A Family Thing: Omar Epps & DC Young Fly on Almost Christmas | Interviews

That’s something one of the only white characters (played by John Michael Higgins) brings up as a joke, that the matriarch has died in a black family and that’s the center of every black home. But this community is much more than that, where success and homelessness co-exist—are these “black movies” moving away from stereotypes and towards more realistic complexities?

EPPS: That’s certainly what attracted us all to this film. I love that you used the word “complex” because it is complex. I think starting out with the death of the matriarch spins the narrative on its head. Seeing Danny Glover deal with loss, addiction and where people come from while other family members are running for Congress—all those things and dealing with family—that’s what real life is. It is complex. It’s layered, it exists in the gray areas not just the black and white. So in terms of cinema in general, but specifically black cinema, we’re at a time where we need to be more elevated with our storytelling. We need those layers to reflect the complexities of those that really lived them.

This last weekend saw the release of “Moonlight” and “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” hitting some diverse segments of a black audience—where does a story like “Almost Christmas” fit in with these two extremes?

EPPS: I think it brings it all together. One of my favorite things is that it’s literally a family film.

DC: Less of a black and white thing than a family thing.

EPPS: Exactly. You can bring everyone from grandma to the six-year-old. Essentially, family is the nexus of everything, so it’s right in the middle. Even if you don’t get along with your family.

DC: It’s gift-giving season! You’ve got to come together.

Omar, for you specifically, with your kids growing up, is it more important to you to take roles in things you want them to watch?

EPPS: No, I don’t really approach it like that. I just follow the beat of my own drum. My kids, they’ll see stuff on TV and tell me “hey you were in it." They’re living their own lives, but it’s interesting to see them discover stuff I’ve done. They like seeing my movies, but I make my choices for me.

To change the subject, DC, how was filming in your hometown of Atlanta?

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