Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1152740
8 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9 We did too. It was still cold in Cleveland. I was knee-deep in Native Son, wrapped up in the world of Bigger Thomas, when I got a phone call about Skyping with Ava DuVernay. I had a relationship with her longtime collaborator—who I had previously worked with on Black America Again—legendary cinematographer Bradford Young. I was humbled to speak with her. She is more than just a talented director, she is kind, wise, thoughtful and an unrelenting force for change. She is shining a light into so much of what so many choose not to see. We spoke of passion. We spoke of trauma. We spoke of change. And we spoke of collaborating. When I started When They See Us, I was working remotely from Cleveland as I neared the final days of shooting on Native Son. Back in Harlem, the first scout, Maya Reid, was on the ground. She was a student of both photography and journalism, which proved a potent and necessary pairing. The creative team felt it best that she start at the library. We were looking to take the detailed information that had been gathered about the events of the night, when Trisha Meili was attacked and five innocent boys would subsequently be accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit, and plot each detail out on a map of Central Park. We had Sarah Burns' map A H o n o r i n g a n d I l l u m i n a t i n g t h e S t o r y o f t h e C e n t r a l P a r k F i v e W H E N T H E Y S E E U S B Y A K I N M C K E N Z I E , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R The five boys walked into Central Park in the spring—one of the first warm days of the year.