Story
An open mic, the people who come, and the new one experiencing it all for the first time.
A young woman goes on a cathartic journey through memory and imagination inspired by the performers at an open mic. A story of self-discovery, acceptance, and the transformative power of art.
In a culture where the marginalized are repeatedly othered, we wanted to tell a story in honor of the spaces that make us feel seen.
HEARTSTORM is a narrative feature film about a young woman named Lucia attending an open mic for the first time and being forever changed. Lucia is a closet poet, so when she arrives at the mic and is prompted to put her name on the list, she politely declines, opting instead to just take it all in as a member of the audience. Throughout the course of the evening, her memory is triggered by the performers, launching her into dream-like flashbacks in which the artists on stage take on the roles of various people in her life. Through a series of sometimes humorous and sometimes heartbreaking flashbacks, she is forced to examine her views on family, love, and queerness.
Director Jerry White Jr. had a similar experience back in 2016 which inspired him to co-write from this perspective. A veteran of open mics since 1992, Jerry has long been attracted to niche creative subcultures, outsider artists, and passionate amateurs. What set this particular open mic apart from the many he'd attended over the years was the vibe, structure, and diverse community devoted to sharing the space. While there are plenty of spaces scattered throughout the country that serve these niche wild-hearted folks of common spirit, only LA’s RecessMic has Arianna Lady Basco at the helm.
Lady Basco has been curating dynamic intentional spaces since 2006. She's the founder of the arts organization Palms Up Academy and hosts its weekly open mic in Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles. Like Jerry and the award-winning documentary he produced, 20 Years of Madness (2016), which premiered open night at Slamdance, Arianna has continually engaged in filmmaking endeavors such as The Fabulous Filipino Brothers (2021) which premiered at SXSW, and the award-winning Glimmer (2019) with Rosario Dawson. As different as they are—Jerry a 6'7" working class white DIY Metro Detroit brand of weirdo and Arianna a 5'1" single mom LA-raised Pinay artsy-fartsy type—there are two important things these creatives find common ground on: they are drawn to the courageous vulnerable ones in society who are willing to share their stories against all odds, and both want to amplify those voices through whatever resources they've acquired in their careers.
We made this film because sacred spaces like these should be highlighted as one of the purest examples of how we can co-exist with humanity. Heartstorm reflects the ethos of RecessMic, which welcomes music, dance, poetry, acting, magic, and comedy: this mic is truly open. Beyond the expansiveness of genre, age, race, sexuality, and gender, Lady B navigates into “B-Sides,” a remixed presentation of the evening’s work that culminates in a series of entertaining impromptu performance exercises. Lucia's story is adapted from many of Lady B's own life experiences and poetically woven together with original pieces written by the featured artists. It's like a cinematic translation of B-Sides—taking disparate material and transforming it into a new work. While the lead cast is a diverse mix of Filipino-American, African-American, Mexican-American Acjachemen, and Vietnamese-American, their pieces reflect universal journeys of love, family, heartbreak, and identity. These are the common themes that Lucia resonates with which launches her into her memories. Proof that we can find a little bit of ourselves, regardless of race or background, in another person's story.
Although Heartstorm is an all-new original work, no creative project manifests out of thin air. Seeds can be found in the 2003 play "(gasp)" which opened in Brooklyn and evolved into the play "Heartstorms," where it was a template for artists to explore their work theatrically. Arianna and Jerry knew there had to be a way to put the open mic experience onto the big screen, exploring moments of catharsis while utilizing the magic of B-Sides to see things from another perspective. This movie is not a documentary, but it is full of truth. The audience is invited to open up to these stories and characters in a way where empathy can bloom. The world of Heartstorm is one in which empathy is a given, and healing is offered up for the taking.
95% People of Color Cast & Crew
70% Female Cast & Crew
65% LGBTQ Lead Cast
We were able to make this film by convincing a bunch of poets, singers, rappers, comedians, and magicians to believe in our ability to take what we do every week and translate it cinematically. One of the beautiful aspects of Heartstorm is the collaboration of these local artists rising to the occasion to tell this story beyond the comfort of their respective genre(s). As Lady Basco often says, “James Brown wasn’t born with a cape on; everyone begins somewhere.” While you will recognize some household names in this film, most are just like you: up late, scratching something down, wondering if it’s good enough to share. The majority of the cast in Heartstorm were not in pursuit of an acting career prior to the start of this production—this is their truth. They live this life and embody these values on a daily basis.
Why Now?
In the spirit of the old adage "if not now, when," we knew we had to tell this story now—we couldn't wait for someone to give us permission or a studio to give us a green light. Poetry is always getting evicted, forced to find a quiet coffee shop night, a vacant warehouse space, or someone's living room to share these words screaming to be heard. If we don't tell our own stories, we are at the mercy of a mainstream culture that does not prioritize us or even see us. And this is not for lack of storytellers from marginalized communities gathering over centuries to commune through the spoken word. It has just never been as accessible as we want to make it.
Recess Mic is a weekly, immersive, in-person opera that entertains, heals, and changes people’s lives—Heartstorm takes you on that journey. In a dark room, away from your phone, the smell of popcorn in the air, this film will deliver a one-of-a kind movie-going experience. With your support we can share these stories and expand this way of living: a world of empathy through the transformative power of art.
Arianna Basco
Christopher Aguilar
Sebastian Sozzi
Aurora Basco
Renee "Kooki" Chatman
Madeline Dimayuga
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