Watch Topaz Jones’ Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma Short Film

Watch Topaz Jones’ Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma Short Film

In April, Topaz Jones released Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma, one of the best albums of 2021 so far. Jones also created a short film of the same name to accompany the album, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and also played as part of SXSW, where it was awarded a special jury recognition for visionary storytelling. The film portion of Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma was co-directed by Jones and the creative duo rubberband. and it has just made its way online for all to see, via The New York Times Op-Docs video series.

The 38-minute film finds Jones presenting his new version of the Black ABCs, which were first created by educators in Chicago in 1970 and linked up the letters of the alphabet with ideas that reflected the lives of Black children. “At the heart of Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is a desire for preservation,” Jones said (via Variety), continuing:

We found joy in uncovering new creative ways to archive moments in a single life that could speak to the spirit of many lives. We’re honored to partner with an historic institution like The Times to present this raw, unconventional exploration of thought and memory as a record of Black Americans’ complex relationship to identity in the early aughts. May it inspire and make others feel seen in their own self discovery for generations to come.

Watch the film below.

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