LOS ANGELES — Winning an Oscar is one of the biggest honors in show business and it takes some in Hollywood an entire career to bring one home.
Misan Harriman, who just made his directorial debut, is already nominated for Best Live Action Short Film for “The After,” that premiered globally on Netflix.
It’s inspiring for filmmaker Zuri Willimas, who says working as part of a team to create films that question the norm is his life passion.
“That’s kind of what filmmakers want to do at the end of the day,” he explained. “They see something that they’re inspired by and they want to put it out into the world so people can talk about it and have questions.”
It’s what brought him and fellow director Daniel Kelley to downtown LA, shooting establishing shots for “A Business Man,” their short film about an executive who becomes homeless after getting exiled from the business world.
“I’ve been making movies with my friends since I was a little kid and a lot of this movie was made with close friends,” said Kelley about why this short was so important to him.
He says he hopes to spread a message of anti-greed and humanity with this project.
That same desire to make a lasting impact drove renowned photographer and social activist Misan Harriman to his Oscar nomination for his directorial debut in “The After.”
The powerful story that premiered globally on Netflix follows a Londoner who has to reconnect with himself and society after devastation strikes.
Harriman says he came up with the storyline while struggling with his own surfacing traumas in the height of the pandemic and George Floyd’s murder.
“I was like, what can I do that could accompany people that are struggling? How can I help people recognize their invisible wounds and know that just means they are human? How can I help people find a way to build themselves back up, brick by brick,” Harriman explained.
He says he feared this story would deeply resonate with the masses - an indication that people are really hurting.
As a self-taught photographer and director, he says he had no prior training before making this short film, but he is an expert in emotion.
“I felt like I was a conductor in a symphony of purpose,” he added.
Which is why, without or without the Academy Award, Harriman feels like he’s already won. It’s also why he encourages the next generation of young filmmakers like Zuri to create meaningful work no matter who is watching.
“It definitely gives me hope as an up-and-coming filmmaker,” Williams said.
Harriman was the first Black photographer to shoot the September cover of British Vogue.
“The After” is also nominated for an NAACP Image Award.