Film Review FilmClique Magazine Jan 25th, 2012 By Ben Daite We are social beings. That’s just who we are. Relationships are good. Everybody wants one. So why don’t we get along? Individualism, and a little more. Perhaps, it stands in the way of the collective good. Eric (Kenneth Brown Jr.), Alexis (Shamea Morton), Cullen (Peyton Coles) and Janae (Reece Odum) are single and unsatisfied. So they all meet up for a night on the town. Only, this ignites a collective experience that will force them to search their hearts and find the passion for the love that has since eluded them – a Lesson Before Love. The beginning seven minutes of mostly dialogue may lead you astray. But if you can stick with it – if you can admire the technique used here – you may discover for yourself a story more serene and tranquil in its delivery, and yet, confrontational; a coming of age film that does not mince any pictures in pointing a straight and candid finger at our attitudes towards relationships today. I agree with director Dui Jarrod that movies like Love Jones, Love & Basketball and The Best Man, were inspiring because they paved a way for a culture of love; they bred a serenity to encapsulate love in friendship; and provided a hope for marriage. What kind of movies do we make today? Dui Jarrod and crew do not waste a moment; the film travels a clear path, shunning the fine line that many films tread – between meaningful relationships and our seeming nonchalance about their importance. Straight away, we know these four individuals, Eric, Alexis, Cullen, and Janae, are looking for meaning. But can they get past the individual, to cherish one another? I call it a story with a backbone to de-emphasize the very faded margin and unhinged perceptions that many directors today seem to take in addressing topical issues. Even worse, the lack of making clear points in movies is seen as a stamp of sophistication. I
strongly disagree. Sometimes, in place of the lack of a meaningful resolution, movies end with no end! I remember one such film, Martha Marcy May Marlene, to name but one. I nearly cursed out loud in the theater, but for goodness’ sake, I exercised a lot of selfcontrol. Yes, some issues are complicated, but we certainly aren’t paying 8 to 15 bucks to be told it’s complicated. I already know. I come to see something more profound – a director’s view – perhaps a solution, or yet, an inspiration or a hope. This is where I think Lesson Before Love leaps bounds. For the first time in many a movie, I could put a finger on what this director was all about. A take-home message! Furthermore, a unique insight Dui Jarrod and crew bring to the table is the issue of black male incarceration. In black society, any discussion of relationships will be incomplete without a full understanding and appreciation of the horror at stake – the all-intended and carefully planned mass imprisonment of brilliant and ambitious black men who have since 1620, been inhumanely frustrated first by slavery, terribly treated a second, by Jim Crow and bitterly dehumanized through the war on drugs. When it comes to issues and concerns about black relationships, black love, and such, yes, it is complicated, but in Lesson Before Love, it is imperative we make practical choices, selfless choices; we have to make communal choices because in director Dui Jarrod’s final analysis, who’s gonna patronize your business if most black people are poor and their men are in prison? Cullen’s new magazine business was faced with that terrible reality! We can’t keep sitting on the fence. There are no princes on black horses, and in fact, there are no princesses or queens ready to take your bullshit neither! But the survival of our communities are at stake, and Jarrod seems to be pulling us in, to partake in its rebuilding, its reconstruction, and its revival. For if there’s anything we can do – at all – we can start by loving and appreciating ourselves just the way we are! Clearly, Dui Jarrod’s intensions for the black community are progressive. It is a commendable stance and well defended in picture, in sound, in cinematography and in acting. Not to say that I found the acting perfect, but there certainly was a clear sense of conviction, a remarkable sincerity to improve and the forthright commitment to roles that are in themselves multifaceted. As far as cinematography, except for the beginning and a couple of music-video shots of Shamea, I see the light in the tunnel. The film as a whole deserves commendation and I see much room for improvement, the potential can quickly be spotted a mile from Jesus. I couldn’t say more about a film with so much backbone! And I hope that whatever stones are rolling to ground affirm Dui Jarrod’s career, they gather all the moss he needs to become successful. This is an assertive voice and you shouldn’t hesitate to watch this film when it comes out in the theaters near you!
