Pre-Existing Freedom, a new short film by West Chester’s Fr3deR1cK Taylor, is art, documentary, and social commentary, all perfectly encapsulated in 15 minutes, writes Melissa Jacobs for Main Line Tonight.

The title of the film is a mash-up of “pre-existing conditions” and “freedom.” These issues collide in 2020, which is the year the movie takes place.

The Henderson High School graduate filmed Pre-Existing Freedom in and around his Atlanta apartment throughout 2020. He draws a parallel between the pandemic-related social isolation and the social isolation of being a Black man in America.

The movie chronicles the filmmaker’s real-time confusion, loneliness, and frustration brought on by both the pandemic and institutional racism.

The film is gorgeously shot in black and white, which was an aesthetic choice rather than a political statement.

“The world had become black and white,” said Fr3deR1cK. “We saw things in black and white. You believed in the pandemic or you didn’t believe in the pandemic. You believed in equality and justice for all or you did not care. It was about extremes. Black and white is very stark. It is very binary. I wanted to emphasize that.”

Read more about Fr3deR1cK Taylor’s new short film and what it means for him in Main Line Tonight.

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