OUR NEWEST PROJECT:

BEFORE THEY TELL OUR STORIES

WATCH THE FIRST EPISODE OF OUR DOCUMENTARY SERIES NOW

WATCH NOW

BEFORE THEY TELL OUR STORIES IS AN INTIMATE DOCUMENTARY SERIES FOLLOWING BIPOC LGBTQIA+ STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY’S HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS - RECLAIMING THE RIGHT TO TELL THEIR OWN STORIES BEFORE OTHERS DEFINE THEM.

THROUGH INTIMATE, FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS, THE SERIES BRINGS INTO FOCUS THE WAYS RACE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY INTERSECT WITHIN ACADEMIC SPACES, REVEALING HOW QUEER PEOPLE MOVE THROUGH ENVIRONMENTS THAT WERE NOT ALWAYS BUILT WITH THEM IN MIND. THE PERSONAL REFLECTIONS BEFORE THEY TELL OUR STORIES BRING FORWARD ARE NOT PASSIVE OBSERVERS; BY SHARING THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCES, THEY CARVE OUT THEIR OWN SPACES OF SAFETY AND CLAIM A LEVEL OF VISIBILITY THAT HIGHER EDUCATION HAS HISTORICALLY FAILED TO EXTEND ON ITS OWN.

“If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”

-Zora Neale Hurston

ZORA NEALE HURSTON'S WARNING IS THE GUIDING FORCE BEHIND BEFORE THEY TELL OUR STORIES, A DOCUMENTARY SERIES CONCEIVED AS A LIVING ARCHIVE FOR QUEER EXPERIENCES WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION. SPANNING VARIOUS CAMPUSES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY, THE SERIES EXPLORES HOW BIPOC LGBTQIA+ STUDENTS AND FACULTY NAVIGATE INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, GENERATIONAL STIGMA, AND THE SOCIAL PRESSURES THAT FREQUENTLY WORK TO ISOLATE AND SILENCE THEM.

By holding the reality of erasure alongside the texture of everyday life - its joys, its creative work, its personal and professional milestones - Before They Tell Our Stories returns ownership of this history to the people who lived it. Personal storytelling becomes, in this way, an act of self-preservation, leaving behind an enduring archive that future generations can inherit as their own.

The first season focuses on higher education, documenting individuals navigating queer visibility alongside racial stigma and the layered realities of intersectional identities. Episode 1 centers on students and faculty members at Medgar Evers College, a historic Black institution located in the heart of Brooklyn’s vibrant Caribbean community.

ABOUT THE CREATOR AND DIRECTOR:

BRANDON SMITH

I’VE HAD THE HONOR OF BRINGING TOGETHER AN INCREDIBLE TEAM OF POWERFUL, VISIONARY ARTISTS WHO POURED SO MUCH LOVE AND INTENTION INTO THIS PROJECT BEHIND THE SCENES. WE’VE BEEN BUILDING THIS WITH CARE, PASSION, AND PURPOSE, AND WE ARE BEYOND EXCITED TO FINALLY SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD. THIS ONE MEANS EVERYTHING TO US.