FAMU Alumnus/Florida Filmmaker Takes the Gold With Underground, A Slave Story Told Through Song

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- If there were an Olympics for short film, Director Akil Dupont and his film, Underground, would take the gold medal. Underground has won 17 awards and played at 24 film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.

Featuring haunting Negro spirituals and beautiful cinematography, Underground tells the story of a slave who plans to escape after learning that his daughter has been sold to another slave owner.

Dupont says the inspiration for Underground came from watching two films: Sweeney Todd, starring Johnny Depp, and Ray, starring Jaime Foxx. Both of these films feature realistic stories told through song.

"After seeing these films, everything that FAMU taught me eventually bubbled up and I wanted to create a dark and real slave story told through song where the music was very organic and made sense to be in the story," says Dupont, who received his undergraduate degree from FAMU.



Filmed in Tallahassee, FL, the film stars Ken Wester, Tomi Townsend and Nike Eaton. Music was provided by the FAMU Gospel Choir.

Dupont co-wrote Underground with Ariya Watty and directed the film while attending the MFA program at The Florida State University College of Motion and Picture Arts, rated by The Hollywood Reporter as among the top 25 film schools in the world.

Underground has won two student Emmys: One for first place in Best Use of Music, and one for The Bricker Humanitarian Award. It placed first out of 287 films at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and it received the Audience Award at the Beijing Film Academy's ISFVF Festival, Beijing, China. The list of awards goes on and on, making it one of the most decorated films at FSU.

The film plays July 27 to August 2 at http://www.redmoviehouse.com.  Red Movie House (RMH) is an online social movie theater featuring rising stars - exceptional new talent in the film industry. Like your hometown theater, RMH plays movies for a week at a time. Films continue to be free as long as you rate and share them.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Akil.DuPont

Website: www.DuPontProductions.com

Mini Biography

Akil DuPont was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. A proud Rattler, Akil attended FAMU DRS from Kindergarten until he graduated from Florida A&M University with his Bachelor's Degree in Economics! After 20 years of education from FAMU (Dec. 2004), he worked as a Bank Manager in Orlando, Florida for several years.

During this time, Akil was very involved in the world of Fashion and Modeling. Akil rediscovered his passion for creating and directing while serving as the CEO of Faces Modeling Troupe Inc., a statewide, 300+ member modeling organization.

With Faces, Akil honed his skills in Photography, Fashion/Costume Design and Directing. Seeing the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dreams of working in the film industry, he was accepted into the Master of Fine Arts program at one of the top Film Schools in the nation, Florida State University.

While working with his classmates, Akil furthered his craft in Directing, Production Design, Storytelling and the Photography Arts. During his time at the Film School, he was honored by his classmates as one of the Top Production Designers and Cameraman in the class, as well as a stand out Director! With his MFA degree completed (Aug. 2010) and a student Emmy award winning short film "Underground" that he directed and co-wrote, Akil hopes to bring stories to the screen that entertain, captivate and educate!

Film director and producer Akil DuPont joins a growing list of Florida A&M University alumni that are taking the film industry by storm.  Most noted are Will Packer (Magna cum laude, B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1997) and Rob Hardy (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, 1997) co-founders of Atlanta based Rainforest Films (1994).  Packer and Hardy are most noted for directing and producing blockbuster films  -- Chocolate City (1994), Stomp The Yard (2007- Grossed over $65 Million), Trois (2001), Pandora's Box (2002), Obsessed (2009), This Christmas (2007 - Grossed over  $50 Million) and Think Like A Man (2012).

 Psychedelic Shack, a family comedy by FAMU’s own Professor Kenneth Jones, will keep you laughing until you are crying with the creative antics in this flick, as seen below.



James Bland, a 2008 graduate of the FAMU School of Business and Industry made a splash with Cocoa Love, at the inaugural Shadow and Act Black Filmmaker Showcase in 2011.  While a student at FAMU, he produced his first short film -- Dreaming in Color, starring Whitney Reed and Bryan Brown.

No doubt, this list will be expanding in the coming years as other young talented Rattlers break into the film industry as writers, directors and producers. 

FAMU taught me!

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