British artist IggyLdn debuts his latest short film Fatherhood this weekend. Driven by spoken word, the piece breaks down the relationship between father and son in the black community. “Fatherhood is a narration describing the complex feelings that men may have towards their fathers – starting from childhood through to adolescence and finally adulthood,” Iggy explains. “The story depicts the emotional turmoil that can arise from unresolved issues within relationships; how they play upon a young man’s psyche leading up to manhood and how they change his viewpoint on himself as well as his father."

The moving film opens with the voice of Iggy’s younger brother exposing his own negativity wrought of experience before we're entered into the world of the main protagonist (Makai Ammon Williams) who travels between his bedroom and a forest with his younger self and older self. Along the way a crew of young men of colour confront the lens with their clear stares while standing united in an urban landscape.

“The non-existence of male role models has led to a perpetuation of anger and resentment in men. Fatherhood aims to address these feelings by focusing on the relationship between father and son rather than its divide,” Iggy adds. “I want to challenge the stereotypical ideals of manhood in order to break a cycle, which has culminated into the neglect of these relationships, and adopts a symbol of accountability and forgiveness for past wrongdoings in a beautiful and profound way.”

Iggy’s work spans spoken work, videography and photography and concerns itself with the underrepresented narratives of young black people. His well-received debut film, 2016’s Black Boys Don’t Cry, has been screened at the Tate Modern as part of the current Soul of a Nation exhibition and he’s now working on new music videos and documentaries due for release next year.

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Published on 22/10/2017