Just short of two weeks prior to its release on Netflix, I started following the Instagram account for the short film Two Distant Strangers. I was incredibly excited to watch it after seeing the trailer and listening to award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay describe it as a film which ‘moves you into action’ in a video on their Instagram page. Unsurprisingly, it has won the African-American Film Critics Association award for Best Short Film and the 2021 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. The film has been described as ‘thought-provoking’ for its depiction of the cycle of police brutality as well as ‘triggering’ for its portrayal of Black trauma and racial discrimination. Written by Travon Free and directed by Free and Martin Desmond Roe, it stars one of my favourite artists; Joey Bada$$ (real name Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott) who plays a graphic designer stuck in a time-loop after a fatal encounter with a police officer.
Set in New York, Black graphic designer Carter James (Scott) wakes up in a woman’s home the morning after their first date. After insisting he needs to get home to his dog, Jeter, he leaves the woman’s house and finds himself in an altercation with a police officer named Officer Merk. Merk interrogates him about his cigarette, arguing that it doesn’t smell like a regular cigarette and confronts him about a wad of cash in his bag. The altercation quickly becomes violent when he forces Carter to get on the ground, puts him in a chokehold and kills him. The scene cuts to Carter waking up again in his date’s bed, establishing that he is stuck in a time loop and forced to relive the same day. Although his deja vu has equipped him with the knowledge of what happens each time he leaves the apartment, he is repeatedly unable to save his own life. From being raided by a SWAT team who got the wrong house number to being mistaken for someone else on the street - each scenario results in the loss of his life at the hands of the same policeman.
After watching each scenario unfold and mirror a number of ways in which we have seen Black people in the United States lose their lives over the last several years, it was clear that no matter how many ways Carter altered his behaviour he was powerless from stopping Officer Merk from ending his life. At first I was disappointed with the crushing ending: Carter knows he will be killed again and again yet has no choice but to survive in order to get home to his dog. That said, any other ending would’ve been an inaccurate representation of the ongoing struggle between law enforcement and Black people in America. Amidst the recent conviction of Derek Chauvin, the murder of Daunte Wright and the graphic footage of the shooting of Adam Toledo - this film is a sad representation of racial justice and contemporary policing in the US. Mainstream media has been saturated with the deaths and trauma of Black people and while the short film has received praise for its message, it has equally received criticism for using Black trauma for ‘the sake of entertainment’. The message it conveys is not new. Some have commented that the short film is a trope which reinforces the idea of how difficult it already is to be Black in America and others have questioned the target audience of such ‘Black’ films and TV shows with similar themes. The use of ‘Groundhog Day’ deja vu serves as more than a storytelling device - it is a grim reality of the trauma communities face when another name turns into a hashtag on social media, is written on a placard and is chanted in the streets.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, writer and director Travon Free expanded on some of the scenes in the short film - (spoiler alert) including the scene where Carter actually tries to speak to Officer Merk about his deja vu.
I wanted people to understand that even if Carter is talking to the officer, getting to know him, befriending him, the reality is what happens next. - Travon Free, writer and director of Two Distant Strangers
In this scene, Carter and Officer Merk share a heart-to-heart and Merk seems to empathise with Carters’ experiences and distrust towards the police. Shortly after acknowledging each other's humanity the scene ends the same way: with Carter, lifeless, at the feet of Officer Merk. This scene reinforced the notion that we cannot engage in successful efforts for radical change by simply understanding or empathising with the struggle against law enforcement in America. It touched on the systemic nature of police brutality, which is not a result of a few ‘bad eggs’ but rather rooted in an institution which allows brutality on Black bodies and continues to facilitate the killing of Black Americans. Following the recent conviction of Derek Chauvin, this scene in particular is a reminder that although his conviction is significant for George Floyd and his family - policemen like Chauvin operate within a larger system. One which is over militarised and continues to flout the law with impunity. This hollow victory will not bring justice to communities who have endured generations of trauma and rage in the face of a system which enabled events like the siege of the U.S. Capitol or allowed individuals like Kyle Rittenhouse to be detained without a scratch by the police.
This film - like the violence inflicted upon Black communities in America - shouldn’t be an ‘awakening’ for anyone. Moving the needle forward each time the racial disparities in American’s broken criminal justice system are at the focus of public attention is not justice. Two Distant Strangers correctly portrays the distrust between Black communities and the justice system in America which continues to grow with legal doctrines in place like qualified immunity. The trial of Derek Chauvin has reignited debates about this controversial legal protection and I hope that this short film pushes this conversation forward.
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Fourth Floor is a West London based collective dissecting the world and promoting young creatives across the globe.