I, Destini: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A short, animated film with the title "I, Destini." It is held as an Apple ProRes file (2018.94.1.1) with a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) (2018.94.1.2).

In the opening scene, Destini introduces herself before beginning a monologue about nature documentaries as animation of a savannah appears on the screen. This quickly segues into a scene with lions chasing antelopes, as Destini states that her "brother is not a lion, he is a giraffe." The last shot of this scene tracks away horizontally, revealing Destini sitting in the back seat of her grandmother's car on her way to visit her brother Junior in prison.

When they arrive at the prison, Destini stands outside looking directly at a surveillance camera on the fence before a scene in which a police officer approaches a man sitting at a bus stop in Walltown. While frisking the man, who at this point is lying on the ground, the officer tears open his chest, revealing a multicolored light emanating from within him. The officer then removes a glowing seed from inside the man and tosses it on the ground for Destini to find.

Shortly after, the animation returns to the prison, panning down a narrow hallway past fluorescent lights and other families visiting inmates behind screens, before eventually reaching Junior, whose image morphs into a giraffe's.

In the next scene, Destini discusses the impact of Junior's arrest on members of the family. Her father, Carlos, is seen typing on a laptop beside a bottle of pills as Destini states, "All my Dad does is worry...He sleeps, eats, and thinks about Junior. It makes his nose bleed once or twice a week." Her "other brother, Darius, tries to cut everything out with music and videogames." Her mother stands with her eyes closed as she holds her neck, while her grandmother sits in front of a television set praying. The scene ends with members of the family holding hands as they bow their heads in prayer.

The court waiting-room sequence presents the waiting room in a section elevation view in which Destini and Tina lean against a wall listening for Junior's movements as he walks down a hallway shackled.

The camera then pans horizontally to the family in their living room watching The Wendy Williams Show as each member futilely tries to create a smile. Darius tries to massage his face into a smile. Tina tries to tape one on. Pat attempts to attach one with glue and Carlos uses thumbtacks. Destini then steps away from the group and opens her hand, planting the glowing seed she picked up in Walltown in the middle of her palm. The seed quickly grows into a large glowing multicolored tree.

After the tree shatters, a hand holding a gavel appears in its place. A bespectacled judge holding binoculars and speaking gibberish addresses Junior in the courtroom. As he looks at Junior through his binoculars, he sees a lion.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2016
• Directed by: Nicholas Pilarski, American
• Directed by: Destini T. Riley, American
• Produced by: Nicholas Pilarski, American
• Produced by: Destini T. Riley, American
• Produced by: Lattina Lennon Riley, American
• Produced by: Sarah M. Bassett, American
• Subject of: Carlos Riley Jr., American
• Subject of: Destini T. Riley, American
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: short subjects
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 13 min., 41 sec.
• Dimensions: File size: 1.93 GB
• Place filmed: North Carolina, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Animated films
• Topic: Animation
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Independent films
• Topic: Journalism
• Object number: 2018.94.1.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Destini T. Riley, Nicholas Pilarski, Lattina Lennon Riley, Sarah M. Bassett, Kathleen Lingo and The New York Times Company
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Destini T. Riley, Nicholas Pilarski, Lattina Lennon Riley, Sarah M. Bassett, The New York Times Company Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.