Jonathan Isaac Jackson is a filmmaker who is unabashedly unafraid to speak his mind. When talking about his documentary about the rich history of the Mardi Gras Indians, Big Chief, Black Hawk, the West Bank native starts off by saying that he is thrilled to tell the story of Black people from a Black local perspective.

The documentary, set to premiere at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) next month, does not just revolve in the orbit of the old Mardi Gras Indian tradition. Jackson chooses to focus on a group of young men who have decided to follow in their ancestors’ footsteps. Dripping in gorgeous cinematography and narration by Gian Smith, Big Chief, Black Hawk orbits around Terrence Williams, Jr. (Chief Black Hawk), his brothers Tyrell “Ty” Williams Jr., and Simeon Israel, Jr. (known as Spyboy Fatman) and their mother, Tinice “Tee” Williams, the family matriarch who also executive produced the project. In the first several minutes, Smith tells us, “Culture is the intersection between life and death how you deal with it.” In the realm of New Orleans, Jackson, now a film graduate student at Howard University in D.C., uses culture and music as the ether that holds the Mardi Gras galaxy together, particularly when it comes to the Mardi Gras Indians and filmmaking.

OffBeat readers may recognize Jackson’s name from this year’s Best of the Beat Awards, when he took home the prize for Best Music Video Direction for Cha Wa’s “Visible Means of Support (No Justice, No Peace) Remix.” Before relocating to D.C., he directed countless music videos for local talent such as PERK and wrote, directed, and produced films such as The Necromancer starring the late local legend Michael Martin of Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets. While Jackson is a staple in the New Orleans arts scene, he is expanding his cinematic universe not only in D.C., but to L.A. and Miami, where the American Black Film Festival is based.

Before leaving for Howard, November 2019 through Mardi Gras 2021 observing and filming the kids who are the crux of Big Chief, Black Hawk. Oldest brother Terrence is a calm and collected leader. Tyrell, a bespectacled young man, uses sewing Mardi Gras costumes as a way of coping with his ADHD. Fatman is the little guy of the bunch and he uses his pint-sized little brother charm in spades.

To film scenes with the youngest of the group, Jackson utilized local cinematographer Paige Touzet who is closer to Fatman’s size to capture life from his POV. Jackson states, “Black subjects do not see the camera as safe in the same way white subjects do. White people trust the camera to tell them the truth, while Black people assume — often rightly — that it will lie to us. The concept I applied to the film was how we shoot Black people, as a Black director/cinematographer, like how I had Paige shoot Fatman because she was shorter and I didn’t want a high angle on any of them. High angles give the audience power over the subject, and we wanted the audience to be at an eye to eye level with these kids, or a lower angle to put them on a pedestal.” Jackson utilized Black cinematographers Blaze Heru and Calvin Blue Jr. and shot the rest of the project himself to ensure that they were capturing “Black life from a Black perspective.”

Terrence, the youngest Mardi Gras chief in New Orleans who is now a senior football player at Neumann, is at ease in front of the lens. The film especially zeroes in on his orchestration of his familial unit and the Mardi Gras culture as a young man. ‘When I was in eighth grade, I was researching and I came across Chief Black Hawk. I read about how he was a fearless leader and did anything to make sure that his tribe was safe and ok…making sure everybody was happy. These seem to be some of the qualities people associate with me,” he explains to the camera. Chief Black Hawk’s mission resonated with him so much that he named his own tribe in his honor.

New Orleans music lovers will especially appreciate commentary from DJ Soul Sister who explains how this city is so much more than just laissez les bons temps rouler. “Everyone really has to know that all of Black American popular music and all of popular music comes from New Orleans music…Black music,” she states, adding that music is an integral part of everyday life here, unlike in the vein of European tradition where there is an impassable gulf that separates the musician and performer from the audience. DJ Soul Sister discusses the songs “Iko Iko” and how the Mardi Gras Indian language made its way into popular music. “Iko Iko” would be adapted for popular audiences, made originally popular in 1965 by The Dixie Cups and covered by many later artists including Dr. John. The song is about a traditional confrontation between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians.

The music aspect of his film was not lost on Jackson at all.

“It was music that was guiding me through my edits and my composition — Solange and Stevie Wonder.” (It should be noted that Jackson is a devout fan of Songs in the Key of Life and he references it quite frequently.)

Perhaps one of the most moving parts of Big Chief, Black Hawk is when Terrence is filmed checking out college in Miami. (The young Mardi Gras Indian hopes that his sewing skills will make him a successful plastic surgeon and is visiting colleges in Florida). There is a seriousness and an awe in the high school senior’s eye and, true to his word, Jackson is not shy about telling me he is pushing his young subject to pursue greener pastures. “If you are Black and you make music, you are told you have to leave to be successful. PERK and Dominic [Minix, of Bad Operation]  will tell you that’s what they’ve been told as musical artists, and it’s what I’ve been told as a filmmaker.”

“I always looked at life like a film. I was too shy to be in front of the camera but I’ve always seen stuff playing out as a movie. I didn’t understand what a camera angle was or how a scene played out then I started understanding what actual films were. There was never a time I wanted to do something else,” explains the cinephile.

Replete with stunning watery visuals and music that reverberates the heartbeat of New Orleans, it’s obvious this is a story that belongs to New Orleans and is told by a truly invested filmmaker from the Crescent City. Jackson’s Big Chief, Black Hawk is sure to be a stand out at this year’s African American Black Film Festival.

Follow Jonathan Isaac Jackson on Twitter here. Stream Big Chief, Black Hawk  for free Nov. 3-28 at  www.ABFFplay.com.