OF LET'S TALK CINCY, AWARD WINNING ACTRESS, PRODUCER AND CINCINNATI NATIVE KAYA CLINGMAN RETURNS HOME TO SHOWCASE HER LATEST PROJECT. COLOR BOOK IS AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT ABOUT A FATHER RAISING HIS SON WITH DOWN SYNDROME, AND SHE SHARES HER PERSONAL STORY ABOUT HER WELL-KNOWN FATHER, JIM KLINGMAN'S FIGHT WITH ALS. SO MY DAD WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALS A LITTLE OVER 11 YEARS NOW, AND OUR I MEAN, OUR LIVES FOREVER CHANGED WHEN WE GOT THAT DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS FROM. 바카라게임. THIS IS THE EMMY AWARD WINNING SHOW, LET'S TALK CINCY, PRESENTED BY WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP, PUT OUR FINANCIAL STRENGTH BEHIND YOU. HELLO EVERYONE, I'M COURTIS FULLER AND WELCOME TO LET'S TALK CINCY. TODAY, A CONVERSATION WITH AN AWARD WINNING ACTRESS, WRITER AND PRODUCER. SHE'S A GRADUATE OF PRINCETON HIGH SCHOOL AND HOWARD UNIVERSITY. I'VE KNOWN HER HER ENTIRE LIFE BECAUSE SHE IS THE DAUGHTER OF A DEAR FRIEND AND A FRIEND OF OUR COMMUNITY, JIM CLINGMAN CLINGMAN SHARES HER INTERESTING JOURNEY, BOTH PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL. I WANT TO BEGIN WITH HER CURRENT FILM PROJECT CALLED COLOR BOOK. AMEN, AMEN, AMEN. COLOR BOOK IS AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT ABOUT A FATHER RAISING HIS SON WITH DOWN SYNDROME, AND AFTER THE PASSING OF HIS WIFE, HE DECIDES TO TAKE HIS SON TO HIS VERY FIRST BASEBALL GAME. AND SO IN 98 MINUTES, WE EXPLORED THIS JOURNEY BETWEEN FATHER AND SON, AND WE GET TO WITNESS ALL THE DIFFERENT OBSTACLES THAT THEY COME ACROSS AS THEY TRY TO GET TO THIS GAME. AND AT THE END OF THE FILM, THEY REALLY LEARNED TO APPRECIATE THE JOURNEY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DESTINATION. SO WAS THIS BASED ON A REAL LIFE STORY? NO, ACTUALLY, OUR WRITER DIRECTOR, DAVID FORTUNE COULDN'T BE WITH US TODAY, BUT IT WAS INSPIRED BY TRUE CONNECTIONS THAT HE DID HAVE WITH THE DOWN SYNDROME COMMUNITY. HE WAS A CAMP COUNSELOR, I BELIEVE, FOR CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT ABILITIES, AND HE ALSO HAD A CLOSE FRIEND GROWING UP THAT HAD DOWN SYNDROME. HE ENDED UP TAKING HER TO HER PROM AND HE STARTED HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH FAMILIES THAT HAD CHILDREN THAT HAD DOWN SYNDROME, AND HE REALIZED THAT ALTHOUGH WE HAVE SEEN AND STILL NOT ENOUGH, BUT WE HAVE SEEN DOCUMENTARIES AND NARRATIVES ABOUT. ABOUT FAMILIES WITH DOWN SYNDROME WHO ARE WHITE, WE NEVER REALLY WE'VE NEVER REALLY SEEN A STORY ABOUT A BLACK FAMILY. AND SO INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR HOLLYWOOD TO TELL IT, DAVID WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT? LET ME JUST WRITE THE STORY THAT I WANT TO SEE. AND YOU ALWAYS START BY HAVING A SCRIPT, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT TO GET MONEY AND YOU GOT TO GET A TEAM. AND IT TAKES YEARS. IT CAN TAKE IT CAN TAKE YEARS TO ACTUALLY MAKE THE PROJECT COME TO LIFE. BUT THAT'S WHERE HE STARTED WITH THAT INSPIRATION. AND HE ACTUALLY CREATED A SHORT