Push Up Daisi(es)

As a survivor of multiple acts of sexual violence, storytelling has helped me to reclaim my power and to find healing and peace. This project, Push Up Daisi(es), is a short film that's based on true events. For so long I wondered where the character came from and how I could craft such an intense and complex character like Daisi. I was hesitant to choose the name, Daisi, because it would mean that I was tying my great-grandmother, Daisy, into a story about abuse and trauma. Later, it became evident that this story was one that came to me from my ancestors and that my great-grandmother wanted her story to be told. I named the character Daisi because of the idiom "pushing up daisies" which means to die/be buried and because of the way that daisies close their petals at night for protection and reopen in the sunlight (or "rays"). However, I later learned that the story that I wrote was, in fact, my great-grandmother's reality. So, a story that was intended to be partially based on true events, about my personal experiences with intimate relationships and an instance of sexual violence that I experienced with some fictional elements (such as the murder) became a story that's in fact, completely based on true events. Since, my great-grandmother Daisy was in fact, incarcerated for killing her abuser. That said, this story is one that's extremely close to my heart and one that I feel called to bring to life as the writer, director, and producer.Push Up Daisi(es) is a short film that shows us the complexities of trauma and its impact on our intimate relationships, sense of self, and overall mental health. Daisi, a young Black woman incarcerated for killing her rapist has her first meeting with her new attorney who, unbeknownst to her, is her first love, Ray. After multiple heartbreaks and sexual assaults, Daisi's walls continued to go up — making it challenging for her to deeply connect with her loved ones and even to recognize herself. For Daisi, her experiences killed a part of herself, and finally, she took matters into her own hands when she murdered her rapist; which, for her was an act of loving and choosing herself.Ray is a charismatic, loving, protective, intelligent, and determined young Black man. He has loved Daisi since the two met in Daisi's late teens and Ray's early 20s. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for them and the two moved on. Despite Ray and Daisi not being on speaking terms, Ray always remained in contact with Daisi's mother. He always said that Daisi was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and someone that he'd do anything for (no matter how much Daisi attempted to push him away).