Priyanka Chopra Jonas Is Done Just Talking About Inclusion & You’ll Want To Join Her

Connections in the entertainment and beauty worlds can feel flimsy or superficial. There’s a certain beauty standard that women, in particular, are shown from birth and if we don’t fit that mold it can feel both isolating and damaging to our self-worth. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is determined to shatter the status quo. With her latest venture, as an ambassador for Obagi Skin Care’s SKINCLUSION initiative–Priyanka Chopra Jonas is done just talking about buzzwords and diversity measures. She’s ready to do the work.

On a sunny spring day in New York City, I sat down to chat with Chopra Jonas about Obagi’s SKINCLUSION and her stunning career that has crossed barriers in both India and the United States. It should have been intimidating to speak to one of the most well-known movie stars on the planet–but Chopra Jonas immediately made me feel at ease. Just days after the Met Gala, she sat poised and smiling in all white. Before the cameras began rolling, we spoke openly about our the origins of our names, mine–from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria that was bestowed onto me a few weeks after my birth from my Lagos-born father and hers, deeply rooted in her South Asian roots. It’s stories like these that connect us all–making our differences feel much smaller then they might appear at first. Over the course of its 30-year legacy in the beauty industry, inclusion and connection have been at the core of Obagi skin care–which is why Chopra Jonas was so thrilled about connecting with the brand. The Quanticoalum uncovered a beauty industry secret that has been affecting her skin care regimen for as long as she can remember.

There is a spectrum called the Fitzpatrick spectrum which has reduced all of the skin tones into numbers, one through six. I’m a four. Most skin care products that you find on the market have done clinical research only on types one, two and three. I’ve spent so much money on high-end amazing products, which I now realize weren’t even tested on me. My skin has more melanin, it’s going to react very differently to the sun than someone else’s will. Why isn’t the beauty industry being called out? What I love about this campaign is that Obagi has been testing its products on all six skin types from its inception. So if they can do it, why isn’t the beauty industry doing it? It’s not just the optics but actually making the change on the ground.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER

.

View this post on Instagram

Priyanka Chopra on diversity in the beauty space.

A post shared by STYLECASTER (@stylecaster) on May 16, 2019 at 8:32am PDT

Britney Spears Sure As F*ck Doesn’t Need Our Scrutiny Right Now

It’s not 2007 anymore, so I’m not sure why we’re still acting like it is. Pop legend Britney Spears has struggled openly with her mental health for the past 12 years, but the “…Baby One More Time” stunner has been vocal about getting healthy and making the best decisions that she can as a woman, mom, and a beloved entertainer. In the past decade, American society as a whole has been more open about discussing mental health, self-care, anxiety–and a slew of other things that human beings across racial, social, and economic lines struggle with. Now we need to give some grace to Britney Spears.

Spears has always been close to her father, Jamie Spears, who has been the permanent conservator of her business and life affairs since her public mental health setback in 2007. Unfortunately, Mr. Spears is currently suffering from a grave medical issue that has caused a great deal of strain on his family. The “Oops I Did it Again” singer recently canceled her Domination Las Vegas residency and stepped away from the stage to give her father her undivided attention. As someone who has lost both parents to cancer, I know first hand how mentally, emotionally, and physically draining it can be to watch your loved ones struggle with their health. Deciding to be proactive about her mental health, the songstress checked herself into a mental health and wellness facility this past spring to undergo treatment. Though the public seemed to stand with Spears and her decision at first–commending her for being both open and proactive, it seems the tides are turning.

While Spears was undergoing treatment–rumors began to buzz that she was being held at the wellness center against her will and that she was struggling more than she initially let on. The gossip prompted the singer to upload a video to her social media accounts addressing the reports head-on. Things calmed down for a hot second, but now it seems that folks are buzzing again.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Photo: Britney Spears via Instagram.

