by Drew Smith
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A local filmmaker, documentarian, production company owner, and rapper attempts to address equality and social justice issues through his work.
“Full-time videographer, part-time rapper. That’s how I describe who I am,” Mike Day, a native of southwest Little Rock, said.
The mission of Day’s video production company, DAYVISION, is to produce high-quality and affordable documentaries, music videos, and personal branding spots throughout Northwest-Arkansas, but the company also takes on projects about subjects like discrimination and interracial dating.
“We make visions come true for very low prices, but we’re also a platform to address social injustice through music videos and film,” Day said.
One such film was DAYVISION’s recent documentary release Buy Back The Block, which uses Day’s music to analyze the unprivileged side of Little Rock, separated from its counterparts by the freeway, by focusing on the subjects of accountability, mental illness, and the school-to-prison pipeline.
“It’s very important to provide new perspectives because different people make up the world. Buy Back The Block is open for discussion, but after watching it, you can no longer say you’re ignorant to the problems,” Day said. “I was worried it wouldn’t be received right, but I’ve found that people really like it and they get it. I’m still promoting it. It’s that feeling where it turned into something you had no idea it could.”
Day said he endured some challenges to get his film off the ground, but the obstacles were less about his personal identity and more about the documentary’s subject.
“The topic of the documentary made things difficult because it’s about modern-day segregation. It was difficult to get actors and crew members, and at the same time I was dealing with the loss of my grandmother, so a lot was happening,” Day said.
Day became interested in filmmaking and covering these types of racial issues while he was a journalism student at the University of Arkansas.
“I was in Hayot Tuychiev’s class and there was a music video assignment at the end of the semester, so I made mine using a song I had already written,” Day said. “I knew I enjoyed working with cameras, but after I finished that assignment, I said to myself, ‘Oh man, I like this!’”
Day eventually gave up journalism after struggling to objectively cover the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
“In journalism, your personal opinions can’t be in the story, and for me, I couldn’t do that,” Day said.
After this change in mindset, Day picked up African-American studies and found inspiration in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing to tell diverse stories about social injustice in society.
“I’m an African-American for change,” Day said. “I look up to any African-American filmmaker, actor, or musician who does good work, and then gives back to their art and the community.”
Some of Day’s other film idols are Ice Cube, Denzel Washington, and Ryan Coogler, among others. In music, Day admires Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Tupac Shakur, and many more.
Day’s ultimate goal is to give back to his art and the community, like those in the entertainment industry he looks up to, through his company.
“I want to give kids and young people from unprivileged areas some paid summer jobs, internships, and work-study programs,” Day said. “Crime rates increase during the summer and I want to help kids stay out of trouble while giving them something good to put on their college resumes.”
To accomplish what he has thus far and to accomplish that dream, Day knows he needs support from others. He gives his wife, his co-workers, and his producers a lot of credit for his success.
“Now, if I won an Oscar, I would be in the same conversation as Kobe,” Day said about his other dreams. “And if I debut a film at number one in the box office, then I’m taking my wife and I’m out.”
Day’s next project is a feature length comedy film titled Wakefield, essentially a part two to Buy Back The Block. Two comedians are currently going through the script to add comedy wherever they see fit, and Day hopes the film will be completed by August 2019.
“When Buy Back The Block was done, I didn’t know the rules. This time, I know the rules and things will go a lot smoother,” Day said.
DAYVISION films can currently be found by searching for @dayvisionfilms on Twitter and Facebook. The Buy Back The Block soundtrack is available on iTunes and the film will be available soon on Vimeo.