A young African-American girl solicits the help of her best friend to escape the sexual torment inflicted by her Foster mother's boyfriend and journeys to reunite with the mother she never knew; an adaptation of the upcoming novel, "The Rape Diaries". It was our pleasure to speak to the producer of the film, Charles W. Bush.
What was the inspiration behind the making of your film?
I have some members in my family that were abused and they never told. I always wished I could do something about it. So when the director came to me to produce this piece....it was a no brainer.
What is the most challenging aspect of working in this particular genre?
Whenever you are creating a drama or thriller that has any type of truth, it's challenging to make a decision on how far to go.
When did you realize that you wanted to work in media and make films and what was the first film project that you created as a director?
It's a couple of things that made me want to work in the film industry but when Darius told Nia how urgent it was when it was raining outside at the end of Love Jones....that had me wanting to continue watching and learning film. The first film I created as a director was a film called Against All Odds. It burried somewhere on YouTube very deep.
How did you choose the cast and the crew of the film and what was the most challenging aspect of production?
The director Malcolm X. Johnson was very meticulous with the audition process for The Monster In My Closet. The actors brought their A games but the call backs is what made the separation. One of the most challenging aspects for me producing this piece is I had surgery a week or so before. I was only able to make set a couple of times but we had an awesome team in place to keep things moving.
What genre of filmmaking fascinates you as a director and which genres do you prefer to work on?
Rom Coms are my favorites believe it or not. Love stories are interesting to me because you can interpret things so many different ways and it is one of the main genres that pulls out different emotions.
How can cinema change the world and have an impact on society?
Films depict reality. We usually watch films to get away from life. If we can change the narrative on important issues to bring positive change, cinema is the way to go. The major conglomerates need to get on board with more social issues and independent filmmakers must keep telling their truths.
What is your next film project as a director?
I've been working on a project called "Born Identity" for the last 10 years. This project is so unique because times have changed, we used different cameras and traveled across the U.S. with different crews etc. This is a passion project that I can't wait to show the world.
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