM set a tone and standard to grow from.

Each poem in the series stands on its own, while very much in conversation with its counterparts, conceptualizing in tandem, what mercy is or could be. The speaker throughout the series engages you, a you that works best if not perceived only as one being. By allowing the you in these poems to represent ones’ self, a lover and society at large, the nature of mercy can be interrogated more broadly & deeply; and evidence of transformation from one poem to the other becomes palpable.

Each film, like each poem, tells a piece of the speaker’s story—maintaining hints of interconnectedness while reaching to push the narrative forward into different states of being.

Aspiring filmmaker, Amin Aliabadi, came to this project inspired to explore the notion of mercy intellectually and artistically as a director. Part I reflects Amin’s vision completely, while part II was co-directed with JME, author of What I Mean By Mercy, also director of part III. Fredua Boakye (AKA Rescue BKA Eboane AUD) was able to explore his prowess in beat-making, creating original music for each film, bridging the visuals and poetry with undivided attention. This was his first scoring project. Director of Photography & Editor, David Hill, brought a refined skill developed through his broad experiences with film & photography in both the creative and corporate world.

Special thanks to Dinora Z. Walcott, Breauna L. Roach, Jessica Martinez, Boycott Blues and Nicole Stephenson.