- A Queer African-American and an Aging Asian Female Broadway Veteran set out to break the barriers of the world of professional ballroom competition where male is lead and female to follow.
- FollowLeadLOVE shows our main subjects' triumphs and tribulations both on and off the dance floor. The world of professional ballroom competition only serves as the backdrop because of how the main subject's message and mission parallel our today's political and socio-cultural climate on issues of race, acceptance, diversity, female empowerment, and gender equality. This is a timely and significant film that transcends beyond the world of dance and looks into our subject's resolve of embracing the shift of roles in order to create an opportunity to transform from inside and out. The traditional and regimented establishment of the professional ballroom competition is only one of the nuanced antagonists of this film. Systemic racial and other social issues issues that were magnified due to COVID-19 pandemic such Black Lives Matter protests and violence towards the Asian communities contribute to a wider scope of antagonizing forces that the main subjects of the film have to go through. This is a documentary that intersects between dance and the illumination of racial inequality and social injustice in today's society.—Brian Rubiano
- FollowLeadLOVE is about a Queer African-American and an Aging Asian Female Broadway veteran defying the odds of once and for all break the barriers of the ballroom world's traditional and regimented gender roles of male being the leader and female as the follower. But the question is, can they usher it to the next level of true gender equality, while confronting the systemic political & socio-cultural issues they are facing personally and professionally?
This film shows Kristine Bendul's journey as a 47 y/o Female Asian-American including her story of being adopted when she was around 1 y/o in Korea by white parents. Throughout this film , the audience will see how she navigates to connect to her Asian roots, finding her inner voice of empowerment, her process of uncovering, discovering and her attempt towards believing in herself regardless of her gender, race and age.
We also look at how Abdiel Jacobsen navigates through identifying as a Queer African-American coming from a very strict religious upbringing. The film shows how Abdiel finds the voice and freedom of expression to the fullest, including performing in heels while proving the importance of embracing all personalities and diversities of people.
FollowLeadLOVE transcends beyond dance. It reflects the trials and tribulations of Abdiel and Kristine both on and off the dance floor as they look into embracing the shift of their roles in order to create an opportunity to transform from within. In addition, this film shows how they exercise and fight for their rights as partners and individuals on the stigma due to ongoing racial prejudice and social injustice, further magnified by the pandemic caused by COVID-19.
This is also a documentary that unravels the ugly and inconvenient truth of cultural racism happening within some of the facets of the Performing Arts Institutions. It reveals the subtleties of how they assign values and perpetrates the normalization of white supremacy in order to rationalize the unequal status and degrading treatment of Communities of Color behind their superficial embrace of inclusion and diversity.
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