Director Interview Times-Picyune
Feb 15, 2012 By Brian Moore Some people will do almost anything for love. Dui Jarrod, a peripatetic filmmaker who’s travelled from his birthplace in Arkansas to his current home in Brooklyn, with stops along the way at Louisiana State University, New Orleans and Atlanta, has made “Love” the singular force in his life since 2008. But Jarrod, 31, didn’t spend those years in singles bars or on Match.com. He spent them breathing life into his first feature film, “Lesson Before Love,” a spirited drama which tracks four thirty-something singles whose self-doubt stands in the way of a fulfilling relationship. “Lesson Before Love” is Jarrod’s labor of love. Simply financing the film took him over three years, and he wasn’t asking for a George Lucas budget. “Most people make more money in a year than what I filmed my film on. Probably the most difficult thing, that first domino, was getting the money. I thought, ‘Wow, we’re done with that. It’s going to be easy.’ But it wasn’t like that at all,” Jarrod says. “Filming the film was difficult. Postproduction has been difficult. Distribution has been difficult, but I’ve been blessed that we’ve had success at every place and every portion of this journey,” he adds. The sweat that Jarrod poured into his creation is reaping rewards. It took best drama at the San Diego Black Film Festival this year, and has a pole position, 9:30 p.m. slot Feb. 17 – a Friday – at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMCinematek’s New Voices in Black Cinema Festival. (Jarrod and some of the cast will host a Q&A after the screening.) Jarrod took a break from the lead-up to his BAM screening to discuss the difficulties of getting “Lesson” made, the craft of writing and the plusses and minuses of being a “New Voice in Black Cinema.” Q: Being a filmmaker is an enormously difficult task. Why be one when there are easier options? A: I know, especially in this tough economy. You know why? I was meant to do this. It’s such an incredibly difficult undertaking to have and it requires something deeper within you than just wanting to be a filmmaker. From the first moment that I saw “A Soldier’s Story” – when I was a six-year-old kid – I knew I wanted to tell stories in the same manner. It’s just something that’s been in my heart for years.
Q: What’s the genesis of the story for “Lesson Before Love”? A: Valentine’s Day, 2008. I call it All-Single’s Day, because there’s no other day on the face of the Earth that reminds you more that you’re single than Valentine’s Day. Myself and my friends, we decided to get together and love each other because none of us were in a committed relationship. And we had these amazing conversations about being young and progressive and single. The conversations were so in-depth and they were so in tune to where my heart was at the time that I said, “You know what? This needs to be explored in a film.” Q: What are you trying to get across with “Lesson”? A: That you have a purpose. And whatever your purpose is, that’s going to be the thing that helps you to get to who you are or who you really want to be. And if you arrive there, then you can accept love into your life. I know it’s a struggle I had for many years, being single for a long time. I wasn’t happy because I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. Q: Each of the four characters is unhappy and insecure. Have you found that common among your peers? A: Things are different from when everybody was a Baby Boomer. A lot of parents, in order for them to have healthy lives, they had to go to a twoincome household. A lot of my family members didn’t have a college education, so it was about establishing a life that would make you sustained as a human being. But we come up at a time when all options have been opened to us. And so our career paths don’t leave a lot of time to find a relationship. We’re all chasing dreams instead of settling down and finding relationships. As you’re in your late twenties, entering into your thirties, it does bring about a serious level of insecurity that makes you question what your journey is going to be for the next 10 or 20 years of your life. Q: What’s a movie that inspires you to carry on with filmmaking? A: I had an opportunity to see “Up in the Air” with George Clooney. The dialogue was so rich, and I connected so deeply with that character. Whenever I get to that place – “Man, do I want to continue doing this?” – I’ll put that movie in because I just loved what it stood for. And the other movie that’s been a pinnacle for me has been “Malcolm X.” Just to see his journey but also to experience the journey that Spike Lee had to take in that process. It keeps my heart afloat to believe that this is definitely for me. Q: You’re a writer and a director. Directors, for good reason, receive a lot of attention, but writers get almost none. Is that a problem with filmmaking? A: That is especially a problem with black filmmaking. We don’t study the craft and the art of actually making a film. And a lot of people think you have to go to film school in order to
understand that and it’s not necessarily true. There are many, many books which explain how to write a screenplay, because there’s a definitive way to write a screenplay, but you have to find your own way of telling your story within the confines of that structure. People always think in order for you to show growth, you have to go from a crackhead to a princess. And that’s not always the case. The greatest human growth that we have is personal growth. It’s something you experience on your own that gives you that “ah-ha” moment. “I’ve got to change.” And it’s subtle and it’s beautiful and it’s an amazing transition. That’s what I focus on in my writing – that human transition, that arc, when a person realizes, “Hey, I’m insecure about this and it’s going to have to change. But I have to do it. Nobody can do it for me.” Q: You’re being presented as, quite literally, one of the New Voices in Black Cinema. What are the positives and perils of that billing? A: The positive to that is the platform that we get to stand on as African-American filmmakers. It’s truly one of the most selective film programs in the entire country, so to be able to stand up and say, “Hey, I’m a part of that program” automatically helps validate you and introduces you to the very tight-knit African-American film community. The downside to that is that you don’t always get identified as just a new voice in film. Although writing an African-American film is what I did, it’s not all that I’m capable of doing. Instead of me standing outside in a picket line saying, “I’m not just a black filmmaker,” I embrace it. I think that when people of any race, of any culture, are able to watch my film, they’ll see the universal message. I feel those opportunities will come. This is just a platform that’s finally given me the introduction. Q: What’s next? A: I live in Brooklyn. It’s just a hotbed for a lot of creative people and it has an amazing energy. And I just knew that this was the right place for me to be. And I’ve decided I want to write a film for Viola Davis, believe it or not. I was watching “Dateline NBC,” and she just spoke about the quality of screenplays she’s been receiving hasn’t been worthy of sharing a journey and experience that you want to have as an actress. I feel I have a story that’s specifically meant for her. And I’m producing a play. Q: What’s the play about? A: The play is called “The Prototype.” And it’s an interesting story. It’s about seven stereotypical men coming together to create the perfect woman. (Laughs) So it’s really interesting. I play off stereotypes, but I have a really strong message within it both to women and to men.
Press Article ACTNOW Foundation Feb 14th, 2012 By Noella Wynter This Valentine’s Day marks a very special occasion for director Dui Jarrod and emerging actor Peyton Coles of Lesson Before Love. No, it does not involve the trivial things like a box of chocolate or a bouquet of red roses. Instead, this year’s Valentine’s Day makes it four years since the inception of the film, Lesson Before Love. What originally started in 2008 on Valentine’s Day as a group of single friends enjoying the company of one another by painting pottery, watching an independent film and having a meaningful discussion about why they were all single, resulted in the product of a labor of hard work and love as well as a feature film for this year’s Festival. “I felt like, as far as black culture was concerned we didn’t have a film that displayed us in a really compelling light,” said Jarrod. “I wanted to write a film that displayed the current state of being young, black and progressive in modern times.” However, the process was a lengthy one, and took three and a half years. When asked what kept him motivated throughout that time Jarrod said his community. “I was just committed to my community, I felt like we deserved it. I was also committed to myself and getting my first feature film done.” Lesson Before Love centers around four singles who are unsatisfied with not only their love lives but their personal lives as well. This aspect of the film mimics Jarrod’s who left his job in corporate America to fulfill his dreams of being a filmmaker and subsequently making his first feature film. It seems as though Lesson is a first for many involved in the film including Peyton Coles, who plays Cullen Jones. “This was my first feature film. I came from New York doing stage work,” said Coles. When asked what the environment on set was like, the New York native said “[We were] very much so like a family. We had to be a family in order to make a film like this.” “I love the way that Dui and the producers kind of sent us out on these love dates with all the actors as their characters,” continued Coles. “We would go out to dinner [and] in one date we sculpted and painted our own pieces in this ceramic shop. We did that often and that’s what they did to prep us to get comfortable with one another.”
