On and offstage, Gen Y performance artist Khalil Abdul Malik Raheem Munir examines his bittersweet upbringing, and grapples with the names and varied legacies he’s inherited from previous generations of Black men. Documentation of Khalil’s creative process evolves into a longitudinal portrait of healing among fathers and sons.
Khalil’s South Philadelphia has a tradition of Black self-reliance dating back to the 1920s. Yet by the early 1980s when he was born—weighing one-pound-four-ounces, exposed to drugs in utero—the village surrounding 16th & Federal was unraveling. Khalil’s childhood was marked with trauma exacerbated by his father’s imprisonment, but also fortified by heritage and kinship, and a lifesaving arts program.
We follow from ages 27 to 44 as Khalil builds and revises a signature one-man show and his relationship with Khalil Sr., his father. Together and separately, the two Khalils confront death, relapse, and regret; they reclaim salvation, fatherhood, and legacy.
The Filmmakers
Malkia K. Lydia (Producer/Director) recovers authentic stories about Black community life and investigates the human situation through an historical lens. She has produced short docs installed at the Smithsonian Institution, National Civil Rights Museum, and a DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities gallery show. She has also become a sought-after Archival Producer, serving multiple broadcast and festival favorites in that capacity. A native of Washington DC, Malkia cut her filmmaking teeth in Philadelphia, creating and collaborating on works depicting neighborhood and cultural heritage. She skews toward intergenerational and participatory storytelling. Malkia is a proud graduate of DC public schools, and Duke and Temple universities.
Khalil Munir (Producer/Protagonist) is a dynamic theater artist, educator, and author whose work bridges movement, music, and powerful personal storytelling. He is the creator and star of 1 Pound, 4 Ounces, a critically acclaimed one-man show that draws from his own childhood. Khalil is also the author of The Crown Is Yours, an inspiring children’s book that celebrates self-worth and confidence. A graduate of Adelphi University with a BFA in Theatre, he brings his passion for the arts into the classroom as a theater and movement teacher at Delaware Valley Friends School. Through every stage he steps on and every student he teaches, Khalil continues to uplift and ignite the transformative power of performance.