In an era when big-budget studio productions dominate theater screens across America, Sixx King has accomplished something increasingly rare: creating, self-financing, and securing national theatrical distribution for an independent film that centers Black love. The visionary director’s “JONESING: When Love Is a Habit” represents not just a creative achievement but a testament to unwavering determination in an industry often resistant to authentic Black narratives.
“Black love has been on the target of mainstream America since the first enslaved ships arrived,” King explains about his motivation behind the film. “The louder voices would have you think that we have this disconnect between Black men and Black women which is really untrue.”
The 10-day production miracle
What makes King’s accomplishment particularly remarkable is the film’s production timeline, a mere 10 days, cobbled together through persistence and sacrifice after initially having funding for only three days of shooting.
“I only had enough money to shoot 3 days, but I had my actors in pre-production for almost a year,” King reveals. “When I get these cameras out, this has to be second nature.”
This compressed shooting schedule required extraordinary preparation. King worked extensively with his cast beforehand, ensuring that when cameras finally rolled, performances would be seamless despite the tight timeline. This approach, prioritizing preparation over production days, represents an innovative solution to the financial constraints facing independent filmmakers, particularly those telling stories outside mainstream formulas.
The additional seven days of production came through King’s willingness to sacrifice personal possessions for his artistic vision:
“I got another job, I actually sold my car, and then got another job on top of that, that would allow me to shoot for 7 more days,” King recounts. “I turned down no job. I was directing and shooting from birthdays to bar mitzvahs.”
Reclaiming Black love narratives
At its heart, “Jonesing: When Love Is a Habit” represents King’s mission to counterbalance the prevalent media portrayals of dysfunction in Black relationships. The film draws inspiration from the 1997 classic “Love Jones,” imagining a continuation of that love story through a next-generation lens.
“We still having Black babies and Black weddings and Black things and Black situations, and it’s not as dire as we see it in the media,” King asserts. “It was important for me to lead with that, and to also be that loud voice of my grandparents, my parents that are not on social media. Talking about these 40, 50, 60, 70 year stories, and amplifying that over the debauchery and the tragedy and the things that we hear.”
This approach, centering Black love that spans generations rather than focusing solely on conflict, fills a significant void in contemporary cinema. King specifically highlights the untold stories of long-lasting Black relationships that exist throughout communities but rarely receive media attention:
“That community doesn’t have a voice, and so I wanted to be a voice for that,” he explains.
Male vulnerability as radical storytelling
Among the film’s most distinctive elements is its portrayal of Black male vulnerability, which King presents as both revolutionary and deeply traditional. Rather than perpetuating stereotypes of emotional unavailability, “Jonesing” explores the authentic emotional lives of its male characters.
“I wanted to lead with these conversations that young Black men have when they are vulnerable, and when their feelings are on the line, and how to get through that,” King says. “Sometimes the things that are unsaid can lead to so many assumptions and so many things that we may think. We build a more nefarious narrative in our head than what it actually is.”
King connects this exploration of vulnerability to historical practices within Black communities, recalling times when younger men would receive guidance from elders about navigating relationships with honesty and emotional authenticity.
“There was a time and a place where we could, as young men, sit down with the men who had been through this,” he reflects. “You were vulnerable in that moment, but you also had strength around you to say, it’s okay to be sensitive. Just don’t be insensitive towards your mate or the person that you love.”
Divine timing and synchronicity
The creation of “Jonesing” features remarkable moments of synchronicity that King interprets as confirmation of his path. On the eighth day of shooting, coinciding with the anniversary of his uncle’s passing, a fortune cookie prop used in the film broke open, revealing his uncle’s life mantra: “Keep on keeping on.”
This moment preceded a cascade of fortunate events, actor Malik Yoba joining the cast, an invitation to a screening in New York where King met industry luminaries including Tyler Perry and Netflix executives, and ultimately the AMC distribution deal.
“I wasn’t waiting on a divine intervention. I was intervening with divinity,” King says of his approach to these synchronicities. Rather than passively waiting for opportunities, he actively created circumstances where positive outcomes became possible.
This philosophy extends to his view of relationships as well. “When you love somebody,” King observes, “if you make it a habit, as opposed to a chore, you’re gonna love doing it. It’s gonna be consistent each and every time.”
Breaking industry barriers
King’s achievement in securing national theatrical distribution without major studio backing places him in rare company. “I’m in a league of very few who have self-financed and cut national distribution without a distributor,” he notes. “The only person other than that was Ava DuVernay.”
This accomplishment comes at a moment of particular cultural significance. “Art is also about timing,” King observes. “We have a country now that is taking away the Juneteenth holidays, and sort of this backlash of historical Black accomplishment, here comes Jonesing. Which is clean, which is a celebration of Black love, which is independently financed, which is independently distributed through a major distribution.”
The film’s release thus becomes not merely an artistic statement but a cultural intervention, a deliberate counternarrative arriving precisely when it’s most needed.
For audiences seeking authentic portrayals of Black love that move beyond stereotypes and dysfunction, “Jonesing: When Love Is a Habit” premieres exclusively in AMC theaters on June 27th. Additional information is available at lovejonesmovie.com and on Instagram at @Jonesingmovie.
