Revels Debuts New Short Film Focused on Mental Health at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock
As assistant director for student leadership and development director at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Corrigan Revels is making a difference by mentoring hundreds of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students every year participating in the Chancellor鈥檚 Leadership Corps, a leadership development program that is focused on academic success and service learning.
He brings that same passion to his after-hours pursuits. Revels, an alumnus of the School of Mass Communication, is continuing to make strides in his filmmaking career.
This summer Revels debuted his most recent project, 鈥淔reedom鈥檚 House,鈥� at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. The short film tells the story of Amari, a middle-aged Black man who seems like he鈥檚 living the American Dream with a great career and family, but Amari鈥檚 life is not as perfect as it seems.
鈥淎s the film progresses, Amari鈥檚 battling some internal conflicts,鈥� Revels said. 鈥淥verall, the film balances themes of mental health, being aware of your triggers, and how to carry out your emotions when it comes to sharing how you truly feel. It reminds people to make sure that those in your inner circle are those who truly support you. I tell my students that all the time.鈥�
The 11-minute film was filmed on location in Little Rock and features a cast and crew of local Arkansas talent. Dylan Pojar-Weatherly served as the director of photography, and Essence Simone鈥�, another 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alum, served as the production assistant.
鈥淲hen it comes to filmmaking, what really helped was having a great team of actors and crew to help pull it all together,鈥� Revels said.
About 50 people watched the short film鈥檚 premiere at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and Revels said that the crowd 鈥渞eally enjoyed it.鈥�
Revels wrote the script back in 2020, and it made him a finalist for the Indie Memphis Black Filmmaker Fellowship in Screenwriting.
鈥淭hat gave me a boost at a time when I was questioning what was my next step in my film career,鈥� Revels said. 鈥淚 wanted to take time to do the story justice, and I鈥檓 blessed to work with a talented team to bring it all together. I believe this is my best work yet.鈥�
For the next few months, 鈥淔reedom鈥檚 House鈥� will be making its rounds during the film festival season, but Revels plans to release the film on YouTube close to the end of the year.
In addition to 鈥淔reedom鈥檚 House,鈥� Revels is working on pre-production for his first web series that is set to launch in the fall.
鈥淚t will be called 鈥楤lack Eyed Peas,鈥� and it celebrates and brings awareness to the Black experience in America,鈥� Revels said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an anthology series and will be on the lighter side. A lot of the cast and crew from 鈥楩reedom鈥檚 House鈥� will be in this web series.鈥