FRO Fest provides a space for Black creatives to showcase their cinematic art


A laptop screen showing four people gathered together in a zoom call.
FRO Fest featured several films made by Black creatives, such as C. Craig Patterson’s “Alone Together.” (Alexis Francel | Daily Trojan)

Films Reflecting Ourselves, otherwise known as FRO Fest, went live Feb. 17, showcasing Black writers, producers, directors and actors at USC. The event, which served as a platform for Black students’ stories to be shared and celebrated, was put together by the Center for Black Cultural Student Affairs, USC Fisher Museum of Art and the School of Cinematic Arts. 

As a result of the coronavirus, the 2021 FRO Fest theme was “Creating Art During COVID.” A Zoom livestream was held to showcase creators’ work to those attending. The selected films showcased Black excellence and creativity while navigating the lifelong challenges of marginalization as well as the recent coronavirus pandemic. 

Chance Davis, a senior majoring in film production, submitted his film, “A Dream Recurred,” to FRO Fest. This was his first year participating in the event.

“For me, it’s a really cool space where we get to showcase, share and learn from Black students at USC,” Davis said. “I thought it was really cool to have this space where our work can be highlighted and I had a ton of fun watching what was on display.” 

Although Davis has been studying from home, he is passionate about stop motion animation and has a studio and camera set up at his house. With the help of his parents, he created costumes, a set for his film, and recorded the entirety of the piece from home. 

Davis’ inspiration came from the song “Mr. Sandman” by The Chordettes. Davis listened to the song on loop while writing his script and visualized how he planned to go about the film.

“I spontaneously had the idea while I was listening to this song,” Davis said. “In the song, these women are asking Mr. Sandman to bring them a dream guy. I was thinking how people are asking America to bring us a dream and right now that’s not working.”

For Davis, his film was about the way the American dream has failed in a multitude of ways. This is particularly shown by the character navigating the intersection of feelings and isolation associated with the pandemic, quarantine, the news and how the pandemic had exacerbated an array of societal issues. 

Davis’ film was a very personal way for him to cope with his emotions and loneliness.

“I was feeling the loneliness from quarantine, combined with the stress of seeing police brutalities, the Capitol riot and having Donald Trump inciting problems was really affecting me,” Davis said. “And so for me, this was just a creative outlet for all that negative energy I wanted to turn into something that was an art piece that could give people something to think about.”

Davis initially struggled to get creative ideas for films and scripts because he usually pulled inspiration from doing activities and seeing his friends. However, FRO Fest created a unique opportunity for him to get creative about his experience within the last year and share it with others in the community. 

Miki Turner, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, worked with a group of students who presented their film, “Two Paths, One Direction” at FRO Fest. 

“I think for filmmakers, it gives them feedback,” Turner said. “They need to either move forward or in some cases go back in and fix some things based on the feedback. And I think it’s just cool for our students to be a part of something with sensitivity.”  

Turner saw the way in which students used FRO Fest to share their own personal visions and reflect on the complexity of the time, particularly as a result of the pandemic.

“I hope that someday they’ll be able to really utilize some of the bigger screening rooms on campus and expand the festival so that it becomes a huge success,” Turner said.

C. Craig Patterson is a graduate student in his last semester studying cinematic arts, film and television production. Patterson directed the film “Alone Together” with Dylan Filingeri, the writer and co-producer and Ayana McKnight, co-producer. It painted a portrait of a family dealing with the fact that their grandmother was alone in a long-term care facility as a result of the pandemic. 

“The central meaning of the film was togetherness,” Patterson said. “To understand what we mean to one another, especially in a time when we were taken from one of them.”

The film itself was created fully virtually, and it was actually an autobiographical story about Filingeri’s family. One of the toughest parts of the creation process for the team was that after finishing the film, his grandmother passed away due to complications from the coronavirus. 

Although the film had to be adjusted to virtual production, the team readjusted as well in order to produce a film for the event and share their message.

“The success is kind of measured in the fact that we were able to make it together,” Patterson said. “Everybody was so happy that we hit that finish line. And I’m grateful that I had that experience with them.” 

The FRO Fest event provided a unique opportunity for Patterson and his team to not only have an audience, but also viewers who were receptive and understanding of the position they were all in.

“It’s beautiful,” Patterson said. “Anytime you get a chance to do filmmaking, especially at the level that you are at before you really authenticate your career, it can be a pretty lonely endeavor to share your work with people. It’s great to be able to share with people who got it and it was well received. I mean that’s all you could ever ask for.”

FRO Fest and the pandemic pushed the team to use their creativity and bring together their community through art, all while supporting and sharing with the Black community.

“It’s important to me, simply because of the people that come together for it,” Patterson said. “I think any program that brings together people from our community and shows them things that are beautiful about the community is important to have. So I’m grateful that they do it.”