Today we’d like to introduce you to LaDarius Torrey.
Hi LaDarius, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I come from a small corner of the country known as Pascagoula, Mississippi—a blue collar town located on the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast. While my family, like most of those I grew up with, are by no means the most well-off financially, I always felt that I had more than any kid could ever need coming up. Mississippi, and its people, so often get overlooked or talked down upon, but, quite frankly, there is no other place in this world that I’d rather call home. In walking through my journey, it’s imperative that I start there—with my community, because I surely would not have made it this far without them.
As a kid, I aspired to be an attorney, and imagine this, the first black governor of Mississippi. A funny thought now, but public policy was my first love. I wanted to change lives and make living easier for Mississippians who grew up in struggling single-parent households like myself. With this goal in mind, along with my love and admiration for Allen Iverson, Georgetown University became my dream school around the age of 12 or 13.
Fast-forward to senior year of high school, I took the wild chance of applying to Georgetown—and, to my bewilderment, got accepted into the Early Action Program and offered a full scholarship to attend. Even after receiving the acceptance letter, the decision to actually go away to a place so far and foreign to what I had come to know as home was anything but easy. However, after numerous discussions with my mom, grandparents, and mentors, there was no way I could turn down the opportunity. So, in the fall of 2013, I began my journey on the hilltop of Georgetown University—and what a life-changing ride it was. Entering as a freshman, I sat in classrooms with white peers and was struck with two stark realizations: (1) I was the exception, always the statistic in the room, serving as the lone representative for those on the lower third of the socioeconomic ladder in this country and (2) my peers, many destined to be leaders within our nation, knew nothing about life of the marginalized. From these observations, my love for policy slowly died out. To be honest, I was lost and constantly felt out of place most times; but, oddly, knew that there was a reason for me to be in those rooms.
Ultimately, that class helped me to understand that the chip I carried—formed by my lived experience of struggle—was not a burden, but rather, my greatest asset. I recognized that I had the unique ability to excel in classrooms with the sons and daughters of the “elite” while maintaining a unique ability to return home and connect with blue collar workers and those who make their income by any means they deem necessary. The older I get, and the more places I visit, the more I appreciate this ability. Beyond freshman year, I’d go on to serve as the president of the Black Student Alliance and as a founder and director of the URBAN House (a living and learning community focused on bridging gaps and extending access to men of color on campus). In addition to holding leadership roles on campus, I spent much of my time working with and mentoring youth in the greater DC community, developing bonds and connections with those often forgotten and overlooked in our nation’s capital. From this work and personal experiences of my own, I knew that I had to find a different route to affect change in the manner that I wanted to see it—and filmmaking gradually became that different route. The beauty of film is its unique ability to serve as a voice for the voiceless in establishing societal understandings and challenging injustices.
As a college filmmaker, I created pieces that evoked uneasiness in an attempt to promote dialogue around campus and societal issues. My first production as a filmmaker was a short film titled “Am I Next?”, which focused on addressing and questioning the dangerous mischaracterizations of young black men in America after the senseless killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. While the conception of this project stemmed from frustrations I held with the university’s lack of support for black students at a time of such racial tension, the film was highly successful in sparking discussions around campus—in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, the project caught steam beyond the gates of Georgetown and was even featured in UPWORTHY. After witnessing the immense power that film holds, filmmaking quickly became my passion. I joined Georgetown’s Film and Media Studies program and directed a number of projects during my time on the hilltop, including “Brochure Brother” and “Teach a Kid to Film: Changing the Narrative”—two films that focused on Social Justice issues on campus and in the greater DC community. “Brochure Brother” addressed the daily microaggressions faced by black students at predominantly white institutions and received the Voter’s Choice Award in the 2016 Gelardin New Media Center Showcase as well as the Audience Choice Award in America Media’s Voices from the Margins 2016 film fest.
While “Brochure Brother” garnered much popularity on campus, “Teach a Kid to Film: Changing the Narrative” is the project that I have taken the most pride in, as it gave me an opportunity to leave the gates of Georgetown and teach teens from Southeast DC how to utilize equipment and create their own short films. In teaching these kids how to produce films of their own, I ultimately was able to provide them the agency to claim and tell their own narratives—a feat that pushed me to take a chance and apply to USC’s School of Cinematic Arts Film and Television Production Program myself.
Two weeks before graduating high school, a lifetime friend of mine passed away. Before his death, he tweeted, “Tough times don’t last always, tough people do.” As a writer and director, now with a Master of Fine Arts from the nation’s top film school, I continue to strive to keep this statement prevalent—creating films that tell narratives of resilience and fortitude. Messages of hope bring light to so many dwelling in the dark—as even the toughest of times must pass. Ultimately, I want to inspire people in the same manner that artists such as Spike Lee, Ryan Coogler, J. Cole, and Big KRIT have done for me. Hope is a powerful remedy—and, while it took me some time to fully comprehend, it is hope that will push us to better days, despite the ebbs and flow of policy and those responsible for making it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I can’t say that it has been a “smooth” road, but it has been the road that I needed. There have been many challenges along the way—most of them coming from the simple fact that I am a first-generation college graduate trying to create a route that I have not quite seen before. Choosing to chase a dream as crazy and elusive as filmmaking over that of a more conventional career-field has been a challenge within itself. While the financial challenges/burdens are there a bit, they are meniscal in comparison to those faced on an interpersonal scale. The cost of dream-chasing is an expensive one—especially when it comes to maintaining certain relationships and even confidence in self. However, along my journey, I’ve learned to truly focus on the wins/positives. I’ve learned to hold on to the people that you count on and to value EVERYTHING—especially the lessons you learn from things going awry. And, again, as my good friend, Brandon Rich, tweeted, “Tough times don’t last always, tough people do.” At this point in life/my journey, I know for a fact that I am indeed one of those people built to last, and I personally place an emphasis on taking every lesson and setback as the blessing that it is.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a writer-director from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I received my undergraduate degree from Georgetown University with a major in Government before going on to obtain my Master of Fine Arts from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. My focus, as a filmmaker, is creating stories that give marginalized individuals the ability to reclaim and share our own narratives.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
The importance of mentorship can never be undervalued. I believe in life, we are put on Earth to be blessings to others, and we have a responsibility to do so (despite whatever career-field that we’re in). Coming from Pascagoula, MS, there is no way I get this far without the work, support, and guidance of others.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dtorrey1/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladarius.torrey
