42° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION
THE BLACK SEA
by Crystal Moselle, Derrick B. Harden
Country: USA
Year: 2024
Duration: 96'
Khalid, a charismatic guy from Brooklyn, embarks on an amateur gigolo quest in a small vacation town on the Black Sea. A turn of events leaves him stuck and penniless in a town where he is the only black man around. With no place to go, he begins to embrace the cultural differences illuminating a town steeped in traditions but also a love for one of Americas greatest exports - hip hop. In his desperate efforts to get back home he is led on an unforeseen transformative journey, creating connections and finding love along the way.
Biography
film director
Crystal Moselle
(USA) is an acclaimed American filmmaker. Her debut feature, The Wolfpack, won the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize and several other awards. Her first scripted feature, Skate Kitchen (2018), premiered at Sundance and was nominated for a Gotham; the she made Betty, HBO series from 2019 to 21. She currently has a film in development with Ted Hope on a film about her father, Charles Moselle. She and Harden also have a TV show in development inspired by Harden’s experience working in an elite hotel in the early 2000’s.
FILMOGRAFIA
Asdsska: 25 (cm, videoclip ,2009), Shapeshifting (cm, videoclip, 2014), The Wolfpack (2015), Separating Ourselves (cm, videoclip, 2015), That One Day (cm, 2016), Our Dream of Water (2017), Skate Kitchen (2018), Betty (serie tv, 2019-21), Untold (serie tv, 2021), Sophia (2022), The Black Sea (coregia Derrick B. Harden, 2024).
Derrick B. Harden
(Usa) come rapper, artista e curatore di mostre, attore e regista ha lavorato con Wutang, con la galleria Hole e con la fondazione Harold Hunter e diretto alcuni episodi della serie Betty. Super Thot, il suo album autoprodotto, ha raggiunto il primo posto nelle radio universitarie per l’hip hop underground. Recentemente ha aperto i concerti del rapper Kool Keith.
FILMOGRAFIA
Betty (ep, serie tv, 2019-21), The Black Sea (coregia Crystal Moselle, 2024)
Declaration
film director
“When we traveled to Bulgaria in 2022 to visit our producer Izabella Tzenkova, Derrick was the only African American that we came across. Everybody was obsessed and interested in him. Not only because he was an incredibly charismatic person but there was a noticeable love of urban culture. Derrick would constantly get attention from people who instantly thought he was a big celebrity rapper but couldn’t put their finger on who it was! We discovered a thread of hip hop running through the culture of a place that doesn’t have African Americans at all. From the way they dress, to the music they listen to, even the tattoos; we saw one on an old white oligarch’s stomach that said ‘Hug Life’ a play on Tupac’s Thug Life. This trip became the inspiration for The Black Sea.”
Cast
& Credits
DIRECTORS: Crystal Moselle, Derrick Bernard Harden. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jackson Hunt. EDITING: Anastas Petkov. PRODUCTION DESIGN: Severina Stoyanova. MUSIC: Dear Derrick. CAST: Derrick Bernard Harden, Irmena Chichikova, Stoyo Mirkov, Samuel Finzi, Joanna Nordahl, Sai Banks, Kaya Cometti. PRODUCTION: Izabella Tzenkova, Crystal Moselle.
CONTACT: United Talent ronsonr@unitedtalent.com
