Interrupting four hundred years of the Black Brute archetype. Tender, caring, platonic touch between Black men. The Chronically UnderTouched (CUT) Project’s short film, Dark and Tender, is screening throughout 2024-2025.
Ten Black men explore the transformative power of touch during a workshop with the Chronically UnderTouched Project, replacing violence and roughness with tenderness and connection.
Aaron Johnson’s powerful short film "Dark and Tender" follows ten Black men on a transformative retreat with the Chronically UnderTouched (CUT) Project outside Seattle, WA. The men seek to reclaim platonic intimacy and tenderness through close encounters with nature and depictions of gentle Black masculinity, restoring the vital aspect of touch by replacing violence and rough play with care, connection, and intimacy.
Dark and Tender is now playing throughout 2024 and 2025.
Recording as we go, we’re capturing footage on the road that will make a feature length film.
Official Trailer | Dark and Tender | The Chronically UnderTouched (CUT) Project
Content Note: The video above contains historical images of lynching and other abuses.
Do you identify with being Chronically UnderTouched?
Right now we are collecting interest from masculine People of the Global Majority (PGM / BIPOC) to be part of the movement and potentially the documentary film. Have a story to tell? Let’s talk.
Dark and Tender Team
Film by: The Chronically UnderTouched (CUT) Project
Directed by: Aaron Johnson
Produced by: Color of Sound and Ben Wilson
Director of Photography: Bryce Johnson
Editor: Gabe Van Lelyveld
Appearances by: Aaron Johnson, Ben Wilson, Kingsya Omega, Aaron Oakleaf, TJ Anderson
Brand & Web Design: Leah Vendl
Typeface: Martin by Vocal Type
Assistant to Aaron Johnson: Yvette Farias
Impact Producer: Red Owl Partners
Marketing Support: SmartHouse
Contact Us
Sponsorship: ben@colorofsound.org
Keynote Booking: aaron@holisticresistance.com
Screenings + Events: nyasha@redowlpartners.com