Washington Blade - December 2, 2005
Katherine Volin

Charneice Fox, Michelle Sewell, Drew Anderson and Justin Follin worked together on two previous film projects for their writing production company, Straight No Chaser, when they heard about BET's plans for World AIDS Day.

In 2000, D.C.-based cable channel Black Entertainment Television launched an HIV/AIDS public awareness initiative called Rap-It-Up, which includes AIDS programming, public service announcements and teen forums about safe sex across the country. For the past two years, the initiative has also included a film writing competition.

The gay-inclusive quartet didn't enter the competition to learn more about HIV/AIDS, members of the group say.

"It was two things: an opportunity to write and, specifically, we were getting an opportunity to write a movie about a black perspective," lesbian writer Sewell, 37, says. "[BET officials] were primarily wanting us to focus on people of color. It was a time to write, that was great, but we also got to write about people who normally don't get an hour of airtime about this topic."

Fox agrees that AIDS was not their primary interest in writing the film, "Multitude of Mercies."

"It was more about the writing process about us as writers than about doing [something about] AIDS," Fox, 28, says about the group's initial decision to enter the competition.

STRAIGHT NO CHASER was formed a year ago when Fox became interested in film.

The group submitted their proposal to BET and won, which was no surprise to Fox.

"Charneice, was always like, 'Oh, we're going to win,'" Anderson, 27, says. "I was more like, 'Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.' I'm more the realist, but all of Charneice's optimism must have paid off."

The film was scheduled to premiere on television on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, but will have an encore performance Sunday, Dec. 4.

"Multitude of Mercies" tells the story of a young black minister's attempt to start an AIDS ministry at his church in Southeast D.C. The film was shot at various locations in town including Whitman-Walker Clinic's Max Robinson Center in Southeast, and features performances from "Cosby Show" alum Malcolm-Jamal Warner and R&B artist Raheem DeVaughn.

"I thought using the church might be dated, but it turned out not to be at all," Sewell says. "People were still using the church as a viable way to reach out to their parishioners."

Sewell says that prior to working on the film, she thought every black church in Washington would have an HIV/AIDS ministry, and was disappointed to discover many did not.

"In the black community, the church really is the center of people's lives," Sewell says. "People can spend four days a week in a church, so if the church isn't a place where you can get information about living in the everyday world, aren't they sort of failing there?"

Fox agrees that the failure of some churches to help people with HIV/AIDS was a motivating factor in setting their film in the church.

"We decided to do it from that standpoint because of the moral implications that come with being HIV positive, especially in the black community," Fox says. "If this religion is supposed to be so forgiving, then why do people in the church pass judgment very quickly?"

Sonya Lockett, senior director of public affairs for BET, says that the film's focus on the black church made it stand out among the 200-plus entries for the film contest.

"Because it's such a big influence in the community, the whole idea of ministry and HIV within the church really kind of captured everyone," Lockett says.

THE GROUP ATTRIBUTES its writing strength to its diversity. Follin is white whereas the other three members of the group are black; Sewell is a lesbian and the others are straight; and Fox is a single mother while the others are childless.

Fox and Anderson had been friends for a while when she decided that they should start writing screenplays. At the time, Follin was working as an intern with Fox at Americans for the Arts, where Fox still works. Follin now works for a local marketing firm.

"I was really hoping to meet people that were interested in creating art," Follin says. "I think it was very serendipitous," he says about meeting Fox.

Fox had heard Sewell - who quit her job as an education and social worker a year ago to focus on her poetry - perform her spoken word poetry, so she approached Sewell about working with them on a film. Sewell had previously entered a screenplay in Project Greenlight, a screenplay competition produced by Miramax films and shown on HBO and Bravo.

The four members have distinct roles within the group. Fox says she focuses on the overall project.

"I am definitely the big picture, the big thinker," she says.

Anderson says he's the "dialogue guy," while Follin keeps everyone grounded and Sewell says she brings a lesbian perspective to the group. The four members of Straight No Chaser, a local writing group, Charneice Fox (left), Drew Anderson, Justin Follin and Michelle Sewell. The group, which was formed a year ago, recently won a film competition for World AIDS Day programming.

Although Straight No Chaser was thrilled with the win, they were quickly overwhelmed with the work required to make a film in less than three months.

"We didn't have a chance to celebrate because we had to hit the ground running," Anderson, a high school biology and health teacher, says. "Late August, Katrina hit and BET, while they had been mentoring us and helping out, they couldn't really take us by the hand during that period because they were doing fund-raisers and stuff for Katrina."

During the writing and filming process, the face of AIDS began to dawn upon the four writers.

"Sometimes statistics can seem empty," Follin, 25, says. "When we were working specifically in D.C., it started to seem more and more drastic."

Anderson agrees that being faced with AIDS emphasized a message he had preached to his biology and health students for years. On the last day of filming at a local park, a man approached Anderson and asked about the film. When Anderson told him, the man talked to Anderson about his struggles with HIV, a heroin addiction and prostitution.

"He just started telling me his life story," Anderson says. "Just started crying. I just took him in my arms, not even knowing this guy and he basically stressed to me that we be real and powerful in our message. It's another thing to see it in your face in a concrete concept."

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