NEW YORK — Black Public Media (BPM) will release a spine-tingling tale this Halloween season with Sundown Road by filmmaker M. Asli Dukan. The latest release for their online film series AfroPoP Digital Shorts brings audiences on a frightening road trip with three college students who find themselves stuck on a deserted road. The short film, which marks the first time BPM has programmed a horror film for the series, begins streaming on the BPM YouTube channel on Monday, October 21.
Sundown Road follows a trio of students from a fictional HBCU as they head back to school along the desolate roads of Anytown, USA. When their car suddenly breaks down, leaving them stranded without cell service and arguing amongst themselves, they are forced to decide if it is safer to stay where they are or go for help in a secluded stretch of thickly wooded land. Veering out into unfamiliar and unwelcoming territory, the students are left to wonder if the signs and eerie markers they come across are warnings of things to come or relics from a cruel past.
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A chilling tale of traveling while Black with a nod to sundown towns — historic, all-white municipalities that did not permit Black residents or travelers after dark — the film highlights the vestiges of American racism that still permeate everyday life.
Directed by Dukan,a Philadelphia-based filmmaker, Sundown Road was filmed on location in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The film was an official selection of both the BlackStar Film Festival and Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival in 2023. The film stars actors Xavier Michael, Cianna Castro and Macksud Yillah, with Eric Hammitt. The creative team for Sundown Road includes Trevite Willis (executive producer), Nikki Harmon (producer), Marie Hinson (director of photography), Stephen Schaffer (editor), and Rich Hamilton (sound designer and composer).
Sundown Road starts streaming as part of AfroPoP Digital Shorts on Monday, October 21, on BPM’s YouTube channel (@BlackPublicMedia).
“AfroPoP Digital Shorts allows us to expand the types of programming we offer to better reach viewers via streaming,” said Denise Greene, program director for Black Public Media. “We are thrilled to contribute to the Halloween season with a film that is entertaining, but also serves as a reminder of the all too-real horrors many in our community continue to face every day.”
