“DWAYNE'S WORLD” By Geno DiMaria

Synopsis

On June 17, 2015, white supremacist and domestic terrorist Dylann Roof murdered 9 members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. On August 4, 2016, Roof was assaulted and beat unconscious by fellow inmate Dwayne Stafford. This is Dwayne's story.

Directors statement

On June 17, 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof walked into a Bible Study at historic Emanuel AME Church, sat with the church members, and then opened fire, killing 9 of them. Just over a year later, Roof’s name was again in the headlines - as the victim of an assault inside a North Charleston jail. The assailant, Dwayne Stafford, made national headlines for a day, and then the story went away.

But that’s not the end of Dwayne’s story. As a director, I knew of the headlines about Dwayne but had little idea what I was jumping into when I partnered with producer Jason Gourdine to tell the whole narrative. What we discovered is that Dwayne’s story is about so much more than his assault on Dylann Roof and the brief media attention he received as a result. It’s a story about homelessness, the American prison system, and the impact of racism in America - particularly the American South.

We learned that this is the world Dwayne lives in - a complex and nuanced world with more grey than black-and-white. Dwayne encompasses so much of the Black experience in America, and his story is compelling far beyond the brief headlines.

Credits

Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Geno DiMaria
Producer: Jason Gourdine

“DWAYNE'S WORLD” was submitted to us by Geno DiMaria. Have a film of your own you’d like us to check out? Click here!