The CUT Project has “…a map to the future of care” — South Seattle Emerald

Still from Dark and Tender: A Film by the Chronically UnderTouched (CUT) Project

In the documentary, the men go through an array of exercises to get them more familiar with platonic touch and intimacy — they hold hands and share feelings, hold one another’s heads, tuck each other in, sing together, walk outside barefoot. Johnson drew from practices that felt both childlike and nerve-wracking, nourishing and clarifying. The work is simple, but obviously very moving for the people involved. Throughout the film, the men share their own relationship to touch, trauma, and the effect this workshop had on them.

For many, they see the project has a map to the future of care.

— Jas Keimig, ‘Dark and Tender’ Examines the Lack of Platonic Touch Amongst Black Men, South Seattle Emerald