We Woke Cast and Crew

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We Woke is based on true events and is about how race and cancel culture divide two friends in a battle over the company name.

Mission Statement

Land of Misery Films is all about telling personal stories that touch on Universal Themes. From comedies to dramas, documentaries to fairy tales, we love to explore the gray areas in life and in ourselves. Creative, offbeat storytelling is our forte and a trademark in all of our productions.

We Woke follows Nikki J., a teaching artist with the Mickey's Monkey Theater Company located in beautiful Chicago, IL. Named after the hit song made famous by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Mickey's Monkey has become a major part of her life, and teaching creative writing to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, one of her greatest joys. (These are stock photos not actual actors in the film)

But Miranda has had an issue with the Mickey's Monkeys' name for years. Founded in the mid-'90s by all-white teaching artists and teaching in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods, Miranda finds the name problematic. Now that the company is more diverse than ever, Miranda feels it's time for the Mickey's Monkeys' name to go and for the company to move in a new direction.

After sharing her experience of being called a Monkey as a kid, and the devastating impact it has had on her to this day, everyone in the company seems to agree with Miranda, that the name is an issue and that it is time for a change. Everyone, except Nikki.

Though Nikki understands where Miranda is coming from, the slur and the company are not one in the same thing. What makes the whole thing so insane from Nikki's point of view is that humans are primates, and belong to the family of Great Apes. These amazing animals are our closest cousins on that beautiful evolutionary tree and are among the smartest animals on the planet. So why would we change our name because of a lie?

"No!", says Nikki. Instead of changing our name, we should be educating students about the truth, attacking the lie head-on, and attempting to wipe it off the face of the Earth. As it turns out, a number of people in the company agree with Nikki but do so secretly. Fearful of appearing culturally insensitive, fearful of being called racist, fearful of being canceled, they contact Nikki directly, and thank her for voicing what a lot of people were feeling, but afraid to say.

But Miranda is LIVID. She can't believe Nikki. Surely if anyone had her back on this, it would be Nikki. Feeling betrayed, Miranda invites her good friend out for coffee. And as is the case with good friends, the conversation gets ugly, turns personal, and ruins their friendship. This is "We Woke".

Rough Cut

We shot two scenes for the film over the summer and are looking forward to resuming production in the Summer/Fall of 2023. Here's a rough cut of one of the scenes. It's a work in progress and not the finished product. We used stock footage for the scenes we haven't shot and still have to do color correction and the final sound mix. A big-time shout-out to our amazing cast and crew for lending their talents to the project. Your tax-deductible donation, large or small will go a long way in helping to make "We Woke" a reality.

Photogallery

Here are some photos from the shoot. A big shout out to Caitlin Kelly Thompson Photography and Bari Baskin Timestops Photography for their amazing work.

Photo Courtesy of Caitlin Kelly Thompson Photography

Photo Courtesy Bari Baskin Photography

Donate and Spread the word!

Your tax-deductible donation large or small will help us make this film a reality. Donate today, and spread the word to your friends and family. Long Live Indie Film Making!

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