FILM A FEW YEARS PRIOR, CALLED US, AND IT WAS DONE IN THE SAME KIND OF STYLE AS OUR FEATURE FILM COLOR BOOK. IT WAS ALSO SHOT IN BLACK AND WHITE, AND IT WAS ABOUT A FATHER TEACHING HIS SON WITH DOWN SYNDROME HOW TO PLAY BASEBALL. AND SO I GOT TO SEE THAT FILM AND GOT TO SEE DAVID'S WORK, YOU KNOW, AND BUT BEFORE I SIGNED ON TO THE MOVIE AND THAT PIECE WAS SO COMPELLING VISUALLY THAT, YOU KNOW, I KNEW I HAD TO BE A PART OF IT, OF THE FEATURE VERSION OF IT. IT MUST SEEM SOMEWHAT SURREAL TO COME BACK HOME. THIS IS A FULL CIRCLE JOURNEY FOR YOU AND TO COME BACK TO THIS FILM FESTIVAL. THE PLACE THAT YOU CALLED HOME FOR MANY YEARS. YEAH IT DOES. IT FEELS ABSOLUTELY SURREAL. AND I HAVEN'T BEEN BACK HERE SINCE, I THINK FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN I PREMIERED MY FIRST SHORT FILM THAT I CO-DIRECTED AND CO-WROTE, THAT WAS DEDICATED TO MY DAD, CALLED EAVESDROPPING ON THE ELDERS. SEE, THAT'S WHY WE NEED BROTHER JIM HERE. WHAT DOES MY DAD HAVE TO DO WITH THIS? INTELLIGENCE RULES THE WORLD, SO I HAVEN'T BEEN BACK SINCE THEN. I WAS LIKE, THAT WAS 5 OR 6 YEARS AGO NOW, AND PRIOR TO THEN, I REALLY HADN'T BEEN BACK IN YEARS. I HAVEN'T LIVED HERE IN LIKE 14 YEARS, WHICH IS CRAZY. AND SO TO BE BACK HERE PREMIERING A FILM THAT I WORKED SO HARD ON AND POURED BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS, GOT MY FIRST GRAY HAIRS DOING IT. I'M JUST LIKE, IT'S IT'S JUST IT'S JUST AMAZING. LIKE I WAS. I WOULDN'T BE FROM CINCINNATI IF IT WASN'T FOR MY DAD. AND SO. BEING ABLE TO TO BE BACK HERE, ALTHOUGH WITHOUT HIM, IS BITTERSWEET. BUT I KNOW I AM HIS LEGACY. AND SO BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THE WAY THAT THAT I LIKE TO COMMUNICATE, MY DAD COMMUNICATED THROUGH WRITING AND THROUGH BOOKS AND THROUGH COLUMNS, AND I COMMUNICATE THROUGH FILM. IT'S JUST AN AMAZING FEELING TO BE BACK HERE IN MY HOMETOWN, AND IT'S VERY SPECIAL. I'VE BEEN BLESSED THAT I'VE KNOWN YOU ALL YOUR LIFE. YEAH, LITERALLY ALL YOUR LIFE. TALK ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY. YEAH, WELL, I'M AN ONLY CHILD, SO I THINK WHEN YOU'RE AN ONLY CHILD, YOU DO GET TO EXPLORE KIND OF DIFFERENT PATHS IN LIFE. A LITTLE, MAYBE A LITTLE MORE THAN OTHER CHILDREN WOULD. SO I FEEL LIKE I HAD THE THE WORLD AT MY FEET, WHICH IS A GREAT THING. BUT THEN ALSO IT KIND OF COMES WITH, WITH, WITH THE NEGATIVES, BECAUSE I GOT TO A PLACE WHERE I WAS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO, OR I FEEL LIKE I CAN DO IT ALL. AT ONE POINT I WANTED TO BE AN ANESTHESIOLOGIST. I WANTED TO BE AN ATTORNEY. I BUT I'VE ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT'S ALWAYS REMAINED THE SAME AS I'VE ALWAYS BEEN IN LOVE WITH PERFORMING ARTS. I STARTED PLAYING PIANO WHEN I WAS THREE YEARS OLD. I STARTED PLAYING VIOLIN WHEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD AND CARRIED THAT THROUGHOUT MY HIGH SCHOOL YEARS. AND THEN I KIND OF PUT A HIATUS TO BOTH OF THOSE. WHEN I WENT TO HOWARD. BUT I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THEATER. I DID SO MUCH THEATER IN IN HIGH SCHOOL