‘Color Book,’ A Heartfelt Film About A Single Father And His Son With Down Syndrome, Premieres At Tribeca
David Fortune’s black-and-white film portrayal of a devoted single father raising his son with Down Syndrome has finally premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Based in Fortune’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, “Color Book” follows a day in the life of a single Black father (Lucky, played by William Catlett) and his son (Mason, played by Jeremiah Alexander Daniels) as they attend their first baseball game together in the wake of his wife’s passing. The film, which premiered at the Festival on June 8, comes one year after Fortune won the $1 million 1st place prize at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival’s AT&T Untold Stories Pitch Competition, The Atlanta Voice reports.
The film shows how the trip to the baseball game changes their lives forever as the father and son “set off on a poignant journey across Metro Atlanta,” a film description states. Shot in black and white, the film shows the intimacies of a father-son relationship through the lens of a widowed father and his son with Down Syndrome, who “finds solace in his color book and the shared love of baseball with his dad.”
“It’s my story of a Black father and son, capturing the intimacies of those relationships because I want more stories that capture our humanity,” the Morehouse alum told Ebony after winning the pitch competition. “I felt that this father’s story of raising a son with Down Syndrome reflects that intimacy I was always searching for.”
The AT&T Untold Stories Pitch Competition aims to empower underrepresented filmmakers through resources and mentorship to produce their films. The 2023 competition was judged by a panel consisting of actors Michael Michele and Derek Luke and actor/director Mo McRae, whom Fortune, along with AT&T and the Tribeca Film Festival, thanks greatly for the life-changing opportunity.
“I always have a sense of gratitude. These opportunities don’t come around often, and for me to make a film that shows the human light of the Black community and shows our wounds, but also our beauty, was such a pleasure to make,” he said.
Using the $1 million he awarded to produce the film, Fortune sought to highlight the intimacy of a father-son relationship and the intricacies of the age-old African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Fortune shared how the film showcases the humanity within the people of Atlanta’s Decatur community and their role in Mason’s upbringing.
“Growing up in Decatur, Georgia, one of the phrases I used to hear so much as a kid was, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ In this film, I really embody that all these different communities come together to raise Mason,” he explained.
Now, after premiering his film and spending a year working with mentors who are “walking you through the process of ‘what resources do you need to help make your film,” he tells Essence, Fortune feels confident in producing his next lineup of diverse stories.
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