In Wait Till Tomorrow, director Osato Dixon brings a searing, deeply human lens to the information factors that usually outline conversations about Black financial mobility. By weaving professional insights with deeply private tales, Dixon transforms statistics into narratives which are each compelling and pressing.
Black Woman Nerds spoke with the award-winning documentarian concerning the inspiration behind the movie, its well timed message, and what he hopes Black audiences will take away from this deeply resonant work.
BGN: Osato, thanks a lot for talking with Black Woman Nerds. I actually loved the documentary. It felt very highly effective and essential for the second we’re in. What impressed you to create Wait Till Tomorrow? Was there a defining second or story that sparked the thought?
Osato Dixon: Thanks, that’s very type of you to say. I’m a filmmaker by coaching, particularly a documentarian, and earlier than I started working at McKinsey & Firm I used to be lucky to obtain a Fulbright fellowship to work in Zimbabwe for 2 years. One of many movies I labored on throughout that point, Music by Prudence, received the Academy Award for Finest Documentary Quick Topic in 2010. I used to be the cinematographer on that challenge.
What made that story resonate was how genuine it was — it centered a younger girl’s voice in a manner nobody had earlier than. That have taught me the ability of listening. With Wait Till Tomorrow, I wished to use the identical precept. The McKinsey Institute for Financial Mobility is intensive and well timed, however I felt it wanted to be humanized. Placing faces and tales behind the information turned a chance—and after I was given the artistic latitude to try this, I stayed with it. It took three years to convey the movie house.
BGN: The title Wait Till Tomorrow struck me instantly. What does it signify to you personally and thematically?
Dixon: I’m drawn to titles which are pressing and push the viewers to replicate. This one is impressed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail, the place he writes concerning the injustice of being informed to “wait.” That sentiment, that we will’t defer justice or fairness — is on the core of the movie. As I traveled and met folks throughout the nation, it turned abundantly clear that these are points requiring speedy consideration. We will’t afford to attend.
BGN: The movie’s tone and visible language additionally actually stood out. How did you method each?
Dixon: I’m a visible storyteller, and I’ve at all times been influenced by legendary Black photographers — particularly Gordon Parks, Eli Reed, and the Kamoinge collective. The entire nonetheless pictures within the movie, whether or not studio portraits or avenue pictures, is mine. I used black-and-white imagery to create a visible continuity and remind viewers that whereas we’re telling private tales, these points exist on a nationwide scale.
Eli Reed’s work within the Eighties and ’90s, capturing Black life in America with depth and dignity, was an enormous inspiration. I wished that sensibility, to see each the house and the road, the private and the systemic, mirrored within the movie.
BGN: How did your private id or background affect the storytelling?
Dixon: I discussed earlier my time in Zimbabwe by means of the Fulbright. That chance got here partly due to Richard Peña, who ran the New York Movie Competition and taught movie historical past at Columbia College. He inspired me to step away from my laptop, I used to be doing visible results on the time and begin telling tales out on the earth. He even provided to sponsor my Fulbright.
That push utterly modified my path. I began taking pictures extra critically and dedicated to visible storytelling in a brand new manner. Being impressed by mentors like Richard and by different Black creatives has fueled my want to seize tales that matter and to do it in a manner that honors the folks I’m documenting.
BGN: Have been there any interviews or moments throughout filming that stunned you or modified your perspective?
Dixon: Truthfully, I used to be humbled all through. Touring from Detroit to D.C., Houston to New York, I encountered tales that have been directly distinctive and unified. There’s a shared spirit of striving in opposition to odds, however every journey is deeply private.
One factor I’ll say, there are a selection of tales from Black girls within the movie, and so they actually moved me. These girls provided views that have been superbly particular and extremely highly effective. I wouldn’t say I used to be stunned, however I used to be undoubtedly impressed over again with every dialog. It jogged my memory of the richness and nuance of Black life and the way necessary it’s to seize these particular person truths.
As a filmmaker, you carry what I name the “burden of a dream.” It’s exhausting at instances, but additionally extremely motivating. Being in somebody’s lounge in Detroit or speaking to somebody in Texas, these moments fueled me to maintain going.
BGN: That’s such a strong picture, the burden of a dream. With that in thoughts, what do you hope Black audiences specifically take away from this movie?
Dixon: A number of issues. First, I hope folks really feel heard, {that a} Black filmmaker is listening and reflecting their tales. I additionally hope audiences see a chunk of themselves within the movie. We tried to be various within the voices we included, and I would like viewers to stroll away understanding the tales have been informed with honesty and authenticity.
And sure, I do hope it evokes dialog, and even motion. I believe “name to motion” can imply various things. For some, it could be getting concerned in systemic change. For others, it is perhaps striving towards private objectives with new dedication. Financial mobility is deeply private but additionally profoundly communal. If this movie helps folks replicate on the place they’re and the place they wish to go, then it’s doing its job.
BGN: Effectively mentioned. Thanks a lot, Osato, for taking the time to talk with Black Woman Nerds. Wait Till Tomorrow is highly effective, essential, and I hope it sparks many conversations.
Dixon: Thanks. I actually admire the chance to speak concerning the movie. I’m excited to share it at ABFF and past.
Wait Till Tomorrow premiered on the 2025 American Black Movie Competition. Directed by Osato Dixon, the documentary explores the lived realities behind the statistics of Black financial mobility by means of highly effective imagery and intimate storytelling.