I BREATHE LIFE! The Story of Monica Daye and SUSO

After surviving violence and incarceration, award-winning Durham poet Monica Daye turns the poetry that helped save her into a movement for healing, using art to help survivors and a new generation transform pain, break the silence, and find their voices.

I BREATHE LIFE! follows award-winning Durham poet, educator, and survivor-advocate Monica Daye as she transforms personal trauma into a movement for healing. Monica found her voice in Durham's vibrant spoken word community, where Black poets and artists used poetry to confront difficult truths and give language to the realities surrounding them. For Monica, poetry became a way to reclaim her story and turn survival into purpose.

Today, through Stand Up Speak Out-NC (SUSO), Monica carries that creative power into the community. As she mentors girls, leads poetry workshops, supports survivors, and opens a permanent healing center in Durham, the film reveals how the art that once helped her survive has become a source of strength for others. Rooted in poetry, intimate reflection, and community, I BREATHE LIFE! is a story of healing in motion, and of one woman placing the power she discovered in her own voice into the hands of a new generation.

Project Website: https://ibreathelifefilm.com

Director/Producer | Leslie Cunningham

Co-Director/Co-Producer | Debbie Vu