HOUSTON — Houston native storyteller and community leader Courtney JáPaul Glaudé makes his feature-length debut with Blink in March. The award-winning writer and producer’s short film, Row, was recently recognized with the Los Angeles Short Film Festival Best Short Drama 2017 honor. With Blink, Glaudé brings his passion for filmmaking to the next level.
Blink follows Nailah Belle as she tries to navigate the depths and effect of domestic violence, discovering that the calmest seas are often the most turbulent below the surface. From the outside, the meticulous facade of Nailah and husband Derek’s relationship looks perfect. Those in the community don’t suspect the violence it takes to maintain that immaculate front.
Nailah’s class doesn’t imagine that Derek verbally and physically beats Nailah in the endless, and ultimately impossible, thepursuit of perfection. Although life may look flawless, Nailah’s story shows how everything can change in just one blink.
Domestic violence affects a startling number of people in the United States, with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reporting that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner. Though Texas family violence programs received more than 170,000 hotline calls in 2016, the topic of domestic abuse still carries a shameful stigma.
The film explores these issues and explores the psychology behind abuse including why someone may turn to violence, as well as the science of behavior surrounding why a person may stay in an unhealthy relationship and continue to be subjected to abusive behavior.
Blink will premiere at select AMC theaters in Houston, March 2-9. It is Green Eyed Theater’s first feature-length film, sure to inspire conversation about this important topic throughout the community and beyond.
Green-Eyed Theater is a Houston-based independent film production company that recognizes the importance of creative and honest storytelling.