Film Test
Free to be Free: That's How God Created Us
Dir. Damien D. Smith // Prod. Nia Weeks
About the Film:
It grows out of our heads as a coil to the cosmos, identifying us as the distinct original people. And yet, so many feel the need to cage it, contain it, control it, legislate it. It’s a symbol of our power that can’t simply be quickly whitewashed, no matter how hard some may try this.
Free to be Free, a documentary by Nia Weeks & Damien D. Smith, is a loveletter to Black people and to our original coils. A reminder that no matter how hard others may try to break us, we will ALWAYS be free when we love ourselves.
This moving film excavates hair-stories across Black Louisiana to help us embrace & accept our original coils more deeply. It also closely traces the journey of House Bill 382, a bill proposed to institute the Crown Act across Louisiana (it was already passed in New Orleans).
Director: Damien D. Smith
Award-winning actor and filmmaker Damien D. Smith is a lifelong storyteller. With experience in theatre, television, and film, Smith is driven by both a responsibility to shed light on injustice and oppression and a deep-rooted passion for community, faith, and social activism. Filmmaker Damien D. Smith is not just an award-winning writer/director; he’s also the founder and Creative Director for 4910 Rosalie Productions and Co-Founder of Detangled.
Smith’s solo ventures and social justice collaborations fuel his passion. Through art, he uses the camera to tell powerful stories to inspire and provoke change. His most recent documentary, Target: St. Louis Volume 1, has been named the Best Documentary Feature Winner at the 2021 Urban World Film Festival.
Producer: Nia Weeks, Esq
Nia Weeks is an attorney who has focused her post law school career on addressing a variety of systemic issues that marginalized community members in her home state of Louisiana.
She is currently the founder and Director of Citizen SHE United, which mobilizes Black Women around the state to actively participate in changing the system so that it begins to work for them and their children. Citizen SHE United is creating a place where the intersection of our communal and familial commitments can coexist with the interpersonal issues that women face.
Her vision is to be part of the answer to righting the wrongs of systemic oppression in Louisiana. As a part of the fellowship, Nia will build the work she is undertaking with Citizen SHE United, as well as focus on her own growth and professional development. Nia is also the mother of four children and is a fierce advocate who fights for them every day.