Villanova filmmaker focuses on unsung successes of area African Americans

Filmmaker and Villanova University educator Hezekiah Lewis 3rd was looking for a way to take the textbook feel out of Black History Month and imbue it with lessons about African American lives here-and-now, unremarked but hardly unremarkable.

In late January, Lewis and a small team of communications students and media professionals began summoning area residents - 29 in all - to the college TV studio, sat them down under the lights, and let the cameras roll on their little-heard achievements.

The field hockey guru talked about the sport's impact on young black girls. The businessman chatted about the internship that was his entry into corporate America. A once-incarcerated community organizer shared his journey from jail to anti-violence advocacy.

"I needed to make changes in my life," said Quinzel Tomoney, a supervisor at Philadelphia CeaseFire, a violence intervention group. "I'm not dumb. I know this is not the way to go. So I started to make the change."

Collected over the course of a month, the interviews take center stage in the online show 28 Days and Beyond. In once-daily doses throughout February, Lewis - also president and CEO of the fledgling Black Heritage Network (BHN), an online streaming service - uploaded the 10-minute segments on the video-sharing website vimeo.com.

"It's my responsibility as an artist to understand the [negative] images that are out there and help change them," said Lewis, 39, of Philadelphia. "We want a constant conversation. We want Black History Month to be a catalyst for people to discuss issues throughout the year."

During the final two-hour shoot earlier this week, show host Alexander Evans interviewed Tomoney, as well as Jazmine Smith, founder of the Eyekonz Sports League; Steven Scott Bradley, of Sharon Hill, board chairman of the African American Chamber of Commerce; and Michael Curry, of Berwyn, an executive with the Vanguard Group and a soccer coach who has served as an assistant to the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team.

Lewis, an assistant professor of communications, once played football for the Villanova Wildcats. Since his cornerback days, he has produced, directed, and written documentaries and short films that often center on issues of social justice.

They include a documentary, Rise and Shine, on the parallel lives of two teenage boys growing up in North Philadelphia and Ghana, and a short film, Warrior Queen, the true story of the African monarch Yaa Asantewaa, who led an Ashanti rebellion against the British in 1900.

The interview series, posted on vimeo.com under the umbrella of Lewis' Ekiah Productions company, was inaugurated last year on the Black Heritage Network. The five-year-old streaming service, based in Philadelphia, could be described as a mini Netflix with a focus on African American-oriented content. The service's 200 subscribers pay $5 a month for offerings including the series Faith on the Road, about the role of religion in local communities, as well as movies, documentaries, and the interview series.

Lewis, who refers to himself as a volunteer CEO, joined the network a year ago. The streaming service is available on Roku devices and at bhn.tv.

"The most challenging thing right now is the financial resources," Lewis said. The network, he added, is negotiating with a potential new partner - a deal that could help increase offerings and expand the audience.

The first year of 28 Days and Beyond was produced, in part, to give the network a daily infusion of new content during Black History Month. This year, Lewis decided to focus on his own company.

During Wednesday's shoot, Lewis recorded the interviews with a team including Evans, co-producer Darryl Ridgeway, and a student crew. Leading off the sessions was Eyekonz Sports League founder Smith, 38, of Bryn Mawr, whose group introduces students to field hockey and lacrosse.

Smith, who moved from North Philadelphia to the Main Line as a youngster, talked about trying to fit in. She found a way through field hockey, a sport she says isn't "traditionally found in African American communities."

"It's my obligation to make sure our children have the same opportunity as children in other communities," Smith said.

Throughout the night, Lewis scurried between the control room and the set.

"Is everybody ready?" he would ask the crew each time it prepared to start another interview. "This is for a take . . . 5-4-3-2-1."

"Welcome to 28 Days and Beyond," host Evans said, "where we celebrate our history, our heritage and our culture - in our own authentic voice."

kholmes@phillynews.com610-313-8211