‘Live Action Shorts Showcase’ Directors on Breaking Harmful Hollywood Clichés Through Representation
thewrap.comDespite the wide range of topics shorts directors Verónica Echegui, Vanessa Beletic, Brianna Devons and actor Lamar Usher bring to the table through stories of dance, resilience and acting, the group shares a common goal of breaking tired Hollywood clichés by adding voices of authenticity to the existing narratives.“Hollywood has done a great disservice to the Haitian community,” Beletic told TheWrap during the “Live Action Shorts Showcase” for the 2022-2023 Awards Season Screening Series. “Anytime Haiti comes up in any conversation, when it comes to cinema, we think of voodoo, which has been co opted and used and bastardized and turned into something that’s like, demonic and scary.
I’m not an expert in that space, but I do feel a sense of responsibility to help destigmatize my people in any way that I can.”While Beletic’s “Catching Spirits” focuses on the story of a young girl who was told she would have seizures when she dances while a supernatural element is at play, Devons’ “On the Line” spotlights resiliency through trauma when an actor has a career-launching audition and suddenly gets a call that his brother might have committed suicide.In addition to the layers of emotion within “On the Line,” the film also showcases a more complex character of what Usher, who plays the lead, calls a “thug,” marking a stark contrast to the one-dimensional roles in which Usher is usually cast.“I never really had the opportunity to showcase my range,” Usher told TheWrap. “We made a point to make it a thug role, but still have the ability to showcase the different range that I can use or go to.”“He’s an amazing actor, but he keeps getting casted as a thug and criminal for like CBS and ABC,” Devons added.
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