Masculinity. Virtue. Power. Isaac Izard, 23, explores all of these themes – and draws on his personal struggles as a Black man – in his 8-minute sci-fi thriller Asking Nothing of Nobody, which he created after signing up for Greater Together’s new youth mentorship program, Creative Challenge.
GT Communications Director Natasha Lettner says that she and her colleagues realized that many young Milwaukeeans – especially those from underrepresent- ed communities – don’t know about job opportunities in creative fields, and that she herself had to “fight” to convince her family to take her pursuit of music. seriously.
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So she and the rest of the staff at GT matched 25 young creatives with mentors to complete artistic projects. In Izard’s case, his project was Asking Nothing of Nobody, and his mentor was DeMar Walker, artistic director at Ko-Thi Dance Company and associate lecturer at UW-Milwaukee.
Working with Walker, Izard learned about the mechanics of filmmaking, from refining a script to boosting morale on a sweltering set. But even more importantly, he learned to believe in the power of his own voice. And he says that he hopes to make more films in the future, and keep “pouring what I am going through” into his work.
