Dynamite is a performative short that is designed to explore gender gazes and masculinity, specifically the American black male experience. Iranian-American director and activist, Leila Jarman, wanted to see how her female gaze may be applied to the experience of featured male performer Maceo Paisley. "We live in a world with very strong norms and archetypes about gender, identity and how our bodies are interpreted. These archetypes can be so loud that we lose touch with our own ability to make meaning of the forms we inhabit." She adds that her aim was to pull up the true 'male experience' that "often gets buried beneath the mainstream archetypes."

Dynamite guides us through a narrative that incorporates movement, spoken word and chant, as it uncover truths about race, gender and success in an ever-changing social landscape.

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-- Leila is Creative Director of Women's Voices Now --