ESPECIALLY, AND THEN I ALSO WAS A PART OF THE SPEECH TEAM AND COMPETED STATEWIDE ON THE SPEECH TEAM, WHICH WAS, I THINK, MY HEAVY INTRODUCTION INTO MY LIKE, LOVE FOR ACTING. ONE DAY I OVERHEARD A CONVERSATION. I THINK IT WAS AROUND THE END OF HIGH SCHOOL. I REALIZED, LIKE, OKAY, I ACTUALLY REALLY LOVE ACTING AND I REALLY LOVE HAVING A PRESENCE ON SCREEN. AND I ENDED UP GOING TO HOWARD FOR JOURNALISM, FOR BROADCAST JOURNALISM. SO YES, I DID CHAT WITH YOU BEFORE I MADE THAT DECISION, AND IT ONLY TOOK A YEAR FOR ME AND I WAS LEARNING FINAL CUT, DOING ALL MY EDITING, MAKING PACKAGES. I INTERVIEWED LIKE INCREDIBLE CELEBRITIES ON HOWARD'S CAMPUS WITHIN MY FIRST SEMESTER OF BEING THERE. BUT BY THE END OF THAT YEAR, I WAS BURNT OUT AND I. I REALIZED I DID NOT WANT TO STAY IN THAT CONCENTRATION. WELCOME BACK EVERYONE. WELCOME BACK EVERYONE. BEFORE COLOR BOOK. AS YOU HEARD KAYA SAY, SHE PRODUCED A FILM CALLED EAVESDROPPING ON THE ELDERS. IT WAS A POWERFUL AND MEMORABLE TRIBUTE TO HER FATHER. THAT PROJECT IS SO SPECIAL TO ME. IT'S CALLED EAVESDROPPING ON THE ELDERS, AND I CANNOT TAKE CREDIT FOR THE TITLE. IT WAS A PIECE THAT MY DAD WROTE YEARS AND YEARS AGO, I BELIEVE BACK IN LIKE 2002, IN HIS BOOK BLACK OWNED KNOWLEDGE, AND IT WAS A PIECE WHERE HE HAD A NARRATOR EAVESDROPPING ON A CONVERSATION WITH OUR ANCESTORS GOING TO REST UNTIL OUR PEOPLE ARE FREE, CAN RISE FROM THE SHACKLES. AND HE HAD ABOUT A HUNDRED DIFFERENT FOLKS IN THERE. AND HE TOLD ME YEARS AGO THAT HE WANTED TO SEE THIS ON A STAGE. BUT I'M NOT A PLAYWRIGHT. I WAS LIKE, I'M I'M LOOKING TO GET INTO SCREENWRITING. AND SO FOR HIS 73RD, OR WAS IT 73RD BIRTHDAY, I GIFTED HIM MY FIRST SCRIPT. I WROTE A SCRIPT, I ADAPTED EAVESDROPPING ON THE ELDERS TO A SCREENPLAY, AND I GAVE THAT TO HIM. AND I REMEMBER MY DAD'S EXPRESSION. MY DAD'S NOT EASILY IMPRESSED. AND HE WAS DEFINITELY PROUD, BUT I KNEW THAT SOMETHING WAS MISSING. YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST A PIECE OF PAPER. AND YES, HE GOT TO READ AND SEE HOW, BUT HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A SCRIPT LOOKS LIKE. YOU KNOW, MY DAD HAS WRITTEN BOOKS AND ARTICLES AND, AND IS ALSO A CREATIVE WRITER. SO I KNEW HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY WAS COMING UP AND MY DAD HAS ALS AND HIS DISEASE WAS CONTINUING TO TO PROGRESS AT A, YOU KNOW, A PRETTY ACCELERATED RATE. AND I, I KNEW THAT I WANTED TO GIVE HIM GIFT HIM SOMETHING FOR HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY THAT. WOULD STAND THE TEST OF TIME AND CONTRIBUTE TO HIS LEGACY. THINGS, GIFTS, TANGIBLE GIFTS DIDN'T MEAN SO MUCH TO HIM ANYMORE. SO I WANTED TO GIVE HIM SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL. AND SO I DECIDED TO TAKE THE SCRIPT THAT I HAD CO-WROTE AND MAKE IT INTO AN ACTUAL MOVIE. AND THAT TOOK A LOT OF HARD WORK. AND LOOKING BACK, I THOUGHT, I USED TO SAY THAT WAS THE HARDEST PROJECT I'VE DONE, BUT IT DOESN'T COMPARE TO THE THINGS I'VE DONE RECENTLY, BUT I DID. I PRODUCED AND DIRECTED AND WROTE THAT PROJECT, AND. I HAD, I, I USED ALL THE RESOURCES THAT I HAD. I