'The Apollo' Solidifies Black Harlem's Past But Leaves Uneasy Questions About Its Future [Tribeca Review]

Located in Harlem, New York, a vibrant neighborhood in Manhattan, the iconic Apollo Theater has stood for nearly 90 years on 125th street as a pillar of Black culture and community and a safe space for Black creatives. In his sweeping documentary, The Apollo, Roger Ross Williams chronicles the history of the Apollo Theater which began when it first opened its doors in 1934. Though the golden era of Harlem is known for the Savoy and the Cotton Club, spaces where legendary entertainers like Duke Ellington and Josephine Baker graced the stage, these venues were not open to Black Americans and certainly not for the Black residents of Harlem to be patrons. In the 1930s that all changed. With the help of talent scout/"Amateur Night" creator Ralph Cooper, the Apollo owner Frank Schiffman would bring Black entertainment and entertainers home to their people.

Using breathtaking archival video from inside of the Apollo and the streets of Harlem across the decades, Williams gives his audience a true sense of the giants that the Apollo introduced to the world. From 12-year old Stevie Wonder blowing on his harmonica in 1962 to Lauryn Hill in the early ‘90s getting booed off the stage for her pitchy vocals, it’s all there. The archives of this place are almost overwhelming. Choosing to place his interview subjects within the famed building as they provide history lessons and historical context also gives Williams’ The Apollo a certain authority.

There are interviews with icons like Patti LaBelle, Apollo historian and tour guide Billy “Mr. Apollo” Mitchell, who has been giving tours there for over fifty years, and other icons like Eva Issac, the "Queen of the Apollo." The Apollo is sprinkled with gems. Williams places his film within the context of Black history in this country while providing anecdotes about the theater itself. The audience hears from folks like Leslie Uggams who performed at the Apollo as a child star and watched Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington from the theater wings. She recalls how affectionate they all were towards her and how they adored Black people.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

History Maker: 19-Year Old Director Phillip Youmans Talks the Black Church, 'Burning Cane' and Trusting His Vision [Tribeca Interview]

In 19-year-old Phillip Youmans’ feature film debut, Burning Cane, the filmmaker showcases how individual choices can ricochet off of other people, derailing everyone's lives.

Set in rural Louisiana in the late-‘90s, Burning Cane opens amid the burning season, when the sugar cane is set ablaze so that it’s easier to harvest. Burning Cane is a poetic narrative that follows Helen (Karen Kaia Livers), a concerned mother who is desperately trying to navigate her relationship with her unemployed, alcoholic adult son, Daniel (Dominique McClellan), and her recently widowed pastor, Revered Tillman (Wendell Pierce). Like Daniel, Rev. Tillman is also seeking to find solace in the bottle. Though Helen deeply empathizes with both men, when their actions begin to suffocate her and her grandson, she decides she has to take drastic action.

Burning Cane had its debut during the Tribeca Film Festival, making Youmans the youngest direct to ever have a feature film in the festival. At Tribeca, Shadow And Act sat down to chat with Youmans about writing Burning Cane, bringing it to life and what it means to be a fearless storyteller.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Stanley Nelson's 'Boss: The Black Experience in Business' Rewrites the Narrative On Black Entrepreneurship [REVIEW]

Black businesses have been the cornerstone of Black communities in this country for more than a century. With his new PBS documentary, Boss: The Black Experience in Business, prolific director Stanley Nelson explores the history of Black business. Traveling back in time during the antebellum period and stretching forward into the 21st century, Nelson unpacks 150 years of Black business in America.

