Loyola University New Orleans Film Instructor Named Among “Top 10” Contenders for an Oscar
December 22, 2017
LOYOLA PRESS RELEASE - DECEMBER 6, 2017
Winner of the 2017 Sundance film Festival Short Film Jury Award, ALONE is a documentary short film focused on mass incarceration and its shaping of love within the modern Black American family.
A short documentary created by a Loyola University New Orleans film professor and designed to spotlight the impacts of mass incarceration on children and families is a “Top 10” contender for an Oscar nomination.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that the field of 77 Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 90th Academy Awards has been narrowed to 10 films, of which five will earn final Oscar nominations on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Among them is ALONE by Garrett Bradley, who teaches digital filmmaking at Loyola University New Orleans. Considered “one to watch,” Bradley has since 2014 made all her films in New Orleans.
“Our inclusion in this year’s short list is an honor, and we hope that even at this stage, the recognition will help to highlight the millions of Americans, particularly in Louisiana, who are also serving time on the outside,” Bradley said.
The film, ALONE, focuses on single mother Aloné Watts, whose fiancé is in jail, forcing her to decide whether to go through with their wedding. A 13-minute documentary short filmed in black and white, ALONE mines layers of mass incarceration and its shaping of love within the modern Black American family. Winner of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award, the film was released on Valentine’s Day and can be viewed on The New York Times Op-Docs at nytimes.com/alone. More information about the film, cast and crew can be found here in an early press release.
According to a 2016 report by the National Research Council, ‘the current U.S. rate of incarceration is unprecedented by both historical and comparative standards.’ In the state of Louisiana, one in 14 African-American Men are incarcerated, a reality that has radiated into the homes of families and loved ones. Bradley’s timely film explores a female perspective on the prison system and the impact it has on relationships and families, particularly Black American families.
Garrett Bradley, 31, was born and raised in New York City. She received a MFA from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in Film and a B.A. in Philosophy from Smith College.
Bradley’s first professional work began in high school as a concert photographer during which, her work was published in Rolling Stone Magazine, VIBE, and The New Yorker.
Bradley’s debut feature-length film, Below Dreams, premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. The film followed the lives of three people making their way back to New Orleans in search of a better life. Bradley became known for her lyrical, hybridized filmmaking style described by New York Magazine critic Bilge Ebiri as “a slow-burn beauty...improvisatory, glancing, gorgeous and as much about the textured quality and imagery as it is about character development or class conflict.”
The same year, Bradley’s follow-up feature, Cover Me, was conceived for The International Arts Biennial Prospect 3 and curated by Artistic Director Franklin Sirmans. Bradley received the Artadia Prospect 3 Artist Award and went on to exhibit Cover Me at The International Film Festival Rotterdam.
A recent recipient of the 2017 Sundance/Cinereach Art of Nonfiction Fellowship, Bradley has been honored with fellowships from Art Matters, The Ford Foundation, The MacArthur Foundation and The Warhol Foundation. Bradley has received numerous prizes - most recently the 2017 Sundance Jury Prize for the short film ALONE, released in February of 2017 with The New York Times OpDocs.
Bradley’s short films and feature-length projects have exhibited internationally at museums, festivals and platforms, including: The Getty Museum, The Hammer Museum, The Sundance Film Festival, The Tribeca Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal, The Rotterdam Film Festival, DokuFest, Norwegian Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, Rooftop Films, The New Orleans Film Festival, The LA Film Festival, Hot Docs, SXSW, The U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, The New York Times OpDocs, Field of Vision, the OWN Network for television series Queen Sugar (episode 212), and more.
Bradley is the co-founder of Creative Council, an artist-led after-school program aimed at developing strong college portfolios and applications for students attending public high schools in New Orleans. Creative Council is supported by The New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC).
Bradley lives and works in New Orleans, where she serves as a Visiting Professor in the College of Music and Fine Arts at Loyola University New Orleans.