Great topic with lots of potential. Unfortunately this documentary falls short in several areas. The production values (esp. cinematography/lighting and sound) are low quality. The interviewees were not well researched, or screened. We would all like to do a documentary starring our friends and family, but sometimes we need to be more subjective about who we put in front of the camera. Talking heads is NEVER fun, nor interesting, to watch. Where are the pictures, location shots, etc? The narrator/interviewer was a very poor choice. He’s not a good “voice” for the subject. Documentaries often take years to make, when done properly, because they require RESEARCH, and funding, and they require gathering visual documentation that would make the film more interesting and compelling. I can tell that this was a fly-by film-- made with an earnest desire to answer a question, but produced without the energy, resources, and dedication needed to create a worthwhile film.

Go back to the drawing board. Find actual film professionals (cinematographers, production sound guys, an editor, a producer or two, a director, etc.), get a better narrator (or scrap the idea of having a narrator altogether), write a treatment, get some funding, do loads of research, find better subjects to interview, and focus your thesis. Take this video from a home movie, to a festival quality, ground breaking film. Right now, though, a documentary poorly directed, produced, written and narrated by black men discussing ‘vanishing black males’ is much too ironic. I’d love to see this revisited in a few years.

Great topic with lots of potential. Unfortunately this documentary falls short in several areas. The production values (esp. cinematography/lighting and sound) are low quality. The interviewees were not well researched, or screened. We would all like to do a documentary starring our friends and family, but sometimes we need to be more subjective about who we put in front of the camera. Talking heads is NEVER fun, nor interesting, to watch. Where are the pictures, location shots, etc? The narrator/interviewer was a very poor choice. He’s not a good “voice” for the subject. Documentaries often take years to make, when done properly, because they require RESEARCH, and funding, and they require gathering visual documentation that would make the film more interesting and compelling. I can tell that this was a fly-by film-- made with an earnest desire to answer a question, but produced without the energy, resources, and dedication needed to create a worthwhile film.

Go back to the drawing board. Find actual film professionals (cinematographers, production sound guys, an editor, a producer or two, a director, etc.), get a better narrator (or scrap the idea of having a narrator altogether), write a treatment, get some funding, do loads of research, find better subjects to interview, and focus your thesis. Take this video from a home movie, to a festival quality, ground breaking film. Right now, though, a documentary poorly directed, produced, written and narrated by black men discussing ‘vanishing black males’ is much too ironic. I’d love to see this revisited in a few years.

Peace be with you!
I am so grateful for the making of this film.  I’m twenty-four years old and I know that my place on earth is to do something ... something good, and something for someone else.  This film touched me deeply and I not only feel more self worth than I’ve ever felt, but I have a sense of duty to my self, my people, and to my God.  Thank you for inspiring me.  May God bless you and may others be very blessed and fortunate to see this film.