Travis Wood announces short comedy 'Black Santa'

According to Variety, 'Black Santa' would be produced by Indeed Rising Voices, a platform comprising of filmmakers belonging to Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color (BIPOC) who create stories across the US.

'Black Santa' having a running duration of 10 minutes narrates the story of Henry, a father from Atlanta who disguises himself as Santa Clause every year, in a mall, bringing along his son Otis dressed as an elf and his sidekick.

However, during Otis' middle school years, he becomes embarrassed by his father's charade. That is when the short film takes its course and Otis' father explains to him the 'ulterior motive' of dressing like Santa Clause to teach his son how to upend stereotyping and increase the positive representation of Black people, reported Variety.

Wood clarified that the inspiration for the 10-minute short film came after he had an encounter with a certain gentleman who had been dressing up as Santa for the past 50 years. He decided to portray Santa Claus amongst the people of Black origin because he felt he 'had never seen it before'.

"There are so many Christmas films and they're all what they refer to as 'traditional Santas,' which is just a white Santa. I was excited to put a Black Santa on screen because I felt like I had never seen it before" said Wood, reported Variety.

The senior Vice President of Indeed Rising Voices, LaFawn Davis praised Wood for his 'demonstration of important stories about race' in a light-hearted, comedic way.

"Travis demonstrates through 'Black Santa' that you can tell important stories about race and work with humour and poignancy, while still making a strong statement for change" praised Davis as reported by Variety.

For the short film 'Black Santa', Wood collaborated with producers Domenica Castro and Constanza from the 271 Films production company to craft ab 'emotionally authentic' movie.

Previously, Travis Wood has bagged many awards for his short films and received critical acclaim at several film festivals which aired on numerous digital platforms, reported Variety. (ANI)