Black Excellence

About the Film

Black Excellence: an Honesty Hour production, is a behind-the-scenes look at the founder of BLEX, Rahzizi Ishakarah, and his journey becoming a professional designer, model and entrepreneur. The film explores how navigating art, athletic and academic spaces as a gifted child helped shaped Ishakarah's identity, and led him to found his design company. The film challenges the notion of what it means to be Black and excellent. It evokes the discomfort Ishakarah experienced when he couldn't be entirely defined by the labels "artist," "athlete," or "academic." With BLEX, Ishakarah seeks to expand positive representations of Black people existing in spaces that they are not often associated with, specifically in surf and skate cultures.

BLEX and Honesty Hour came together in 2020 when Ishakarah was asked to design Honesty Hour's first limited release brand-wear collection, the Black Excellence Tee, as part of a larger artist collaboration initiative. It is through the two organizations' shared values of community, unity and advocacy that this documentary was born. Ultimately, we hope this film will inspire the world to reimagine the existing conception of what it means to be Black.

About the Artist

Rahzizi Ishakarah is from Jackson, MS, but currently lives in LA. He recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in Art & Design and a minor in Entrepreneurship. He is now a freelance photographer and designer with clients including Jordan, Nike, Union LA, Yeti, VisitCalifornia, professional athletes, models, and Grammy-nominated musical artists. His modeling work includes features in Vogue, and GQ. Using his multidisciplinary fine arts background, Rahzizi develops creative solutions for complex issues with the goal of reconstructing conventional narratives.

Credits:

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SHARADRAM SUNDARESAN

PRODUCER MONA KUBOTA-JOHNSON

DIRECTORS RAHZIZI ISHAKARAH & MARKUS SHERMAN

CINEMATOGRAPHERS IZZY RAEL & CHRISTINA CRAIG (SUPER 8)

EDITOR AND COLORIST IZZY RAEL

MUSIC AND SCORING VII & 7o8 BEATS (SCORE)

BTS DOCUMENTARIAN & Photography CONNOR LING