When seasoned actor Khary Payton stepped behind the camera for the first time, it wasn’t for a Hollywood action film or an animated TV show. The journey was far more personal: a documentary about his mother, Mercer University alumna Gwendolyn Payton, ’72, and her decades-long journey toward an art exhibition that took place on the Macon campus in 2020.
That film, The Faith of the Dreamer, will premiere Aug. 24 at the Macon Film Festival. For both mother and son, the opportunity to show the movie in Macon feels more significant than just another stop on the festival circuit. To them, it’s a homecoming.
“The coming home is a part of the healing process,” Khary said. “I don’t care if we get screened around the world. Coming home to Macon, Georgia, to play to friends and family and colleagues — there is nothing that is more special.”
The documentary starts with Gwendolyn’s time at Mercer in the late ’60s, not long after the university was integrated. During her time as a student, Gwendolyn was among those that founded the Black Students Alliance and supported the efforts to teach Black studies classes. Payton, who graduated in biology, intended to double-major in art. But it did not work out as planned: “It was almost 50 years later for me to get my (art) degree,” she said. “The timing feels purposeful, like it was meant to happen when it did.”
Despite completing all the requisite coursework to fulfill the art major at the time, Gwendolyn’s artwork was prohibited from being entered into the senior art exhibition, a decision she believes was discriminatory. Gwendolyn recalled that the professor who said her work was “too controversial” had also previously made prejudicial remarks towards her.
The film dives back in time to Civil Rights-era tumult and then forward nearly half a century, when, according to the film’s synopsis, “through chance encounters, the kindness and compassion of strangers, and her own deep faith and perseverance, Gwendolyn’s story is transformed in the most dramatic and remarkable way.”
The idea to make a film didn’t start at home, despite the creativity that runs in the family. Gwendolyn was sharing her experiences in a Washington, D.C.-area group focused on reconciliation, when experts in restorative justice Dan and Brenda Van Ness heard her story and thought it would be inspirational to others.
Dan and his brother, Paul Van Ness, who serves as cinematographer for the film, offered to fund and produce the documentary. When it came to selecting a director, Khary, who is best known for roles like King Ezekiel in The Walking Dead and Cyborg in the DC Comics franchise, asked if he could take the reins.
“I just felt compelled to ask,” Khary said. He and his mother were on the same page about expectations, and it allowed for a more intimate look into the vulnerable subject matter.
“There’s something about being a part of every moment of a story being told. In my mind, being in front and behind the camera are very similar things, because I feel like as an actor, it has to be personal if you’re doing it right,” Khary said. “I had that same feeling. … I was feeling everything as we were documenting it. To me, there’s this kind of synergy about it that felt very familiar even if I hadn’t been doing that particular job before.”
For Gwendolyn, having her son guide the process felt natural. “He knew me, and he had lived with me and knew the experiences I’ve gone through,” she said. On the other hand, “It wasn’t like he had dwelled on this story for a long time,” so many parts were fresh and new to him.
“It seems like it was very purposeful in terms of the timing of the story for both of us,” said Gwendolyn.
Khary sees the story as a reminder of how recent the Civil Rights era truly was, noting that the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act were only passed in the decade before he was born. “It reminds me just that it wasn’t ancient history,” he said. “Unfortunately, we as human beings sometimes have a short memory about injustice and how quickly it can kind of overrun us, if we let it.”
One of the unexpected outcomes of The Faith of the Dreamer has been that the Paytons have shown it to several fellow alumni who were with Gwendolyn at Mercer, including some that had not returned to campus after having negative experiences during that time. “Some of the people said they felt that it started a healing process,” Gwendolyn said.
For Khary, that’s one of the most gratifying parts of the project. “Just knowing how far we’ve come. … The groundwork was laid 50 or 60 years ago with my mom and the alumni that went to school with her. They are the reason that Mercer looks the way that it looks now,” he said.
The events of the past few years also rekindled something in Gwendolyn’s art. After years of primarily creating representational works, like commissioned portraits and landscapes, she has returned to the deeply personal conceptual art she once made as a student. She’s now developing a series on reconciliation, inspired by stories of people and communities who bridge seemingly impossible divides, like her own experience. “I was missing part of myself,” she said. “I’ve focused my mind on trying to understand how to find myself in my art again.”
Both Gwendolyn and Khary will be in Macon for the screening, joined by family members, including all three of Gwendolyn’s sons. Her daughter, who lives overseas, has been deeply involved behind the scenes as the film’s festival coordinator and marketing lead.
When Gwendolyn thinks back on her personal impact on the University, she also remembers others who were instrumental in making progress towards desegregation, naming former Mercer President Dr. Rufus Harris, Dr. Joseph “Papa Joe” Hendricks, professor Tom Trimble, and faculty and staff who were part of the Upward Bound program. “There were people whose hearts were set on making this university the best that it could be,” she said.
“I think that they never stopped the ball from rolling, whereas some other universities didn’t quite get the ball started. I think that made such a difference,” Gwendolyn said.
Khary looks back on the arc of history as he looks forward to the screening, referencing that at one time, movies in Macon would have had segregated seating, “and we’re not in the balcony now,” he said. “We sit wherever we like. It’s a long time coming.”
The Faith of the Dreamer will screen as part of the Macon Film Festival at 2:30 p.m. Aug 24 at Theatre Macon. Tickets for a single block screening or passes for the entire festival of can be purchased here. For more information, visit the Macon Film Festival website.
