Yesterday, Nowness delivered the third installment of ‘Shorts on Sundays,’ a series meant to feature innovative films from both emerging and established artists. Wildcat, this week’s short, is a six-minute piece directed by Kahlil Joseph and scored by Steven Ellision, better known as Flying Lotus. Both previously collaborated for the short film that accompanied Ellison’s (excellent) album, Until the Quiet Comes.
Wildcat is a portrait of an all-Black rodeo community in the remote town of Grayson, Oklahoma (originally named Wildcat). The film pays tribute to Aunt Janet, a founding member of the community, who recently passed. Joseph’s pensive phantasmagoria, bathed in black-and-white, surrenders itself to Ellison’s ruminative string arrangements. The mournful croon that appeared in the vulnerable moments of 2010’s Cosmogramma return, even more subdued and introspective. Together, the pair create another moving piece of cinema that doubles as a powerful memorial for a late matriarch. You can watch the film here or below:
