- [Narrator] This time on "Film-Maker."

(upbeat music) This program is brought to you in part by Friends of South Florida PBS.

(film humming) - Hi there, my name is Joshua Jean-Baptiste and this is my film "Down to Zero."

"Down to Zero" follows the story of Kyle who returns to his hometown after being away and his ego is humbled by the people in his community who remind him of who he is.

(film humming) (bell dinging) - So come to find out, the only hip hop club in that part of Tokyo is called Boogie Down Bronx, and I look on the website and it says, "Come see the Blacks dance," So I'm like, "That's where we going, right?"

And in that moment I realized I was the Black dancing.

(all laughing) - So where you laying roots now these day?

- Missouri, believe it or not."

- Been a year, huh?

And here, I thought you got lost, or worse, found a better barber.

- Missouri ain't got no barbers like you, Brutus.

- Oh, I know.

- But honestly, leaving was probably the best decision ever.

I don't know.

Little Haiti started to feel a little too little for me, you know?

- What you trying to call us, little?

- No, no.

- You're head's gotten big.

(all laughing) - I'm not saying that.

It's more like a big fish in a small pond, and honestly, that's thanks to y'all.

Y'all taught me how to have that swag, so I'm a reflection of your spirit.

- Yeah, I'll take those props.

- Whatever.

- And work?

- Work's been good, man.

They promoted me to consultant, so my job is to go around schmoozing these folks into buying software.

It's all online, so I'm always on the move, living one city at a time, baby.

- [Brutus] You hear that, Dre?

- Man, whatever, man.

I'm patient with my progress.

- Your version of progress is investing in crypto.

- [Dre] Hey, that was a calculated investment, Brutus.

- Man, I miss chopping it up with y'all, talking kaka and getting myself right.

I haven't even seen my family yet, I came straight here.

- What will it be?

The usual?

- Clean and crispy, fade to the side and to the back.

- Coming right...... up.

- We good?

- Huh.

When's the last time you seen a barber?

- Couple weeks ago.

- You got a barber in Missouri?

- Yeah, this guy, Liam.

- Liam?

Lord.

Kyle, might be time to let it go.

- Let it go?

- I'm gonna have to give you a zero.

- I am not bald, bro.

It could still connect, you just gotta like- - Look, I'm good, but I ain't no magician.

- You got castor oil?

- You way past castor oil.

- What about Beijing?

You could just- - We're in Miami.

That dye running down your face in this heat.

- Micro tattoo?

- You spent a half hour bragging about your successes, but what good are those if you can't look at yourself in the mirror?

- No one gives a (censored) about the inside, Brutus.

Agree or not, the world is obsessed with appearances.

- The world might be, but we're not.

Not in this neighborhood, not in this barbershop.

We're not just your reflection, Kyle.

We're your reality check.

- I don't know, man.

- He ain't doing you any good, son.

- I'll take a zero.

(razor buzzing) (gentle jazzy music) (gentle jazzy music continues) - Welcome to the club, king.

(Brutus chuckling) Don't (censored) where you come from.

(gentle jazzy music) (gentle jazzy music continues) (wings flapping) (upbeat jazzy music) (upbeat jazzy music continues) (upbeat music) (film humming) - The story found me in mostly just my own personal experiences.

A lot of my work revolves around things that I'm dealing with.

Usually when I'm dealing with something, I use a story to kind of help process that.

Men accepting baldness is a big, it's a big thing.

It's a moment that that men have and I wanted to share that vulnerability with the world so maybe that's someone that's having a little bit of an acceptance issue can see that they are seen, they're heard, and you're bald.

Let's keep moving.

For most of the film, a lot of the shots are taken in the mirror, if you notice, and only when Kyle accepts his fate do we actually pull the camera from the mirror and pan to Kyle himself in the real world.

You know, we tried to mess with this idea of like looking at your reflection, how do you see yourself in your reflection, and we let the camera lens be that window into the reflection.

While we were filming, in between with the breaks, there was a couple of bald men that were on set in front of the camera, behind the camera, and we got into a big discussion.

I was like, "Oh, so when did you kind of accept that?"

And every single bald man had their own story of like, some guy was like, "Yeah man, I just, I saw the writing on the wall and I just took it all off immediately."

Everybody had their own story of acceptance and truly it was a reminder of why I wanted to make this movie and I was very blessed to have people, Black men in particular, that were open to sharing that 'cause it's so chastised and you know, it's kind of taboo to kind of talk about that, be vulnerable, so I was very grateful I was able to have that moment with the guys.

(film humming) - Hi, my name is Steven Salgado.

I am the writer and director of "Silence in the Dark."

"Silence in the Dark" is about a woman who saw a brutal crime, now she must run for her life.

I hope you enjoy it.

(film humming) (somber music) (crickets chirping) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (mom speaking in foreign language) (mom speaking in foreign language continues) (crickets chirping continues) (mom speaking in foreign language continues) (crickets chirping continues) (match scratching) (wind gusting) (dogs barking) (person yelling) (dogs barking continues) (mysterious music) (dramatic music) (victim panting) (criminal speaking in foreign language) (victim screaming) (knife plunging) (victim crying) (knife plunging) (mysterious music) (dramatic music) (criminal thudding) (dramatic music continues) (dramatic music continues) (dog barking) (footsteps pounding) (dramatic music continues) (witness grunting) (witness grunting) (criminal yelling) (mysterious music) (dramatic music) (car swooshing) (hands banging) (driver speaking in foreign language) (driver thudding) (dramatic music) (stick thudding) (legs sliding) (trunk lid thunking) (mysterious music) (singer vocalizing) (gasoline sloshing) (mysterious music continues) (dramatic music) (flashlight clicking) (mysterious music) (hand banging) (tool clunking) (mysterious music continues) (mysterious music continues) (heartbeat thumping) (crowbar scraping) (heartbeat thumping) (somber music) (somber music continues) (flashlight clicking) (crowbar thunking) (dramatic music) (criminal thudding) (crowbar thudding) (dramatic music continues) (somber music) (crowbar clanks) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (match scratching) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (breath whooshing) (eerie music) (film humming) I wrote the movie during the Covid, and for me, it's a representation of the Covid.

The killer is the COVID-19.

The mute woman really is my fears running away of this kind of pandemic that oh, was so a struggle for many people, was so a struggle for myself because I lost my father-in-law, I almost lost my brother, and I have to say in one way how to face this fear.

For me it was writing, writing and making this movie.

In the running sequencing, we use a gimbal, a gimbal, special for the iPhone.

We shoot the movie, the entire movie in the iPhone.

We shoot everything at night, was challenging the cinematography, so we have to really rethinking anything about light and get everything that environment give us.

The running sequencing, it was so challenging.

My actor was the first times, the first time that they really run in a movie.

We rehearse a lot.

We were very fun in that sequencing.

We took like two nights doing all the sequencing and was funny, it was funny.

It was really funny, it was challenging, funny.

Physically was very challenging, but at the end we enjoyed that part so much.

(film humming) - Hi, my name is Princess Usanga and this is my film "Hooky."

"Hooky" is "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" gone absolutely wrong with a Haitian American and Cuban American female leads.

Hope you enjoy it.

(film humming) (shop owner and grandma speaking in Creole) (upbeat music) (car door slams) (grandma speaking in Creole) (grandpa and grandma speaking in Creole) (gentle beat music) (gentle beat music continues) - [Announcer] Now back to "Rugrats," only on Nickelodeon.

(phone ringing) (phone ringing continues) (phone ringing continues) - You got a call ID?

- No.

- Answer it.

It's probably Kalin.

- Why would Kalin call?

- They send out an automated call thing to tell your mom that you skipped school.

She's gotta press the button to say that she got the call.

- You didn't tell me that.

My mom's gonna tell my grandma then I'll be scarred.

- Answer it.

If you don't, they're gonna send a letter.

(phone ringing continues) - Hello?

- Hello?

Nora?

Why are you home, Nora?

- Hello?

- Go to school, Nora.

(Nora speaking in Spanish) - [Grandma] Why are not in school?

- It's my grandma.

- Why is she calling during school?

- [Nora] I don't know.

- Give me the phone.

(grandma speaking in Creole) - Hello?

(grandma speaking in Creole) (friend speaking in Spanish) (grandma speaking in Creole) - Que?

(phone slamming) (traffic swooshing) (grandma speaking in Creole) - What did she say?

- I don't know, she was speaking Haitian.

- Creole.

- My bad, Creole.

She kept saying something about a mob.

- Mwen vini?

- Yeah.

- That means I'm coming.

We to leave right now.

- We just got here.

Doesn't she live in like BFE?

- She's gonna ask my grandpa to drive her here.

(grandma speaking in Creole) - Bro, I'm so hungry.

Just don't answer the door.

- She has the key.

(door knob clunking) This way.

(footsteps pounding) (door lock clicking) - Nora!

Nora!

(grandma speaking in Creole) Nora!

(mysterious music) (door squeaking) (grandma speaking in Creole) - As soon as they leave, we jump.

- Jump?

- Off the balcony.

- Are you crazy?

(grandpa speaking in Creole) (grandma speaking in Creole) (intense music) (grandma speaking in Creole) (grandpa speaking in Creole) (grandma speaking in Creole) Chill.

Let's just wait here.

- I'm not like you.

You can do whatever you want.

Me, my family, they trip about everything.

- At least your family gives a (censored).

- If my grandma find us, I'll be scarred until I'm 18.

I will never forgive you.

(grandma grunting) (pager beeping) (grandma and grandpa speaking in Creole) (pager beeping) (grandma speaking in Creole) (intense music) (traffic humming) ♪ One, two, three, hey, hey, hey ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Go, go ♪ ♪ You go, girl, you go ♪ ♪ You go, girl, you go ♪ ♪ You go, girl, you go ♪ ♪ You go, you go ♪ ♪ You go, girl, you go ♪ ♪ You go, girl, you go ♪ ♪ You go, girl, you go ♪ ♪ You go ♪ (both panting) (Nora sighing) - I'm sorry I almost got you in trouble today.

- I about jumped off the balcony.

- Yo, that was crazy.

You were trippin'.

- I was.

(both laughing) (upbeat music) (film humming) - What inspired "Hooky" is actually me skipping school in 1995.

It's based off of my experience.

So basically everything in the film happened to me except the balcony scene.

You know, in real life I just left.

For me, being Haitian American, you know, your grandparents are gonna find out that you're skipping school is just basically the end of your whole personal life.

For me, the stakes were high, but a lot of my American friends, that didn't really translate to them, so I had to raise the stakes with them hiding on the balcony and possibly jumping off the balcony so that's how that part came in, but on the phone and pretending that's not me, that actually happened for real.

The props, the costume design, and the production design, I have to give credit to the hairstylist, makeup, that whole team, they just transformed everything into 1985, so for me, that was the highlight of the film.

Creating a period piece was more easy for me because I lived during that time.

I just literally remembered all the things that I wore, that I did.

I basically relived my childhood.

I was on eBay having a blast.

Like I got a beeper, I got a Walkman, tapes, posters, you know, all these little details like I love it and I just had so much fun.

I was literally reliving my childhood.

(film humming) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - [Announcer] This program is brought to you in part by Friends of South Florida PBS.

(dramatic music)