As a tribute to World Mental Health day, Milwaukee Filmmaker, Corey Fells, released his “20MXN” project, a mini docu-series about Black and Hispanic men and their struggles with emotions.
Fells, who grew up on the North side of Milwaukee says his personal experience with emotions began very trivial as a kid, until his mother passed away when he was in high school. “There was this undisclosed whirlwind of emotions that I have yet dealt with and didn’t know how to,” said Fells. “I felt ignorant to the world, connecting with people was hard, and relationships were often left with me not being able to be fully open or vulnerable.”
It took Fells two years after his mother’s death to confront and deal with his emotions. He credits his friends who have provided him with a safe place to express his feelings without judgement.
“In retrospect, I wish that I had someone or something to teach me about my emotional range as a person and not just the stagnant male trop of not having emotion, or if I am allowed to, it has to be limited,” said Fells. “So I hope people watch the series and also the feature film to understand the importance of their emotional intelligence and mental health.”
The series is currently being displayed on his site with behind the scenes photos, and also childhood photos of each participant. Featured participants of the film include artists, entrepreneurs, and even the Lieutenant Governor, Mandela Barnes.
The full length film is set to be released Spring 2020 and will be Fells’ second major project, which follows his “100 Womxn” portraits (released in Fall 2017) as a project designed to collect the backgrounds of Milwaukee’s young women of color, express their growth, strength, and the cultural beauty that weave their lives together.
“As an artist, we have our style and undertone message. I believe mine is to create a safe space to talk about very touching topics without gender being an issue,” said Fells. “With each project I do, I look to do three things, have it be personal, have it relate to Milwaukee, and lastly be unique.”
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