Multi award-winning short film, Silent Partner, will be shown in the Oscar-qualifying Jury Competition at the 46th Annual Cleveland International Film Festival, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. The original concept was created by Cleveland native Roderick Lawrence (Roderick L. Ingram, Jr.)
A product of Baldwin Wallace’s Conservatory of Music, Lawrence (“Simba” in Disney’s The Lion King) also stars in Silent Partner as Silas Jones, an accomplished Black trial attorney who successfully defends a white woman who murdered a Black teen. Silent Partner, which also features Emmy-award-winner Michael Park (Dear Evan Hansen) and Kara Young (Clyde’s, on Broadway), explores microaggressions in the workplace and the toll it takes on one’s mental health and family.
Lawrence plays Silas Jones, an accomplished, Black trial attorney on the cusp of making partner at a white-shoe law firm. Upon successfully defending a white woman charged with murdering a Black teen, Silas comes to a crossroads with his wife Kosi, an equally accomplished professor, as they prepare to attend the firm’s celebration. As the night progresses, Silas questions the legitimacy of his promotion.
Appearing in film festivals from the East to West Coast, the film is taking audiences through a range of emotions along the way. Since its premiere at the Run&Shoot Filmworks Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, Silent Partner has been highly acclaimed, winning Best Short Film and Best Director Awards. The film has earned 10 official festival selections to date, including three Oscar-qualifying festival selections.
“I am so happy to do what I love, and I am blessed to be busy right now,” Lawrence said.
And busy he is. Silent Partner is being screened across the country at various film festivals and is winning awards along the way. Currently, it has won:
· Best Short Film, North Carolina Black Film Festival (March 2022)
· Best Short Film, Columbus Black International Film Festival (August 2021)
· Best Short Film, Detroit Black Film Festival (September 2021)
· Honorable Mention (Runner-up) – Best Live Action Short, International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival (November 2021)
· Best Director, Aristotle Torres, Detroit Black Film Festival (September 2021)
Lawrence was born and raised in Greater Cleveland, where he attended Orange High School and the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. He has performed on many Cleveland-area stages including Playhouse Square, Cain Park, Cleveland Public Theatre, Great Lakes Theater, and the Dobama Theatre.
Upon moving to New York City in 2011, Lawrence has since starred in plays and musicals and appeared in a range of other roles from TV shows such as Comedy Central’s Broad City to voiceovers for the National Basketball Association. He returns to Cleveland often to visit his family in Orange Village.
Other Cleveland natives involved with the production include Associate Producer Ike Mbanefo (Director, Citi; graduate of University School), Associate Producer Ankur Garg (graduate of Case Western), Associate Producer and Gaffer/Drone Operator Derryl Strong (Creative Director at The Adcom Group in Cleveland), Assistant Director and Script Supervisor Tiffany Beacham (TV staff writer), and Production Assistant Marcus Martin (graduate of Baldwin Wallace).
Silent Partner was written/directed by Aristotle Torres (Story Ave.) and lensed by Eric Branco (Clemency, The Forty-Year-Old Version, That Damn Michael Che). The film is produced by Salma Qarnain (That Damn Michael Che), executive produced by Dr. Celeste Watkins-Hayes (Founding Director of The Center for Racial Justice and Associate Dean at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy) and Rejji Hayes, and co-produced by Tony and Emmy winners Eric Nelsen (1883) and Sainty Nelsen, another product of Baldwin Wallace. ●
