PROFILE: Filmmaker Al Greeze

by Cyrus Webb

Finding yourself a little frustrated with relationships? You're not alone.

With that frustration has come different ways that men and women are looking for love, and sometimes that takes them not just out of their face but out of the country.

Filmmaker Al Greeze has taken a conversation about relationships and through his documentary FRUSTRATED created a real dialogue that has really gained ground.

I talked with Al on Conversations LIVE about how the film was giving men an outlet to discuss what was on their minds as well as giving them a voice when it comes to relationships and what people expect of each other.  "It came about when I went on vacation in Brazil, he told me. "When I came back I shared with some of my friends my experience." The response was mixed, mainly because of an article that had been published around that time in a magazine about why some black men go to Brazil and what they were looking for from the women there. Al saw this as an opportunity to give different perspectives and shed some light on the topic. This was the genesis of FRUSTRATED.

What was interesting to me about the film and Al's presentation was that this isn't just an issue that black men are dealing with. "As I look at this project," he told me, "I realized it's not a color thing but a cultural thing. When you travel outside of America the culture is more intact. What you see now is white men (and black men) are going to Asia getting Asian women. There's a problem with the system here. It's not just about color."

Through the help of social media and word of mouth people are not just joining in the conversation but adding to the thoughts about this hot-button issue. Because it has people talking, Al believes he has done his job as a filmmaker, and he look forward to producing other work that will be not just thought-provoking but entertaining as well.

Find out more about Al Greeze and his film by visiting www.greezefilms.com.