Our story about a young, white writer and his friendship with an elderly black psychiatrist is extremely relevant in our growing society of racial divisiveness. Our cast and production crew is representative of the diversity we aim to encourage through our film, both on and off camera.

ABOUT THE FILM

 

Dominick “Dom” Darga, once a successful white male writer living in downtown Detroit, drifts through his now insular life. Still reeling from the death of his young son and the divorce that followed a few years later, Dom fights to stay on the straight and narrow.  Following a drunken altercation at a local bar that turned racial, Dom’s court-ordered community service leads him to meet Solomon, a retired black psychiatrist living in one of Detroit’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Through a common interest in literature and psychology, the two men begin to form an unlikely friendship, despite the strong skepticism of Renata, Solomon’s daughter. Renata, a defense attorney in the city, is often too busy with work to deal with her troubled relationship with her father and her budding relationship with Detroit’s new mayor only sucks up more time.  That being said, her distrust of Dom gives her cause to have some friends look into his criminal record.

In the meantime, Dom soon experiences a renaissance. Using the Dom’s need to produce a new novel as cover, Solomon pries opens Dominick's psyche, stretching him past his ideals and introduces him to the wonders of living. Dom’s flowering enlivens the octogenarian spirit of Solomon as well. Renata takes notice and begins to warm up to Dom being around her father. They all attend the annual Mayor’s Gala together when Renata finds out about Dom's background and the altercation at the bar. Her trust betrayed, she lashes out at Dom, causing a scene at the Gala. Solomon leaves the event out of frustration and collapses on his way to his car. At the hospital, it is discovered that Solomon has been hiding a terminal illness from both Renata and Dom, thus further denting the growing trust that had been building in his relationships with them.

 

With everything falling apart, Dominick, Solomon, and Renata must all discover what’s most important before their lives are permanently altered by death and all that accompanies it.

 

SOLOMON is a story of relationships, preconceptions, race, and faith that explores the life changing effects of a meeting between two very different people from very different backgrounds and the unshakable bond that develops between them.

 

WHY THIS STORY?

 

As two ambitious and admittedly naïve young filmmakers, the excitement we got at just the prospect of making our first movie far outweighed any doubts or fears we had tucked away in our hearts and minds. We began to brainstorm interesting story concepts that eventually became our own. We wanted to make a film that touched on social issues through the prism of everyday people from different backgrounds and beliefs, specifically in the setting of Detroit. People often go through life trying to stay in their personal circles/bubble as much as possible. Our goal with the film is to force our characters, which would probably not associate with each other typically, together and to create an interesting story out of what their interactions disrupt and create in their lives.

 

In a country (and city) where race relations is becoming increasingly important and the "Baby Boomers" are reaching retirement/assistant living age, our story about a young white male and his friendship with an elderly black man is extremely relevant. Throw in the struggles of a once proud American city and the diversity that is growing amongst its residents and you have a snapshot of the Detroit experience right now.

 

At the end of the day, we want people to leave our film with something to ponder, discuss, and hopefully revisit in some fashion. SOLOMON is a story about choosing unity, despite the presence of constant pain and misconceptions. It is about finding love in people and places that you would never consider looking. This is the type of story America needs right now and our team will stop at nothing to bring it to the masses.

 

We can't do any of this story without your help. As our supporters, you will be partnering with our team in the quest to bring SOLOMON to a screen near you. God Bless and welcome to Team Solomon!