Sexual and relationship tension between two young men attract and repel each other

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) - Two young men, fresh faced and bristling with energy and testosterone, explored and tested the waters of their attraction and sexuality in Blueprint. Billed as a feature film, Blueprint, shown at the recently concluded HomoHarlem Film Festival, was a full fledged production.

 

Written and directed by Kirk Shannon-Butts, Blueprint, released in 2007, was part of the line up of films shown at the inaugural HomoHarlem: A Film Retrospective, curated by Michael Henry Adams at the Harlem-based Maysles Cinema, part of the Maysles Institute, from Jun 19 to 27.
Shannon-Butts, a fashion editor with Glamour magazine, said the motivation for becoming involved with the movie stemmed from what he saw as the lack of multi-dimensional gay Black characters in films and the notion that gays are seen as overwhelmingly sexual as opposed to educated, cultured, worldly and political. "I wanted to show contemporary images of young men living in the city, going to college, dealing with gender identity, being happy and exploring new things and people," said Shannon-Butts.

Blueprint, already screened in over 25 film festivals across Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America, was produced by Trevite Willis, featured Blake Young-Fountain as Keith, and Damion Lee as Nathan. The film was shot in 2005, mostly in Harlem and at a lake location in Sullivan County over a period of three weeks, and as a low budget independent project, under $100,000, it was largely financed by Willis and Shannon-Butts, with additional help from the Jerome Foundation and Reel Affirmations/1in10.

L to r. Kirk Shannon-Butts, Michael Henry Adams, and Damion Lee, at the Q&A after the showing Blueprint at the Maysles Cinema. Photo by Antoine Craigwell
The Festival, co-sponsored by Queer Black Cinema, Men of All Colors Together and Harlem One Stop, included the 1987 production of Storme: Lady of the Jewel Box, directed by Michelle Parkerson; the 2007 film How Do I Look, directed by Wolfgang Busch; the 2004 narration of Brother to Brother by Rodney Evans; Brother Outsider, The Life of Bayard Rustin by Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer; the 1990 classic Paris is Burning by Jennie Livingston; the 1988 artistic representation placed in the 1920s Looking For Langston by Isaac Julien; the 2003 PBS special on the life of James Baldwin: Witness, by Angie Corcetti; and the 1996 film on the two brothers who made Harlem their home, M&M SMITH: For Posterity's Sake, by Heather Lyons.
The film captured in a 10-hour snapshot the lives of two gay men. Blueprint begins in a college class room, moves to a café, then out on the sidewalk, to Nathan's friend's apartment, a motorcycle ride to Upstate New York, to an idyllic lazing about -smoking weed and wallowing at the edge in the shallows of a country rivulet - to dealing with the towed motor cycle, a return to the City and Nathan sleeping over and sharing a bed with Keith, and an invitation to shower.

While some of the script seems staid and forced, described by the production team as intentional to demonstrate the bruising interactions that take place between two men in a Harlem environment, the sexual tension between the two young men is palpable, but unfulfilled: the obvious attraction at those moments when it seems as though they would become sexually involved, and as they came together physically, they repelled each other.

L to r. Post Blueprint Q&A panel discussion: Michael Henry Adams, moderator; Kirk Shannon-Butts, writer; Damion Lee, cast member; and Trevite Willis, producer.
But occasions of intimacy, such as when Keith had to hold Nathan round his waist as the pillion rider on the motorcycle; when Keith lay in the water, wearing only his upside down Y-front underwear with Nathan sitting on a stone, reached into the water with his hand, cupped some and drizzled it over Keith's exposed chest; and when Nathan and Keith lay together on the bed in Keith's apartment, as Nathan was about to get up, in sleep, Keith threw an arm over Nathan's body, which made Nathan lay down again; all generated expectations that there would be some physical consummation of their new found relationship.

But, the displays and suggestions of intimacy highlighted testing the boundaries of the relationship without giving into the pressures forced on them by the expectations of gay men, said Shannon-Butts. "I made the decision not to have a sex scene because of the high rate of HIV infections," said Shannon-Butts.

Echoing him, Willis said that it is possible for there to be intimacy without a kiss. "A lot of times we don't know how to be intimate without going to bed. Our society does not allow for intimacy without sex," she said.

However, while both Lee and Willis are heterosexual, they are involved in the film for different reasons. Lee, who started acting in 2001 with an appearance in the 2000 film Finding Forrester, which featured Sean Connery, said this film allowed him to explore and face another side of himself, in person and in character as Nathan, to step outside of himself. "I'm extremely comfortable with myself and my sexuality. After doing Blueprint, I now feel I'm able to get into the essence of any character and be my true self. If people look at my body of work, the many characters I've played, they would see I'm not confined to one character," said Lee.

Willis, who was a sports marketing executive, said she was excited by Shannon-Butts' presentation of his vision for a film about two Black gay men and she wanted to be a part of a Black art house film.

When the film had ended, Adams hosted a Q&A with Shannon-Butts, Willis and Lee, forming a panel, and entertained questions and comments from the audience. Herbert Harriott, a Washington Heights resident, commented that Blueprint was a love story which reminded him of when he was young. He recognized Shannon-Butts' ability to exercise his creativity and to find expression.

One audience member, Greg, said that while it was great not to see a display of the consummation of affection, "that most times we don't know how to express intimacy and seduction."

The entire production team, writer, director, producer, and cast have already become involved in other projects: Shannon-Butts and Willis are collaborating on the screenplay and production of another film, The Pain Session, which tells a story that explores the worlds of two men post-Sept 11, and a screen play based on James Earl Hardy's book, The Day E Died; Lee recently completed filming True Story, directed by Rasheed Wilds, due to be released in Sept. He has also finished a short film, Even So, directed by Caran Hartsfield, about a young Black man attempting to deal with the issues of society while showing love for a woman.