Driving While Black follows the story of a young black man navigating the streets of Los Angeles. The independent feature was written by Dominique Purdy (AKA MC/Producer the Koreatown Oddity) who also stars in the film. It's hard to imagine a more topical film right now, so check out the trailer above and download and watch the full movie here: drivingwhileblackmovie.com.
From the film's official description:
DRIVING WHILE BLACK is a dark comedy, rooted deeply in reality… but not a reality that everybody is familiar with.
Dimitri delivers Pizzas for a living – but as a young black man he is faced with “extra” challenges while navigating the city. The film explores the reasons why so many black men have concerns of unfair treatment, especially while driving.
We get to see the psychology behind Dimitri’s attitude towards the police, through piercing flashbacks to his prior experiences with the cops – from childhood to present day, the cops have always had their eye on him.
The script was written with technical advice from the Sheriffs Department in order to create something totally authentic, showing the real deal about police attitudes towards DRIVING WHILE BLACK and “race out of place”.
The film will be shot with the realism of a documentary. The use of original artwork, Instagram and other digital graphics will give the film a modern, and unique feel. We will follow Dimitri on his path to his dream job as a Hollywood tour guide – and the many trials and tribulations he has to overcome just to get to the interview.
It’s an engaging and often emotional journey as sometimes things justaren’t fair. But at its heart it is a comedy full of fun twists and turns. Anyone who has ever driven while black, (or knows someone who has) will laugh throughout – and it might just change an opinion or two.