VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A group of friends growing up in the Kempsville neighborhood of Virginia Beach had their everyday lives caught on camera by Alexander Dickerson.
“This film is about me and my friends here in Virginia — aspiring artists, rappers — trying to show the surrealism of real life, being an artist, and trying to make it in that kind of industry,” he said.
For the past decade, the Kempsville graduate filmed their lives, mainly for music videos. But Dickerson wanted to follow through on their stories, looking into their triumphs and tragedies.
“I remember when I got the call that he’d been shot. He got shot in the head, and he went completely blind," he explained, talking about one of his friends. “Some have taken different routes. One has a million-dollar trucking business, one has been signed, and others have gone to jail."
These stories inspired Dickerson to make his documentary, showcasing the nuances of these lived experiences.
“It’s like showing, ‘Hey, this lifestyle is dangerous.’ They do a lot of things, but the reason why they do these things is because they’re trying to find a way out," said Dickerson.
He teamed up with other filmmakers to put all the footage into a cohesive storyline and submitted it for a Whickers TV and Film Award. The foundation, based in London, helps aspiring filmmakers create innovative documentaries.
And he won — receiving £100,000 ($130,000) to put toward developing a feature-length documentary.
“I just want people to know that the people you see walking down the street — they’re not dangerous. They may look like a gangster, but deep down they have a heart of gold, like your neighbor, like your son or family member. I think this film is going to show the human side of the characters — my friends — in this picture," he explained.
When the film is complete, he plans to enter it into international film festivals, with a release in 2027.
“I want to use this film to broadcast to the world, to say, ‘We are here. This is what we’re doing. We are artists," he said.
