There are few things more underappreciated and less unpacked in Atlanta culture than the presence of “water boys,” teens who sell cold water to people on the street and at events. Now, director Coke Daniels has documented and presented this integral part of the city on the big screen in his latest film, The Waterboyz.
Quavo and La La Anthony headline the star-studded cast.
Ahead of the Sept. 13 release of the film, Daniels, executive producer Dolapo Erinkitola, producer Errol Sadler, and actor Antwar “AJ” Walker who plays Dolo in the film, discussed the film with rolling out.
AJ, who is your character in this film?
AJ Walker: Dolo, to me, is just such a special character because I feel like he’s so representative of so many people I’ve known growing up, and even myself. I think a lot of people will be able to connect with this role because you have so many people who are out here who are perceived as being bad, or perceived as being, “Oh, he’s just a hood dude,” but that’s just people not understanding where that comes from.
It’s a domino effect. There are reasons for everything. There are reasons for the way people are. I think a lot of people overlook that and just prematurely judge people, rather than trying to understand and connect with those people.
What is the film about?
Dolapo Erinkitola: This is your modern-day coming-of-age movie. We need one of those, and we haven’t had one in a long time. We’ve had Boyz n the Hood, ATL, Menace II Society, but this one right here, Waterboyz, is something that’s needed.
The way Coke wrote and shot it, this is almost a love letter to Atlanta. So you’re going to see what you’re going to see — Krystals and MARTA stations. You’re going to see everything in Atlanta. So, if you’re not even familiar with Atlanta, it’s going to feel like you’re walking the streets.
In real life, being a water boy seems like a good idea for young people starting their businesses, but a lot of them have been linked to stealing from innocent drivers in Atlanta. How did you balance telling the entire story of water boys in Atlanta?
Errol Sadler: I feel like, in all aspects of life, you’re going to have a few bad apples. If you focus on that, then you’ll think the majority of these kids are bad when they’re really just amazing entrepreneurs.
Coke did extensive research on these characters and how they ended up as water boys instead of selling drugs, and in this film, we dig deeply into the why. Not all of them are bad kids. They want better for themselves and chose this as an option for entrepreneurship. You look now, and they have T-shirts, websites, and hats they’re selling. Water was just the business avenue.
Coke Daniels: Your perception of the water boys is a lot of people’s perception because all the media shows are the knuckleheads. A lot of times, that is who we encounter, and I wanted to make sure to tell that story, too. We represented that in the film with Domani’s crew. It’s the more rough way out there of hustling and carrying guns and all that type of stuff because that’s just the reality of it. But, on the flip side of it, I wanted to show kids who are trying to do the right thing being entrepreneurs and trying to stay out of the way, avoiding all the trappings of gun violence and drug dealing.
Many inner-city kids lack opportunities without a formal education, so I wanted to touch on all of that stuff within the confines of Atlanta and use Atlanta as a character. Atlanta is its own planet, and the culture here is totally different.
