Travon Free, welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
-Thanks for having me, man. -This is very weird for me,
because we worked together for so long.
You know, you were one of the writers who was with me
when I kicked off The Daily Show,
and now here you are, being interviewed on my show,
because you have been nominated for an Oscar
for the short film Two Distant Strangers.
First of all, congratulations.
Second of all, I feel like I get a percentage of it in some way,
-don't I? -I mean, I was gonna throw you in my thank-you's
if things go well, but, um, I don't know if they'll allow me
to slice it up and give you a piece.
(laughs)
But for real, man, congratulations.
Like, um, congratulations not just because of the journey
you've been on, but because of the story that you've told.
You know, Two Distant Strangers is a short film
that has just been met with so much critical acclaim.
You know, people are loving it. It just came out on Netflix.
It's essentially the worst kind of Groundhog Day,
of a young Black man who wakes up every single day
and cannot find a way to not get shot by the police.
Tell me a little bit about the story
and why you thought we would need to hear this
in a world where it's a reality every single day.
You know, I mean, for me, it was a way of processing
what happened last summer.
You know, we were all going through, um,
the same emotions and feelings of watching...
after watching what happened to George Floyd,
and as I was processing that for myself,
it felt like, you know, every time I heard a new name
and a new story, I went through the same cycle
of physical emotions, of, you know, sadness, anger,
hopelessness, and that, to me was what the movie, you know,
represented when the idea came to me was:
how can I visualize this cycle
so that other people who aren't Black understand it.
I wanted people to understand
beyond the conversations we were having
on social media and on the news.
You know, I... When you... When you watch the movie,
you can't argue with the screen.
You have to just accept what's happening to you.
-Right, right. -You have to take that journey.
You're put into Carter's shoes, and you have no choice
but to follow that protagonist through the story.
And you come out on the other side,
and you have to feel what he felt.
You know, what I... what I found particularly interesting
in the story is how you take our protagonist
through so many different stories.
So, for instance, there's one where he's got weed,
and he's smoking the weed, and he has a fat stack of cash.
And then it changes, and then it's like, no,
he-he learns his lesson. He doesn't have the weed.
Then he doesn't have the money. Then he doesn't have the hoodie.
Instead of just going like, oh, yeah, no,
it's-it's only an "innocent" Black man,
it's every version of a Black man.
Seemed, like, very intentional for you.
Yeah, I mean, I wanted him to represent,
you know, all the different instances we've seen
of people having done those various things--
change your clothes, pull your pants up,
-take the jacket off. -Right, right, right.
All the things that we've heard before
to prove the point that it doesn't matter.
Like, it really doesn't matter.
Everything looks like a gun to a police officer.
A Subway sandwich,
uh, a cell phone, your keys.
Like, everything looks like a gun.
And, so, there's-there's no real way
for us to...
to combat that with our own behavior.
And, so, the-the point that, you know, I'm trying to make
to-to people watching is
they have to change their behavior.
It's not on us.
Like, you keep telling us what to do.
You keep telling us if we had only done this,
if we had only done that. It's like,
if they had just not shot the person,
if they had just been better trained,
if they had just not reacted to the color of my skin,
a lot of these people would still be alive.
One of the... One of the aspects of the film
that really hit home for me
because it felt like a-a larger commentary
on the system versus the people
was how you have this young Black man, Carter,
who then goes, "You know what?
"Let me make friends with the cop.
Maybe that's the solution."
And what was really interesting is how that still didn't work.
And for me, I-I remember sitting there going like,
"Ah, man." I-I hoped it would work
-even though it was a movie. I hoped it would work. -Right.
And I think a lot of people are in that space
where they go, "Well, maybe if, you know,
"the communities just connect with police officers,
then maybe it'll get a little better."
Wh-What were you trying to tell the-the audience
through that medium in the film?
I mean, think of...
Can you... Can you think of any time, Trevor,
you've ever seen the police go to a white neighborhood
to play basketball with the white kids
in order to keep from, like, having to shoot them?
You just don't see that.
Like, that's the solution they give to us.
They, like, drive a bus around
with a basketball hoop on the back last year
for cops to come play ba...
Like, why do you need to even know me
to-to see me as a human?
They don't require this extra step
that, for some reason, our neighborhoods require.
And, so, i-in that instance,
I-I wanted people to understand
that, like, there's...
Even if Joey or Carter's char...
uh, i-is talking to the officer
and getting to know him
and befriending him and disarming him,
the reality is what happens next.
And we've seen stories of people
who were part of these community policing programs
and still got killed by the cops in that community.
It's like, what more can we do?
Like, what is left for us to do?
And right now, I feel like especially after, you know,
Daunte Wright and looking at how this thing continues to happen,
it's why the film ends that way.
Because right now, all we have
is our hope and resilience as Black people
to continue fighting against this particular thing
that keeps happening to us because we...
The-the laws don't change. The politicians don't change.
They all bow to police departments and unions.
So, what's left for us?
To just wait? To, like, wait our turn?
To wait to be the hashtag?
To wait to be, you know, the name on a sweater?
Like, it's-it's really...
You know, when you think about it,
sometimes it's really depressing,
but you have to...
you know, you just have to believe
that you'll find a solution,
because if you don't, then you just lay down and die,
and that's not who we are.
-It's never been who we are or who we were. -Yeah.
It's, uh... It's-it's, uh...
It's a good movie in and of itself.
It's a great short film.
But I think because it speaks to the times
is probably one of the biggest reasons
that people are finding it resonating with them so much.
Um, I wish you the best,
and I hope you remember to mention me,
because that is the most important part of winning,
is that the people who you were with,
the people who helped you get there...
-(laughs) -Uh, but for real, man, congratulations, my friend.
Thank you so much for a great film, and good luck.
Thanks, Trevor.