It’s no surprise to hear director Crystal Moselle describe The Black Sea star and co-director Derrick B. Harden as “the unofficial mayor” everywhere he goes. His magnetic personality draws you in from his first moment onscreen.
Inspired by Harden’s travels, the film first takes us to Bulgaria to introduce a woman visiting a psychic, who has bad news: This woman is very sick, and the only cure is a Black man. A lack of Black men in the area means the woman takes to Facebook, where she meets Khalid (Harden), a charismatic young man working a lame service industry job in Brooklyn. Promises of a huge payout tempt Khalid to drop everything and jet to Eastern Europe to meet his new FB friend, and it’s off to Bulgaria we go.
Impulsive Khalid is the type of character who leans heavily on his charm to get by, which generally works well enough, but its limit is tested when circumstances strand him in the small coastal town with no money or passport. Pleas for help from American friends are denied, telegraphing that maybe Khalid has burned a few bridges in his time. In his efforts to get back home he meets travel agent Ina (Irmena Chichikova, Letters From Antarctica), initially skeptical of this foolhardy American but soon won over. Khalid finds his feet as Ina finds new opportunity in a stale place. A small fish in a big pond in Brooklyn, in Bulgaria Khalid is the big fish, and as a visitor, he begins to find the success that was so elusive in the U.S. as he chases the Bulgarian Dream.
Moselle (The Wolfpack) and director Harden – a self-described Renaissance man and rapper known as Dear Derrick, notching his first directorial credit here – take cues from hip-hop culture for this experimental indie that they liken to “cinematic freestyle.” With just a sketch of a plot and the idea of a “mail order prince,” they set out to make something of a scriptless narrative documentary. The dialogue is improvisational, but it’s successful due to the chemistry and personality of the leads, and the idyllic seaside setting is a gorgeous backdrop for a travel diary that showcases Harden and Chichikova’s wit and charisma. Music is a key component, with the film mostly soundtracked by original contributions from Harden as Dear Derrick, and Harden has called hip-hop America’s No. 1 export. Music is a universal language that can bond strangers from across the world, as you know if you ever wear a band T-shirt and come across another fan in the wild, and it is used here to connect this weary traveler to his new community.
For Harden, it’s an impressive debut that raises questions about the difference between a tourist, refugee, and immigrant, and explores how sometimes you have to travel a long physical distance to find what’s always been inside yourself. Wherever Harden’s journey takes him next, though, he’ll surely become its unofficial mayor.
The Black Sea
Narrative Feature Competition, World Premiere
Monday, March 11, 3:15pm, Alamo South LamarTuesday, March 12, 5:45pm & 6:15pm, Violet Crown
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This article appears in March 8 • 2024.
