LIVE IT
A cinema-verite, participatory documentary following Seals and filmmaker Eric as they cycle from St. Louis to Chicago. Bike Vessel also utilizes archival footage/photographs and animations to take viewers to Seals’ previous unhealthy life and health complications, while giving audiences an intimate look inside a Black working-class family in the Midwest.
By the end of the film, viewers will understand where Seals once was in his health journey, how he made a full recovery, and his everyday commitment and struggle of never going back to where he once was.
The filmmaker’s health similarities to his dad are striking. Bike Vessel has become an emotional self-reflection for Eric, who is approaching his dad's age when he had his first open-heart surgery. During the film, you see him bike alongside his father, symbolizing the parallels in their health journeys. An intimate look into a father-son relationship, Bike Vessel is a poetic meditation on kinship, connection, and deep familial love.
Intended Audience
Our main goal is to educate the Black community on prevalent health issues. It is important to us that we not only showcase what an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to, but also provide a pathway forward and show what types of adjustments can be made to live a lasting, healthy life. We intend to make Bike Vessel an easily accessible film. We will do this by hosting free screenings in Black communities nationwide.
We truly feel like Bike Vessel the film is really the Trojan Horse for the bigger project we have planned: A cross-country tour that celebrates healthy living and a love for cycling. Our campaign will include partnering with health organizations to host screenings and produce literature that people can take after seeing the film. We want the community to leave our events with a greater sense of love for their bodies, love for their health, and hopefully, a new curiosity of exercise through cycling.
WHY THIS FILM AND WHY NOW?
African-American men are dying at alarming rates, with complications of the heart being the leading cause of death in Black males older than 44. Efforts to eliminate the racial and ethnic inequities within our healthcare system have often overlooked Black males, whose life expectancy rates have continued to lag far behind Black women and white Americans. A film showcasing the inadequacies in our healthcare system when it comes to Black men is crucial, and time-sensitive.
INSURANCE
The amount of Black men uninsured is almost double the amount of uninsured white men.
LIFE EXPECTANCY
Compared to white men and women and Black women, Black men have the lowest life expectancy rate, both at birth and after age 65.
DISEASE
The death rate for African Americans is generally higher than whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide.