Web Series Wednesday – Dreaming Whilst Black

By: Spring Marie Cullen

WHAT? Dreaming Whilst Black

BY: 4Quarter Films

WHY SHOULD I WATCH?

Dreaming Whilst Black tells the story of aspiring filmmaker Kwabena (Adjani Salmon) after he gives up an opportunity for a steady accounting job in order to pursue his passion for directing. Each episode focuses on a topic that’s very real for young creatives chasing their dreams, whether it be in their professional lives or their personal ones.

As a young black man with an artistic take on a natural hairstyle and an African name, Kwabena faces judgement immediately, before he even gets the chance to open his mouth. There are multiple instances where other characters assume that he’s some sort of drug dealer or think he’s homeless and all too often his name is mispronounced or shortened because no one bothers to actually learn how to say it. While in the show the characters may be amused with themselves, these things are never really played just for laughs. Instead, Salmon and co-writer Ali Hughes use their work to showcase these issues, drawing attention to something that would otherwise be ignored.

One of the highlights of Dreaming Whilst Black is their ability to touch base on important factors in the world today, especially in the entertainment industry. They also do it in an insanely creative way that helps start a dialogue rather than try and preach anything to you. There’s a specifically brilliant scene in the second episode of the series “The Great British Race Off,” which has four candidates on a track gearing up to race for a job. Before the start of the race, the minority candidates are forced to move themselves back and set their starting lines a significant distance away from the more privileged individuals. If it wasn’t so clever it’d be extremely upsetting.

There’s another stand out moment in the series, a particularly heartwarming scene in the third episode, where Kwabena begins to doubt whether or not he made the right decision when he chose his love of directing over the more stable career path of accounting. Once he gets fed up with being broke and doing menial and degrading work, Kwabena leans on a close friend and the conversation they have is something every single person with a seemingly unreachable dream would appreciate.

Dreaming Whilst Black is beautifully shot and it’s abundantly clear how important telling this story was to the creators. I’m hoping for more seasons of this truly hidden gem as it touched home for me on more than one occasion and I love how genuine it was to the experiences of creative types. For anyone looking for some inspiration, brutally honest storytelling and well thought out humor this series is absolutely worth the watch.

WHERE CAN I WATCH? Episodes can be found on YouTube.

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