12 SOMERVILLE MAGAZINE
‘Say their names’ Fuelled by the horrific killing of George Floyd, the comedian and writer Travon Free completed his script for the Oscar-winning short Two Distant Strangers in just two months. Here the film’s co-director, Martin Desmond Roe (1997, Lit. Hum.), reflects on the complexities of depicting trauma on-screen and encouraging America to engage in its most urgent conversation with itself.
Travon and Martin, centre, with (l-r) Producer Lawrence Bender, Andrew Howard (Merk), Joey Bada$$ (Carter) and Zaria (Perri)
W
hen my friend, Travon Free, asked if I wanted to make a short film with him at the height of the 2020 Covid lockdown, my first thought was, ‘absolutely bloody not.’ Most American cities at the time were experiencing riots and protests so extreme the national guard was called in. There were literal tanks parked down the road from my house – it did not seem like the time to be telling stories. How wrong I was.
As Travon pitched me the idea, I realised I might never again have the chance to help bring to life a story so vital, relevant and urgent. And so we set off, in the scorching LA sun, to raise money and convince actors and a crew to join us on what was to become the creative experience of my lifetime. If you haven’t seen it, Two Distant Strangers tells the story of a black American graphic designer called Carter James who is repeatedly victimised and murdered by the same police
