Shatara Michelle Ford

But maybe he's just not a Swifty and he liked the scene where Taylor Swift gets run over by a car.

But most recently, one of Brody's reviews that just stopped me in my tracks was for an indie film called Dreams in Nightmares, written and directed by my friend Shatara Michelle Ford.

We actually met over a decade ago in L.A., and aside from being my book club bestie, I've been following their career as an indie filmmaker for years.

I've watched them go from getting their screenplay Queen Elizabeth on the blacklist, which, if you're unfamiliar with the list, just know it highlights screenplays that have yet to be produced, and it's a big deal.

I say to put this at the top of your watch list because one, this is a Black indie film at its absolute finest.

Like, following up to their critically acclaimed debut Test Pattern, which I admittedly did not see, the director Shatara Michelle Ford puts a gorgeous spin on like the classic American road movie.

And when I say road movie, you know, typically those movies are about kind of like the journey and the travel of...

the trip, whereas this movie is more about the destinations of each place they're stopping in, which I thought was a really fun take or, hmm, it was a, fun is the wrong word because they deal with a lot of things in those destinations.

Clocking in at one hour and 47 minutes by any means is rated R and is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

All right, Trayvill, you know how we get down here.

Let's start this conversation by giving the director some.

So who we got this week?

Yes.

Shatara Michelle Ford's Dreams and Nightmares is a standout road film for a new generation.

The film follows a trio of Black queer friends in their 30s embarking on a road trip in search of the fourth member of their friend group.

Where it leads is a journey of friendship, love, and self-discovery.

I had so much fun.

[gentle music]

That was filmmaker Shatara Michelle Ford.

Their film, Dreams and Nightmares, is out now.