Cauleen Smith was born in Riverside, California, on September 25, 1967, and grew up in Sacramento. From 1988 to 1991, she attended the School of Creative Arts at San Francisco State University, where she earned her BA while completing the short films Wall Doc (1989) and Daily Rains (1990). From 1994 to 1998, Smith attended the School of Film, Theater, and Television

at the University of California, Los Angeles, where
she received her MFA. During that time, she began work on the feature Drylongso, which was completed
in 1998. Since then, she has continued to produce short films and videos, live audiovisual performances, installations, and other creative works in various media. While living in Chicago and working as an artist in residence at Threewalls, she conceived the Solar Flare Arkestral Marching Band Project, a performance- art piece that featured members of the Rich South High School Marching Band and the South Shore

Drill Team. Smith’s work has been featured in solo shows and group exhibitions at New York City’s New Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the Women & Their Work Gallery in Austin, Texas, among other institutions. She has received multiple awards, grants, residencies, and fellowships, including the Creative Capital grant, a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation residency, a Black Metropolis Research Consortium Research Fellowship, and the Director’s Grant at the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts. Smith currently lives in Los Angeles and teaches in the art department at UCLA.

CAST

Pica Sullivan………Toby Smith

Tobi………April Barnett

Malik………Will Power

Gloria, Pica’s mom………Channel Schaffer

Mr. Yamada………Salim Akil

Meagan………Stacey Marbrey

Mohamed…….Keith Williams

Tide………Earl Ford

Tyson………Keilan Matthews

Kev………Patrick Pulliam

Jefferson ………Timothy Braggs

CREDITS

Director/Executive producer/Editor………Cauleen Smith

Writers………Salim Akil, Cauleen Smith

Producer………Salim Akil

Associate producer………Christine Gant

Composers………Curt Harpel, Pat Thomi

Cinematographer………Andrew Black

Casting………Monica R. Cooper

Production designers………Richard Bracho, Gabrielle Stover

Costume designer………Rulette Mapp

Production manager………Stacey Marbrey

Sound designer………Kerry Carmean

Digital restoration and remastering

First assistant camera………Robert Hubbard

Second assistant camera………Alan Gravlee, Jason Wolos

Gaffer………Kurt Nagle-Taylor

Key grip………Monroe Cummings

Postproduction………Alan Welch

Production assistant………Ri-Karlo Handy

Title designer………Samrod Shenassa