Bree Newsome is a woman of many talents. Besides having the agility and critical consciousness to scale a flagpole at the South Carolina capitol and brave arrest to take down the Confederate battle flag in the midst of a national controversy, Newsome is a remarkable artist and creator who has been recognized for her work.

The activist’s 2010 short film “Wake,” for which Newsome was honored by the Directors Guild of America and alma mater NYU’s First Run Film Festival (she won an Audience Choice Award and was the first African-American undergraduate finalist for the prestigious Wasserman Award), uses magical realism to depict a woman’s use of local folk “root work” to find true love. The film puts a fresh new lens on respected Southern gothic traditions, and speaks volumes about Newsome’s conceptual vision.

Check out the film above, then watch another video of Newsome discussing the importance of black science and fantasy fiction, below.