Brianna Devons’s On The Line is a short film about suicide and mental health in Black communities. The budding filmmaker from Los Angeles took her personal experiences and co-wrote a script with business partner Lamar Usher to confront a topic usually ignored by minorities and the masses. Rheeda Walker, who is a professor of psychology and director of the University of Houston’s Culture, Risk and Resilience Lab shared research this year revealing that suicide rates have increased after the pandemic for young African-Americans. Devons felt it was necessary to take the challenges her brother has faced with mental health to educate the public but to also use the film as her own personal meditation. On The Line has been seen at numerous film festivals to great applause and is currently being screened by Academy members to be voted on and subsequently nominated for the 2023 Oscars. The director and screenwriter took some time out to speak with Kick Mag about On The Line, her Royale Coalition production company she co-founded with Usher, and their next projects.
Follow Brianna Devons and Royale Coalition at their Official Site and Instagram. Find out more about the Minority Psychology Network here. Suicide Prevention Resources.
Thank you for sharing other strategies for healing folks in crisis.I look forward to seeing the film.