BROUGHT IN THE ENTIRE ATLANTA INDIE COMMUNITY THAT I HAD WORKED WITH, AND EVERYONE WAS SO, SO JUST SO GENEROUS. I THINK I LOOK BACK AND I THOUGHT $10,000 WAS A LOT OF MONEY, AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE JUST PRODUCED COLOR BOOK FOR $1 MILLION, BUT SO MANY PEOPLE DONATED THEIR TIME, LIKE TYLER PERRY'S HAIR AND MAKEUP TEAM ALL CAME ON FOR FREE AND MADE WIGS FOR OUR FOLKS WHO ARE PLAYING OUR ANCESTORS AND OR THE ELDERS, AND ADDED GRAY AND WERE MAKING BALD CAPS AND DOING SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKEUP THINGS THAT WOULD COST LIKE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. THEY JUST GAVE FOR FREE. AND IT'S BECAUSE I WROTE A LETTER ABOUT MY DAD AND AND TALKED ABOUT HIS LEGACY, TALKED ABOUT HIS IMPACT ON CINCINNATI AND OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY. AND SO MANY PEOPLE RESONATED WITH IT. AND THEY DECIDED TO GIVE THEIR TIME. THEY DECIDED TO GIVE THEIR THEIR FINANCES. SO MANY OF MY DAD'S FRIENDS DONATED TO THE PROJECT, AND THAT'S HOW I WAS ABLE TO TO TO MAKE IT FOR HIM. AND I ENDED UP PREMIERING IT HERE IN CINCINNATI. THAT WAS BACK WHEN MY DAD COULD STILL TRAVEL, AND IT WAS A TOTAL SURPRISE TO HIM. AND HE ACTUALLY WAS IN THE MOVIE AS WELL, AND HE HAD NO IDEA WHEN I WAS SHOOTING, I TOOK MY LITTLE LIKE THREE PERSON CREW TO SOUTH CAROLINA TO TO CAPTURE HIM IN, AND WE DID IT IN A WAY. WE WERE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST DOING THIS LITTLE DOCUMENTARY, DAD. LIKE, WE WANT YOU TO DO A FEW THINGS. AND I WAS DIRECTING HIM AND. YEAH, IT WAS IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL MOMENT. AND I, I, I STILL REFLECT ON THAT. AND IT WAS ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE BEST MOMENTS I'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE. AND I KNOW HE HE APPRECIATED IT SO MUCH. AND WE FLEW ALL OF HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY THERE. AND I GOT TO PLAY THE NARRATOR. SO I WAS IN THE FILM. MY MOM WAS IN THE FILM. OUR DOG THAT, YOU KNOW, PASSED AWAY WAS WAS ALSO IN THE FILM. SO IT WAS JUST A REALLY, REALLY SPECIAL, SPECIAL MOMENT. AND I'M SO GLAD I WAS ABLE TO HONOR HIM IN THAT WAY. AS HIS DAUGHTER. NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO, JIM NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO, JIM CLINGMAN AND SEVERAL OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS FOUNDED THE GREATER CINCINNATI, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AFRICAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. JIM SERVED AS THE ORGANIZATION'S FIRST PRESIDENT. JIM HAS BEEN A FIERCE FIGHTER FOR BLACK BUSINESSES IN GREATER CINCINNATI AND LITERALLY ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS LONG AS I'VE KNOWN HIM. BUT FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS, HE HAS BEEN FIGHTING ANOTHER BATTLE. YOU HEARD KAYA SAY HER DAD IS SUFFERING FROM ALS. THIS IS THE PART OF HER JOURNEY THAT'S VERY PERSONAL. I MEAN, I FEEL SO BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO CALL THIS INCREDIBLE MAN MY FATHER. BUT I'M SO THANKFUL THAT, LIKE, NOT ONLY HAS HE BEEN SUCH A TREMENDOUS FATHER TO ME, BUT HE'S BEEN SUCH AN AMAZING PERSON TO SO MANY PEOPLE. MY DAD WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALS A LITTLE OVER 11 YEARS NOW. AND YOU KNOW, WHEN HE WAS DIAGNOSED, IT TOOK HIM YEARS TO GET DIAGNOSED. FIRST OF ALL. AND THAT HAPPENS QUITE OFTEN IN THE ALS COMMUNITY. AND. I MEAN, OUR LIVES ARE FOREVER CHANGED WHEN WE GOT THAT DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS. AND IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN A JOURNEY. AND I THINK NOW THAT WE'RE TOWARDS THE END OF THAT JOURNEY, I'VE BEEN DOING LIKE EVEN MORE REFLECTING AND AND OF COURSE, FEELING, YOU KNOW, TRYING NOT TO FEEL LIKE SOME GUILT ABOUT THINGS OR MAN, I WISH I COULD HAVE DONE THIS. I WISH I WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE PRESENT IN THIS MOMENT BECAUSE ALS IS SUCH A RELENTLESS DISEASE, AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHEN IT'S GOING TO END. I MEAN, THEY THEY TOLD US 2 TO 5 YEARS AND MY DAD HAS SURPASSED THAT. THEY'VE TOLD OTHER FRIENDS THAT HAVE HAD ALS 2 TO 5 YEARS AND THEY'VE DIED WITHIN NINE MONTHS. AND THERE'S JUST THERE'S NOT AS MANY DOLLARS BEING POURED INTO THIS DISEASE. IT'S NOT A POPULAR DISEASE. AND SO THE RESEARCH AND, YOU KNOW, NEW EVIDENCE ABOUT IT, IT TAKES KIND OF A LONG TIME TO TO HEAR UPDATES ABOUT ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON OR, OR THE JOURNEY TO A CURE. AND SO IT HONESTLY, FOR MY DAD, IT TOOK HIM A LONG TIME TO BE OKAY WITH EVEN ACCEPTING THAT HE HAD ALS, AND IT TOOK HIM A WHILE TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW MY DAD WAS A WAS IN THE PUBLIC EYE AT ALL TIMES, AND MY DAD IS A IS A LEO. HE IS. HE IS PRIDEFUL AND I SAW HIM STRUGGLE AND WRESTLE WITH. I REMEMBER HE WROTE HIS LAST ARTICLE AND AN ARTICLE THAT HE EXPRESSED THAT HE HAD ALS PUBLICLY, AND IT WAS SO HARD FOR HIM BECAUSE HE WAS USED TO TO CARRYING THE FAMILY, NOT ONLY CARRYING US, OUR OUR SMALL FAMILY. HE CARRIED THE COMMUNITY. HE REALLY DID. I THINK, FOR MY DAD, HE IS FINALLY IN A PLACE OF, OF OF SEEKING PEACE. AND I'VE SEEN HIM STRUGGLE JUST SO, SO MUCH OVER THE YEARS. I MEAN, THE DISEASE IS UNFATHOMABLE. I WOULD NEVER WANT MY WORST ENEMY TO EXPERIENCE THE PERILS OF OF ALS. AND I USED TO NOT EVEN BE ABLE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS WITHOUT, LIKE, BREAKING DOWN AND CRYING. BUT I FEEL LIKE I'VE CRIED SO MUCH. I FEEL LIKE I'VE GRIEVED MY LAST HUG WITH MY DAD. I'VE GRIEVED THE LAST TIME I SAW HIM STANDING. I'VE GRIEVED THE LAST TIME HE WAS ABLE TO HOLD A CANE, I WAS I GRIEVED THE LAST TIME HE WAS ABLE TO SQUEEZE MY HAND. HE CAN'T MOVE ANY PART OF HIS BODY ANYMORE EXCEPT HIS EYES. AND. AND HE'S AT A PLACE RIGHT NOW WHERE I KNOW HE WANTS TO BE FREE FROM PAIN AND FREE FROM BEING TRAPPED IN HIS OWN BODY. AND SO I JUST MY PRAYER IS THAT HE FINDS THAT PEACE SOON. WHETHER IT'S A MIRACLE WHICH I STILL ABSOLUTELY HAVE HOPE IN THAT, OR WHETHER IT'S HAVING A PEACEFUL TRANSITION, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AS