Take a spirited walk though East Austin, Black History, and the Texas State Cemetery with filmmaker, educator, and self-described activist-artist Ya'Ke Smith—on Juneteenth week, no less. We kick off our walk under a Moonlight Tower and basically never stop moving: past Franklin Barbecue (pour one out for the old Ben's Barbecue), over to the Victory Grill, and into a cash-deal for some Bass Reeves-inspired street art. Ya'Ke walks Keith through CYCLES OF RESILIENCE, his new doc chasing a Juneteenth bike ride across Austin's erased and revitalized Black landmarks. We get into JUNETEENTH: FAITH AND FREEDOM, his PBS doc, and the role of an activist and an artist in search of community. Ya'Ke explains why he refuses the "documentary filmmaker" label, because "film is film" of course—thank you, Agnes Varda. And it's only fitting that our wander into the Texas State Cemetery (a DocWalks first) becomes the backdrop for a discussion on the spiritual side of filmmaking and how Ya'Ke's new hybrid short ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME grew out of Paula White's "African angels" prayer for Trump and the gutting of DEI on his own campus.
Angels, maybe ghosts… and graveside visits with Stephen F. Austin (father of Texas), Sarah Weddington (Roe v. Wade), Bill Witliff (Lonesome Dove screenwriter), Barbara Jordan (legislative pioneer), and Cedric Benson (Longhorns legend) serve to remind us what matters as artists, and storytellers revealing untold histories and creating opportunities for empathy. Ya'Ke and Keith cover a lot of territory landing with the former's origin story: as an 11-year-old in San Antonio watching BOYZ N THE HOOD and knowing, right then, that movie-making was the way. Plus: 4000 Black Juneteenth liberators, ideas that "impregnate" you until you birth them, the spiritual battle Ya'Ke thinks we're all fighting, inspiration via Ernest Dickerson's 10-minute storyboards on THE DEUCE, and why—even in despair—you've got to find the joy.
His advice for filmmakers? In the words of Nike: just do it.
DISCUSSION LINKS:
CYCLES OF RESILIENCE (2026) | JUNETEENTH: FAITH AND FREEDOM (2022) | WOLF (2012) | ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME (2026) | THE OHIO, TEXAS REMIX (2025) | BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991) | WHEN THEY SEE US (2019) | THE DEUCE (2017) | TOWER (2016) | THE MS. PAT SHOW (2021) | LONESOME DOVE (1989) | BARBAROSA (1982) | RED HEADED STRANGER (1986) | THE PERFECT STORM (2000) | HONEYSUCKLE ROSE (1980) | THE BLACK STALLION (1979) | THE THIRD MAN (1949) | THE LONG GOODBYE (1973)
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Walking into Rosewood, East Austin 02:33 Meet Ya'Ke Smith 02:45 Cycles of Resilience and the East 11th mural 04:52 I-35, redlining and the 1928 master plan 08:07 Shooting a bike ride: three cameras, a drone and GoPros 14:30 The Victory Grill 16:45 Meeting artist Marshall Fabella and his Bass Reeves painting 19:52 Agnes Varda and "film is film" 20:39 Refusing the label, and directing The Ms. Pat Show 22:58 Into the Texas State Cemetery 28:05 Bill Wittliff, Sarah Weddington and Barbara Jordan 31:08 Rewriting history, book bans and the university 33:34 Angels Watching Over Me and Paula White's "African angels" 40:10 Wolf and the power of the room (thank you, Barbara Kopple) 44:21 Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom 47:40 Finding joy in the despair 48:45 Ideas that impregnate you 50:08 The gateway drug: Boyz n the Hood 52:58 Buying the Bass Reeves painting 54:09 Advice for filmmakers: just do it 55:40 Creighton Gerst, Super 8 and self-editing 58:09 Dream collaborators: Max Richter, Bradford Young, Ernest Dickerson 01:00:25 The mural, the Masons and community 01:04:39 Next time on Doc Walks
