Tag: COVID

Director Vera Edwards honored with Citation

Vera Edwards (March 4, 1966) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. Born and raised in the South Bronx, New York City, Edwards began her career as an author and then graduated to write, direct, and produce television shows on a cable channel called Bronxnet. The show was titled “Street Line.” It was an entertainment show that not only showed what was happening in the streets, but showed celebrities as well as up-and-coming artists, dance, hip-hop, businesses, current events, and politics. The show revolutionized the urban community. In 2009, Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero (director of photography) received several Beta Awards for their contributions to television.

In 2011 Edwards published her first book titled “BAND OF GOLD,” which was written by Vera Edwards herself. This was the start of her writing career which jumped started her in the direction of making movies.

One of the first female independent multimedia film director and producer in the Bronx, Edwards has captured the essence of urban life by utilizing members of the community by taking real-life experience and turning it into art. She has become a true pioneer in hip-hop culture and urban day living.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed with her son Ricardo Cordero her first underground independent feature film, Chicken (2013); The film was an urban drama. The entire cast was first-time actors. The film received worldwide praise from parents, children, teens, and several educational institutions ranging from different fields of study that implemented different story elements into their own syllabuses. It was a scripted reality show at its finest. Chicken showcased unfortunate realism that many individuals face in urban communities even to this day. The movie Chicken sold-out not only at the theaters but also sold out as DVDs in stores. It became one of the most sought out underground urban movies till this day.

Her second film was a romantic love story titled “Waiting for 4 Mr. Wright” (2015), which won a Bronxnet Beta Award. It too had first-time actors, Anabel Castillo, and Hip-Hop artist, Mighty Mike C (Michael Clee), from the legendary hip-hop group, The Fearless 4. The film received a standing ovation which was played at the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York; It also was a DVD hit.

This was followed in 2015 by Edwards’s first novella “Perate,” a movie drama that starred Artie Cordel and hip-hop legend Wilfredo “Tito” Dones, of the legendary group The Fearless 4. It was a challenge for Edwards to write and produce the life of a Hispanic dysfunctional family. Her daughter Bobbi Cordero(writer) helped create the movie, which won Edwards another Beta Award. The movie Perate also played in the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York City.

In 2015-2018, Edwards directed her first web series that started out as a small pitch that led to a bigger series of its own name and a powerful relationship drama, “Rodent,” starring Seven and Antoinette “Toni Styles” Vereen. This was a drama that identified with personal relationships amongst friends and family. The web series had twists and turns. Rodent was in high demand on the internet but ended abruptly because of ‘unsettling’ events created only amongst actors based off their newfound popularity that was developed from the success of the Rodent series.

In 2016, Edwards produced and directed “PPRESSED,” based on the everyday life of battle rappers. The movie starred Karine “Sho-Time” Thornton and Michael Deering (Mikey D) from the legendary group, “Main Source.” Since its success and debut, it has become the anthem and blueprint of videography used in today’s hip-hop rap culture within television and feature digital movie format.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed “A Teenage Story” (2020) starring LA Sunshine (Lamar Hill), from the legendary group The Treacherous 3, DJ and creator of scratch, Grandwizard Theodore (Theodore Livingston), Stevie D (Stevie Lundy), from the legendary Force Mds and first-time actor Justin Hines. The movie was shot during the COVID pandemic and was set for the theaters, but due to the worldwide COVID restriction lock-downs, the 1:49-minute movie was released on YouTube and generated over 800,000 views.

When asked in a recent interview on the podcast “SHO-TIME TV PODCAST,” the interviewer asked Edwards “How were you able to create so many hit movies in such a short time,” Edwards replied” I couldn’t have done it without my son Ricardo Cordero. He is an excellent cameraman. He and I work great together, I know him, and he knows me. He knows my vision. I leave all the camera work to him, and he makes it happen. I think he is the best director of photography I know. To be able to create and share time as a mother and son is priceless. I enjoy those moments”.

On March 26, 2023, Edwards was honored with a Citation by Senator Cordell Cleare for her work with the community as a Film director.

Essentially Nonessential “A Memoire of a Mother Working During the COVID 19 Pandemic”

Essentially Nonessential “A Memoire of a Mother Working During the COVID 19 Pandemic” I was on the Bx 19 bus with tears streaming down my eyes as I watched charter buses filled with hospital workers unload on the side of Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. The death toll was well into the thousands and here I was, on a deserted bus heading to work, to serve one of the most vulnerable populations. I was afraid, wondering would I become infected with the virus and transmit it to my young children who were at home learning remotely. I had not even been an hour into my eight-hour shift before I got a text message informing me that my child was absent from remote learning followed by a call from a teacher that was sitting in the comfort of her home. There was total disregard for the fact that I was in my office during the mist of a pandemic and life as I had known it had to be readjusted at the drop of a hat. I went to work with multiple alarms set on my phone, praying that I would be able to call to remind my children of their log in times while servicing my clients and collaborating with their referral sources. I was micromanaging remote learning while doing my best to earn a living to support my children and pay bills. By the time September rolled around synchronous sessions were incorporated into remote learning. After a few missed sessions, a school staff member threatened my daughter with children’s services. This is every parent’s worst nightmare. Not once did the thought cross the school’s mind that the child’s parent is at work and that is why the child is not being monitored. Feelings of frustration overwhelmed me. Between working a fast-paced job and dealing with bureaucracy from the Department of Education I began to feel overwhelmed. The school’s only reason for worrying about attendance was for the purpose of funding. It had nothing to do with the best interest of the child. Childcare was also scarce. Most nonworking parents that I knew had their own children and did not want to be bothered watching anyone else’s. False unemployment claims made the need for childcare as a side hustle obsolete. Working remotely was not an option for me at this point. My organization expected all staff in office unless they had an underlying health condition. This is not just my story. This is the story of many working parents throughout the country. The government has epically failed working parents with limited childcare resources. They managed to cover food insecurity and unemployment but failed to consider childcare options for working parents that include remote learning assistance. Working parents took all the losses during the pandemic. We were essentially nonessential.

Written by: Regina AnnetteAa