A FAMILY SO MANY TIMES, I TOLD HIM THE FACT THAT HE CHANGED ONE PERSON'S LIFE IS ENOUGH, BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT HE'S CHANGED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE'S LIVES, AND FROM HIS COLUMN ALONE, FROM HIS SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, FROM HIM, FROM THE WORK THAT HE'S DONE IN THE COMMUNITY, LIKE AND AND I, I, YOU KNOW, WROTE AT LENGTH JUST ABOUT LIKE WHAT I'VE SEEN AND WHAT I'VE WITNESSED AND WHAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT. AND THAT GAVE HIM COMFORT AND I JUST LIKE I REALLY HOPE THAT I HOPE GOD IS ALLOWING HIM TO CONTINUE TO LIVE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE HE'S HE'S ALLOWING HIM TO PREPARE FOR PEACE. AND HE'S A HE'S ALLOWING HIM TO TO KNOW THAT HE'S DONE WELL, THAT HE'S LIVED AN AMAZING LIFE, AND HE HAS DONE EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. MY DAD WAS A VERY ATHLETIC MAN. HE WAS RIDING HIS HE WAS AN AVID CYCLIST IN HIS 60S, RIDING 2000 MILES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HE WAS A BOWLER, LOVED BOWLING, AND I ACTUALLY THINK THAT'S WHY HE'S BEEN ABLE TO PERSEVERE SO LONG. IN ADDITION TO MY MOM BEING A NURSE AND JUST STEPPING RIGHT INTO THE CAREGIVER ROLE SO SEAMLESSLY. BUT ALS IS A MOTOR NEURON DISEASE, SO IT BREAKS DOWN YOUR MUSCLES BIT BY BIT, AND YOUR BRAIN STOPS TELLING YOUR MUSCLES TO FIRE. HE'S A FIGHTER. HE HAS RELENTLESSLY FOUGHT TO LIVE THE LAST 11 YEARS, AND I KNOW HE'S TIRED OF FIGHTING NOW. AND I SEE THAT AND. I WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY. I WANT HIM TO BE AT PEACE, AND I WANT HIM TO BE FREE OF THAT. SO THERE'S NO WAY TO PREPARE FOR DEATH. AND I THINK THE UNKNOWN SCARES US ALL. AND I KNOW IT SCARES HIM, TOO. HE'S NOT HE DOESN'T WANT TO DIE, BUT HE'S JUST TIRED. I THINK HE'S FEELING LIKE HE HAS. HE'S COMPLETED HIS PURPOSE AND. EVERY DAY HE CONTINUES TO LIVE. I THINK HE HE HE'S A TESTIMONY AND HE'S AN INSPIRATION FOR ME IN SO MANY OTHERS. I KNOW WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND I DON'T WANT TO GET UP, I'M LIKE, YOU KNOW, MY DAD LITERALLY CAN'T GET UP AND HE'S GETTING UP AND HE'S CONTINUING TO GET POKED AND PRODDED AND MOVED AROUND AND JERKED AROUND. AND HE'S HE'S STILL FIGHTING EVERY DAY. I KNOW JIM AND SYLVIA KLIGMAN, I KNOW JIM AND SYLVIA KLIGMAN, KAYA'S MOM AND DAD, ARE VERY PROUD OF HER. AND SO AM I. FINALLY, I ASKED HER ABOUT ALL OF HER AWARDS AND WHAT'S NEXT ON HER PROFESSIONAL AGENDA. I THINK I'VE LOST TRACK OF HOW MANY AWARDS, BUT WE'VE WON JUST TO NAME A FEW. WE WE WON. WE WENT INTERNATIONALLY, WE WENT TO DEAUVILLE, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. I THINK I'M SAYING IT RIGHT, BUT WE WON A THE CRITICS PRIZE THERE, THE CRITICS JURY PRIZE, WHICH IS JUST AN INCREDIBLE AWARD TO TO GET, ESPECIALLY FOR PRODUCING A $1 MILLION FILM. I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THAT ENOUGH. IT'S NOT A LOT OF MONEY TO PRODUCE THE TYPE OF FILM THAT WE DID. WE ALSO WON BEST FEATURE FILM AT AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL, WHICH