A gamer decided to turn clips from the game Red Dead Redemption 2 to tell the story of unsung civil rights leader and journalist Ida B. Wells.
The film titled Ida B. Wells: A Red Record was posted on YouTube. It was directed, edited, produced and written by filmmaker Harrison Wade Reishman. Reishman was able to mix gameplay footage with original voice work to tell the NAACP founder's story. The film drew from Wells' published 100-page pamphlet called A Red Record (or Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in all its Phases), which documented the lynchings of Black men across the American South.
The short reveals Well's early life and her documentation of racism in America by merging narrative with gameplay from the celebrated video game. Bunmi Famuyia provided the voice for Wells, who serves as the film's narrator with J.R. Starr as Reverend King and Claudis Bridgforth as C.J. Miller, along with other voice talents.
Besides Ida B. Wells: A Red Record, Reishman has directed and produced the indie films Dad's BS and An Actor's Affair. He spent several years working in development at Entertainment One before going into filmmaking.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows and Stadia.