Being born into a world with two completely opposite identities, a southern white family of extreme couponers and an immigrant family from the West Indies made up of nurses and first responders— things just feel a little bit awkward. Identity is one thing I’ve struggled with and still to this day I find myself still in battle. The one thing that my family could agree on was film, something I’m so grateful for. Movies that are able to create that feeling of universal immersion are truly the best.

Growing up, cinema was the one consistent thing in my life that acted as an escape. I find that as a child I was continuously feeding off the worlds I was being presented in film and creating my own whether it be writing stories, drawing character designs, or making the worlds that these characters interact with. Storytelling has been a visual art that I’ve loved from the second I could hold a pencil and I haven’t stopped since. 

Visual direction is an element of film that I’ve fixated onto. I genuinely think that careful attention to the props and settings, makes or breaks the immersion of a story. As I follow on my journey as a filmmaker in the BFA Film and Media Arts program, my eye and passion for art direction has grown significantly. I’ve made sure to implement elements of design into all of the sets that I build. With the growing opportunities, especially in heavily involved group projects, art direction is becoming an essential skill in the education of a filmmaker which I appreciate. Had it not been for these challenging projects, my appreciation would not be as strong. 

That feeling when you realize what you want to do when you grow up is one of the greatest feelings I can actually admit that I’ve had. I’m proud to be able to identify as a Bajan-American filmmaker and to have the opportunity to create and visualize worlds and stories for audiences. I do it because if a movie can make you forget about all the hardship in life for like 90 minutes, then it’s done its job and that alone is so powerful.