Inspired by her own family, Debra Williams’ animated short challenges stigma around Queerness and gender expression in Caribbean communities
What to know
- ‘Church Hat’, a children’s book by Jamaican-born Toronto author Debra Williams, has been adapted into a seven-minute animated short film.
- The story follows a child who tries on his mother’s church hat and, instead of being shamed, is met with a conversation about boundaries, self-expression and acceptance.
- Williams drew inspiration for the story from her own Jamaican family, including her mother, grandmother and Gay uncle, to tell a story about creating safe spaces for children to be themselves.
- The stop-motion film, which took roughly a year and a half to produce, features Jamaican-born actor Sheryl Lee Ralph as the voice of the child’s mother.
- Church Hat will screen Sept. 9 as part of the CaribbeanTales Film Festival “We Reach!” programming in Toronto.
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