Also in this Series

Rodney Lucas is an LA-based filmmaker from the South Side of Chicago. He travels the world creating soulful content, often focusing on the plight of the underserved. His work is celebrated for his uncanny ability to capture marginalized communities with a high level of sensitivity, care, artistic expression, and emotional depth.

We sat down with him to hear why he does what he does, how his life shaped the way he directs and why his art is always a social statement. 

Rodney believes directing is a way to speak out against the misrepresentation of the Black community in popular culture. Too often he saw images on the big screen that didn’t represent the beautifulness, positivity or truth of the Black community. Becoming a director was his way of fighting back and balancing those scales. 

For Rodney, craft and authenticity are the bedrock of every project. The creative inspiration for everything he does comes from real conversations he’s had with Black people from the South Side of Chicago, his way of making sure the voices from the Black community and street corners are always speaking through his work. 

He knows representation matters and not just on the screen. Rodney offers as many opportunities for Black creators both in front of and behind the camera as possible. Giving people the alley-oop he never had to break into a business where people of color are under represented. 

Growing up, Rodney saw his neighborhood littered with exploitive tobacco ads that appropriated Black culture and targeted his community. This project was a small step in righting those injustices. 

His background and creative sensibilities made him the perfect choice to breathe life into the “Read Between the Lies,” film. The ugly realities of Big Tobacco’s racist marketing made Rodney approach the project not as another job, but a mission to use his storytelling abilities to ensure the truth is heard loud and clear. 

View Rodney’s portfolio.