Shatara Michelle Ford Probes Queer Black Experiences Through the Road Trip Trope in Berlin Panorama Feature ‘Dreams in Nightmares’

variety.com:

Seth Marumoto Making its international debut in Berlin, Shatara Michelle Ford’s sophomore feature “Dreams in Nightmares” follows queer Black femmes on an impromptu road trip across the American Midwest in search of a fourth friend who has seemingly disappeared.

Laid off from her job as a creative writing teacher, Z (Denée Barton) spontaneously heads from Los Angeles to New York City to visit college friends Tasha (Sasha Compère) and Lauren (Dezi Bing).

A night out leads to a cross-country road trip the following day as they realize none of the group has heard from their friend Kel (Mars Storm Rucker) for a worrying amount of time — what follows is a cathartic odyssey filled with joy and healing.

The genesis of Ford’s “Dreams in Nightmares,” which screens in Berlin’s Panorama, was a “need for using [their] imagination and encouraging others to do the same.” They sensed the feeling of exhaustion and overextension many have been experiencing for years — a quiet acceptance of the circumstances we are led to believe cannot be changed. “There isn’t enough space for us to imagine anything beyond what is in front of us,” they say. “I think that even when we care to change those things, we live in a very reactive and responsive place.