with the threat of death ahead (2020) - conceived, directed and filmed by Chibueze Crouch. Featured performers: Uzoamaka Nwankpa, Gabriele Christian, and Keisha Turner.

Filmed on commission for Theatre Bay Area's annual Gala, I created this work in response to the 2020 uprisings incited by George Floyd's murder. I heard Nina Simone's words on the radio, speaking at a 1968 concert she performed in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, a man she considered a comrade. The title comes from a lyric she sang at that concert, which she interrupted to speak about the recent deaths of many of her close friends. Nina spoke both to her time and to the moment I was living through at that time. I was struck by the cyclical nature of the violences and premature deaths she described. I decided to create visuals reflecting the exhaustion, grief and resolve I heard in her voice, reverberating across time and generations. This short film is a prayer, an offering, a call towards hope, and a manifesto illustrating how we can attempt to live “with the threat of death ahead.”