Hello, I'm John McGrath.

I'm a producer for Kansas City PBS.

And today on Art House, we bring you the exciting new film BF BF was written and directed by Jamie Addison and Art House.

Talk to Jamie about the excitement of making her first film, Jamie's life as a working actress, and her mission as a filmmaker to create new stories from a different perspective.

I'm a little bit iffy here.

Mixed with some chaos rules.

what?

In both.

What is BF’ about?

It's SI/FI film about breastfeeding, and that makes people go weird.

I really though it centers around a biotech firm that is basically exploiting the relationship between two best friends.

Warren, who's a new mom, so that they can ultimately recreate in mass produced breast milk.

they they value it and they want it.

So profit from the creation, recreation of mother's milk.

So it started because I was a new mom trying to breastfeed my daughter.

No one.

I wanted to breastfeed something that naturally happens for women.

And.

But for me, for some reason, it was really, really hard.

I didn't feel really supported from, like a mental health standpoint.

I got a lot of negative feedback and comments from family and friends.

One day, we, I think in the middle of the night, I'm like, oh, I have this weird idea.

I'm going to turn this into a story.

And so I started writing more notes about the story of the the movie.

And yeah, that turned into a script.

And now we had a short film that everyone able to enjoy.

the reason why I made it is because I wanted to normalize breastfeeding on screen.

So that's really what I hope like usually when you see it on screen, it's kind of like the butt of a joke or there's not really story centered around breastfeeding.

And so that's what I hope to see you like, just to normalize breastfeeding.

that's the ultimate goal.

when people walk away from this story just to say, that was interesting.

That was different.

That was a fresh concept, a fresh take on something that's been a staple in motherhood that in life, we're forever right.

but I hope that it's refreshing.

I can say, yeah, people either get it and they love it or they're like, when did I just watch?

And they and they ate it.

And it's okay either way, because it makes me think.

And it starts a conversation either way.

And I think that's the purpose of art is for you to at least think about what you what you just consented Yeah.

Everyone's from Kansas City.

It's out of here in Kansas City.

Amazingly talented cast and crew.

the whole process that began with my amazing friend and mentor, Lanita Cook.

her contribution to the whole process was invaluable.

And she is one of the producers on the project as well.

film community in Kansas City is amazing.

Like I said, with with me.

You don't have to go have to know it all.

Just, you know, have the right people around you.

And that's what the Kansas City film community is like.

We all get together to make good art.

I would not have been able to do this without community, without the Devonte Brown, without the Ryan jingles, without the trees, windmills, without the Morgan Cooper's, without amazing actors, actresses and actors.

I mean, they all came together and surrounded me with love and support.

Yeah, there's always something going on where you can learn.

So if you're interested in learning, in, you know, putting your foot in the water, you can do it here in Kansas City.

One time and it's done one time.

At one time.

But I'm with No more you've made a living as an actress.

What?

Yeah.

So, like I said, I work with Devonte Brown and historic film by.

And I was an amazing opportunity, I just gotta do everything that I can to get him back to his normal life.

You said you attended the the Birdwatch really well.

And the winner is.

Gigi Anderson and.

And I actually won an award in Barry White film for my work in BI.

Thank you, divine.

Say so much for this wonderful opportunity to get to tell such an important story.

Morgan Cooper is an amazingly talented director out of Kansas City and videos, he's also someone who I was able to call and he, you know, reached out to me and supported me in my work with me.

And so I'm incredibly grateful for him.

He's always been a pleasure and run incredibly respectful.

that's when I worked with him.

So that out again?

I work with Ryan Ninja on a couple of projects.

one of which is gorgeous, Is it the American dream or the American nightmare?

The grand American experiment, or the grand American hypocrisy?

What which is a, a piece that he wrote to kind of talk about the, the racial issues and columns of America.

So it's a visual form that I really, really love that he, wrote and produced, yeah, I am a black woman filmmaker.

That's the perspective that I bring back what I represent, and that's who I'm trying to pull along with me because I need other black women who can relate to our position and relate to our stories, relate to our skin and our makeup, our hair, it was work for us, for the team to find black women, hair and makeup artists in films.

Though Kennedy is our first time on a set, and I told her that I need you to be successful because I'm an actress, and there's been too many times that I've sat down in the hair and makeup chair and people didn't know what to do with me.

And I actually tell the artists I'm like, I don't like this.

You know, they they it did not look nice and people don't know how to work with our skin.

And so back to the moment.

One of my favorite moments was sitting at a table when black women won my production.

And one of my inspiration eats.

They're writing about people creating a table.

I told them in that moment I'm like, look at us.

We are creating the table like we are doing it.

Black women stand up for actually creating a table for us to work in, grow together.