Hopefully the audience will sense the chemistry between the cast and walk away with lessons of their own. “I want people to leave with their own personal love lessons, said Jarrod. “I just want people to experience the journey of four characters and see yourself in those characters stories and to really think about it for yourself.” “I would like them to leave with a better sense of themselves and the person beside them because we all go through the struggle,” said Coles. If you are wondering what else you can expect from these creative gentlemen, Jarrod is currently working on a screenplay for Viola Davis and Peyton Coles is setting to release his first directorial short film.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LESSON BEFORE LOVE, THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FEATURE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT FROM WRITER/DIRECTOR DUI JARROD MARKS ITS NEW YORK CITY PREMIERE AT THE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC’S BAMCinematek: NEW VOICES IN BLACK CINEMA FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY ACTNOW FOUNDATION Friday, February 17th 2012, 9:30PM – Brooklyn Academy of Music, BAM Rose Cinemas Brooklyn, NY (January 18, 2012) – LESSON BEFORE LOVE the feature directorial debut from social media darling and film maker Dui Jarrod, makes its New York City festival debut as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMCinematek: New Voices In Black Cinema Festival presented by ACTNOW Foundation. To celebrate the debut, the filmmakers will host a night of meet and greet /networking opportunities for festival attendees featuring appearances by LESSON BEFORE LOVE stars Peyton Coles (Cullen), Recee Odum (Janae) and Director Dui Jarrod. Schedule of Events: Friday, February 17, 2012
7PM‐9PM The Lesson Before ‐ Cocktail Reception MoCADA ‐ Museum Of Contemporary African Diasporan Art 80 Hanson Place Brooklyn, NY 11217 9:30 PM LESSON BEFORE LOVE ‐ Film Screening Brooklyn Academy of Music ‐ BAM Rose Cinemas 30 Lafayette Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217 *Q & A to immediately follow w/ Director Dui Jarrod & stars Peyton Coles and Reece Odum MIDNIGHT ‐ UNTIL The Love After – The After Pary Cornerstone Lounge 271 Adelphi Street & DeKalb Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217 ABOUT THE FILM LESSON BEFORE LOVE, a striking look into the parallels between self love and personal relationships tells the stories of Eric (Kenneth Brown Jr.), Alexis (Shamea Morton), Cullen (Peyton Coles) and Janae (Recee Odum); four young, black, fabulous, yet single and unsatisfied friends living monochromatic lives. Following a contentious first time meeting between on‐line chat buddies Eric and Alexis and friends Cullen and Janae, a torrent of emotions leads to explosive confrontations that forces them to learn love lessons which searches their hearts for love and lost passions that have long eluded them.
Already a film festival audience favorite, LESSON BEFORE LOVE has received the following honors: WINNER! ‐ Audience Award ‐ Urban Mediamakers Festival (Duluth, GA) Official Selection ‐ Hollywood Black Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) Official Selection ‐ Bronze Lens Film Festival (Atlanta, GA) Official Selection ‐ San Diego Black Film Festival (San Diego, CA) LESSON BEFORE LOVE was produced by Scotty Singleton, Dui Jarrod, Tyler Dixon and James Cole. For more information on LESSON BEFORE LOVE visit www.lessonbeforelove.com. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS Writer, Director and Producer Dui Jarrod is multi‐talented creative powerhouse on the rise. Much buzzed about online and off, Jarrod’s past work includes plays; “The Story of Us” and the production of original content for the web, such as critically acclaimed “The Break Up Series” under his own independent film imprint Cloud Nine Productions based in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to his work on LESSON BEFORE LOVE, Jarrod continues to write scripts and plays that speak to intelligent, progressive African American audiences. Scotty Singleton serves as Executive Producer on LESSON BEFORE LOVE having worked with Jarrod on several previous film projects. The Chicago native, currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia, seeks to continue crafting heartfelt stories that positively affect the current landscape of African America cinema Tyler Dixon serves as Director of Cinematography and Producer on LESSON BEFORE LOVE. A New Orleans native, Dixon has won several national awards for his work, most notably on a moving post Hurricane Katrina public service announcement. Dixon is active in his craft and is currently working as both video director and Director of Cinematography on several upcoming projects. James Cole, a seasoned industry veteran is a legal expert and Producer based in New York City. His previous work includes serving as Producer on DIRTY LAUNDRY, a feature starring television and film actor, Rockmond Dunbar and legendary film and stage actresses Loretta Devine and Jenifer Lewis. ABOUT ACTNOW FOUNDATION ActNow Foundation is a non‐profit 501(c) (3) theatre & film organization, based in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, which focuses its productions on the full range of African‐American experiences in New York City, throughout the United States and around the globe. It’s annual New Voices in Black Cinema Festival at the world renowned Brooklyn Academy of Music is quickly becoming New York City’s “must attend” event for emerging African‐American talent in film. ### For Media Inquires & Press Consideration
Jennifer Grady ‐ Brooklyn Syndicate ‐ (646)262‐1373 jen@brooklynsyndicate.com