About the film

“A Little Off the Top” is the first episode of a planned web-series about a group of African-American barbers who provide advice, support, and feedback to their troubled teen customer. Using 3D animated photorealistic characters, each webisode addresses social issues faced by young black men in America, offering a unique perspective on navigating contemporary struggles with humor, insight, and brotherly love.

About the Filmmaker

William D. Caballero is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, writer, 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, and 2021 Creative Capital Awardee. His directorial work has premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and the Museum of Modern Art. Born in Coney Island, New York and raised in North Carolina, Caballero obtained the Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship in 2001, and returned to New York City where he graduated from Pratt Institute (BFA Digital Art, 2006, Minor in Art History ) and New York University (MA The Arts and Humanities in Education, 2008), graduating Magna Cum Laude and Cum Laude, respectively. 

Caballero's directorial debut came in the form of a feature length autobiographical documentary entitled AMERICAN DREAMS DEFERRED, which focused on the diverse health, financial, and social difficulties facing his Puerto Rican-American family. The film premiered nationally on PBS in December 2012. Caballero's next accomplishment was GRAN'PA KNOWS BEST, a web-series featuring 3D printed miniatures of his Puerto Rican Grandfather. The series was later licensed by HBO for two seasons, and culminated in a short film entitled VICTOR AND ISOLINA, which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. 

In November 2017, Caballero was chosen as one of ten filmmakers for the SUNDANCE NEW VOICES LAB, held in Los Angeles, California. From 2020-2021, Caballero received funding from Latino Public Broadcasting to create CHILLY AND MILLY, an animated short film about his Puerto Rican parents, that premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. This film won the Best Documentary Short award at the 2022 Atlanta Film Festival, thereby qualifying it for an Academy Award, and the Grand Jury Award at the 2022 PBS Short Film Festival. For more information, visit his portfolio site.

About BPM

Black Public Media (BPM), formerly known as National Black Programming Consortium develops, produces, funds, and distributes media content about the African American and global Black experience. Our mission is to commit to a fully realized expression of democracy and we accomplish this by supporting diverse voices through training, education, and investment in visionary content makers. For 40 years, BPM has addressed the needs of unserved and underserved audiences. BPM continues to address historical, contemporary, and systemic challenges that traditionally impede the development and distribution of black stories.

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