I must concede that as I write this I am both sleepy and tired. I want to go back to bed but I can't and I am tired from all this legal, festival and assistant editor stuff that I have been dealing with over the last couple weeks. So that may be the reason why I feel the way I do at this particular moment about being a filmmaker and more specifically a black filmmaker. Now, this subject has been discussed ad nauseum for decades. I'm not gonna get into the whole "am I a filmmaker or a black filmmaker" debate. I'm a black guy who makes films. That pretty much ends that discussion. But I do think about the burden of representation that is often times brought upon by a third-party. Is it unfair for a black artist (or any other artist of color) to simultaneously create high quality, engaging art while also making a social statement EVERY time they make something? I used to think the answer was yes but now I'm changing my mind. Of course there are times when you have to be conscious of the images you are creating and how they will be received. I am and will never be an advocate of making or supporting caricatures. But are there moments where we can just be artists? Where we can be free of social implication and simply make something because we like the story we want to tell or paint a picture because it looks nice or choreograph a dance out of sheer personal expression? I just feel that at times the social responsibility is overwhelming and quite honestly not the primary reason I wanted to be a filmmaker. I want to tell stories that everyone can connect with and not just my people. I would like some criticism or discussion to center around the actual integrity of the work and not what it means in the grand scheme of life. Again, I'm tired and may just be blabbing nonsense but there are days when I would like to be judged as Randy and not as a black guy who makes films.