Saladin White Ⅱ will screen two of his short films at this Saturday’s Lynchburg Film Festival. Photo via Saladin White 
A still image from White’s short film, “Muscle Memory.” Image via Saladin White Ⅱ 
A still from White’s other short film, “wholesome,” which will screen at the Lynchburg Film Festival. Image via Saladin White Ⅱ
LYNCHBURG, Va – Saladin White Ⅱ was just six years old when his parents enrolled him in a theatre arts program in his hometown of Philadelphia. It was here where White Ⅱ said he fell in love with the art of storytelling, crediting his time at the program, The New Freedom Theatre, for his passion for filmmaking.
“It was a big part of my childhood,” White Ⅱ said. “I always say that’s where I became a community storyteller.”
At this weekend’s Lynchburg Film Festival, which will take place on Oct. 25 at the Academy Center of the Arts, White Ⅱ will screen two of his short films, “Muscle Memory” and “whole·some,” which he made through the help of community fundraising. He will also be a part of an audience Q&A session, which will begin at 1 p.m.
Through his community fundraising efforts, White Ⅱ has been able to produce multiple short films and is currently working on his debut feature film. He says that his community approach to filmmaking has opened up opportunities not only for himself, but for those looking to get involved in the art.
“Our practice is to also use the resources within the community,” White Ⅱ shared. “Filmmaking can be very gatekeeping, and we’re trying to open that up and say ‘if you’re interested, you can learn it’.”
After graduating from the Freedom Theatre program, White Ⅱ studied acting and theater directing at Point Park University. He then attended Columbia University, earning a master’s degree in film with a focus in writing and directing.
The film “Muscle Memory,” which will be screened at this year’s festival, was part of his graduate thesis project at Columbia. The 15-minute film follows Tariq, a man who makes his living as a hoofer just like his father, Yayha. On the anniversary of his father’s death, Tariq dedicates a dance to him, triggering childhood memories.
The film was the winner of the National Board of Review Student Grant and has been screened at film festivals across the country. White Ⅱ said he wanted to make a film that explored the feelings of grief and the loss of a parent.
“It doesn’t matter how old you were when you lost a parent, it [grief] never goes away,” White Ⅱ said. “So I wanted to touch on that and use dance as the device to get us through those feelings.”
He describes his style of filmmaking as “non-traditional by nature,” with his love for community storytelling and theatre arts prominent throughout his work.
“I’m always trying to make a film that might jump around in time or play with structure, but that is also digestible for an audience,” White Ⅱ said.
He will also be screening his short film “whole·some,” a love story that follows a couple, Corey and Nyla, through their process of putting together a documentary film, where they discover new truths about one another.
White Ⅱ now runs a multimedia production company alongside his sister, Kariemah, who works alongside him as his co-producer and creative partner. He says that the focus of the company is to work alongside non-profit organizations to continue to tell stories within the community.
“I’m really interested in telling stories with my community and about my community,” White Ⅱ said.
White Ⅱ is also excited to return to Central Virginia this weekend, where he spent considerable time throughout his childhood at his grandmother’s house in Gretna. He says that the landscapes in Virginia have always had a “healing force” that he admires. White Ⅱ shared that he plans to film portions of his next film in Gretna and Lynchburg.
“I think it’s important to understand that land and kind of nurture that land and have that be embedded in the work,” White Ⅱ said.
White Ⅱ described filmmaking as a “therapeutic process,” allowing him to navigate his feelings and express his emotions vividly on screen. He says that filmmakers should be vulnerable and not afraid to put themselves in their work, something he says he tries to be conscious of when writing a new film.
“It’s just a way for me to kind of express myself,” White Ⅱ said. “Naturally as a filmmaker, I’m someone that puts myself in a lot of my work.”
For more information and tickets, visit Lynchburg Film Festival