IS AN AMAZING FESTIVAL. WE WON BEST FEATURE AMERICAN FEATURE AT DENVER. WE JUST WON A CINEMATOGRAPHY BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD AT SANTA BARBARA AND ANOTHER ONE AT NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL. WE JUST WON BEST FIRST FEATURE AT PANAFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL IN LA, AND ALSO OUR DIRECTOR WAS JUST CHOSEN AS VARIETY'S TOP TEN DIRECTORS TO WATCH, AND WE GOT TO GO TO PALM SPRINGS FOR A BRUNCH. AND LIKE I WAS SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO CYNTHIA ERIVO AND ARIANA GRANDE AND J.LO WAS RIGHT HERE. AND SO WE SAW DONNA WAS RIGHT HERE. AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, SEEING OUR DIRECTOR GO UP ON STAGE NEXT TO MALCOLM WASHINGTON DENZEL'S SON AND ZOE KRAVITZ LIKE, IT WAS LIKE JUST I WAS LIKE, IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? AND FOR A MOVIE THAT I KNOW I CREATED. SO IT WAS JUST, YEAH, WE'VE BEEN AN AMAZING RUN. AND THEN ALSO WE WERE NOMINATED FOR TWO NAACP IMAGE AWARDS. IT'S BEEN A RIDE. WE ARE SEEKING DISTRIBUTION RIGHT NOW. THAT'S THE NEXT STEP, ALONG WITH BUILDING OUT A ROBUST IMPACT CAMPAIGN. AND THAT STARTS WITH LIKE FESTIVALS LIKE OVER THE RHINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL THAT REALLY FOCUSES ON INCREASING AWARENESS IN THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY. BUT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF SCREENINGS COMING UP THIS YEAR IN DIFFERENT CITIES TO TO REALLY WORK WITH THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY AND SHOWING THEM THE FILM AND HAVING IMPACTFUL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE FILM. I ALSO AM IN POST-PRODUCTION FOR A SHORT FILM THAT I WROTE AND DIRECTED. THAT'S ALL ABOUT WOMEN'S HEALTH. AND SO A LOT OF THE STORIES I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL RECENTLY HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON WOMEN'S HEALTH. I DID A STORY, A SHORT FILM CALLED BLACK BUTTERFLIES. IN 2022 OR 2021, I BELIEVE, THAT AIRED ON BET THAT YEAH, THAT WAS ABOUT THE MATERNAL MORTALITY CRISIS FOR BLACK AND BROWN WOMEN. I JUST PRODUCED A ANIMATION SHORT FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT HAS ALSO BEEN WINNING TONS OF FESTIVALS, AND WE WERE JUST AT SLAMDANCE LAST WEEK, AND WE WON HONORABLE MENTION FOR THE JURY PRIZE. AND THAT FILM IS ABOUT A WOMAN WITH FIBROIDS, A BLACK WOMAN WITH FIBROIDS, AND SHOWING LIKE THE PAIN THAT THAT CAUSES AND JUST INCREASING AWARENESS ON THAT. AND MY FILM IS ALL ABOUT ENDOMETRIOSIS AND HPV AND EXPLORING TO OTHER TOPICS THAT WE ALSO DON'T TALK ABOUT AS MUCH IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND, AND SHOWING THE PAIN THAT THOSE HAVE HAVE CAUSED THEM IN MY LIFE. SO YEAH, I, I HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT STORIES I WANT TO TELL, INCLUDING MY DAD'S, AND I'M HOPING TO ONE DAY DO A DOCUMENTARY ON MY DAD AND HIS LIFE. AND I'M CERTAIN SHE WILL. WELL, THANKS FOR JOINING US. WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER EDITION OF LET'S TALK CINCY.