Opening with James Brown’s 1973 soul hit, “The Boss,” Nelson turns his lens on Ursula Burns, the former CEO of Xerox. Burns' rise in corporate America wasn't assumed. Like many Black folks, she came from a working-class family and was encouraged to step into a “practical career" like nursing or education to make a living for herself. However, a summer internship at Xerox changed the path she would take. Burns joined the company after college, working her way up to the CEO’s Executive Assistant and eventually taking the top spot herself. As the first Black woman to head a Fortune 500 company, Burns' story seems improbable and in many ways it is. However, what Nelson unveils in Boss is that the roots of Black business in America are literally embedded in the country's soil and history.

rom the 19th century forward, Nelson chronicles the rise of Black business from apprenticeships that enslaved peoples held to the birth of barbershop franchises, Black banks, and insurance companies during the Reconstruction era and into the 20th century. Due to Jim Crow laws that forced Black people out of white spaces, Black businesses became a necessity and a source of pride. Black business owners were able to provide affordable and dignified services directly to their people. By elevating these little known narratives, like the hundreds of businesses on Black Wall Street in Tusla, Oklahoma, or the legacy of Madame C.J. Walker, the film reveals just how tenacious and ambitions these Black business owners were—especially when they had very little capital or knowledge about what it meant to run a successful company.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Why We’re Still Falling For 'Love & Basketball' 19 Years Later

Black movies came thundering through Hollywood in the 1990s. Films like Boyz n the Hoodand Menace II Society gave the world a glimpse into inner city African-American life. Meanwhile, movies like Waiting to Exhale and Soul Food gave audiences a window into the lives of professional black women. Despite this new wave of Black cinema, romance films with African-American casts had not yet made their appearance.

Love Jones and The Best Man broke the mold by showcasing the trials and tribulations of black love. However, when it came to putting the first inklings of love and sensuality on screen outside of dangerous environments, young black people —teens, in particular, had to look toward mainstream films like She’s All That or 10 Things I Hate About You for some sort of connection. Black characters may have been sprinkled throughout these films —but they certainly weren’t the central focus. 

In 2000, Gina Prince-Bythewood shattered the standard for romance, black love, and sensuality in cinema with her acclaimed drama, Love & Basketball. Set in the early ’80s and moving into the ‘90s, Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy’s (Omar Epps) romance begins at age 11 when Monica and her family move next door to Quincy’s. Rambunctious and feisty pre-teens— the pair have an instant rivalry and mutual respect because of their shared love of basketball. 

From the moment the film opens with Al Green’s “Love and Happiness” spinning in the distance, these kids speak the same language. As they step into their teen years, Monica and Quincy’s admiration for one another grows—as does something a bit more sensual that begins to burn under the surface. However, basketball, the politics of gender, and the perils of adulthood start to crack the foundation of their love and friendship. 

The best romance films speak to our souls because our investment and the love we have for the characters tug at our hearts, and awakens some common connection we have in our own lives. Monica and Quincy’s story builds over four quarters (like a basketball game) instead of a meet-cute, confrontation, and resolution told over three acts. Instead, writer/director Prince-Bythewood takes the time to reveal the characters in all of their beauty, humanity, desires, and internal conflicts.

By the Second Quarter at age 18, both Quincy and Monica are formable basketball players with vastly different styles on the court. While Quincy seems to float across the hardwood flooring, Monica is vicious in her defense and offense. As she dribbles down the court, the audience is privy to her inner-dialogue, and her desperate desire to prove herself as one of the best players out there, regardless of gender.

Historically, women have never been allowed the full emotional capacity for sportsmanship.  As a result, Monica’s constantly attitude gets her in trouble during games, and further alienates her from her traditionally-minded mother, Camille (Alfre Woodard).

Quincy also has a lot to live up to. His father Zeke (Dennis Haysbert) is a pro-basketball player whom he idolizes. As Quincy matures — the facade that Zeke has built around himself as a father and a husband begins to unravel, threatening to break Quincy’s spirit and perception of self. Though Quincy is king of their high school and Monica stands on the outskirts—their mutual passion has kept them connected over the years. Through Prince-Bythewood’s lens, they are constantly orbiting around each other. At night, instead of listening to his parents fight, Quincy crawls out of his bedroom window and into Monica’s where she offers him a pillow, blanket, and space on her floor. His secrets remain safe with her. Also, it’s Quincy that Monica trusts when it comes to opening her recruitment letter from the University of Southern California (USC). 

In the age of Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, it seems stunning that sex and sensuality amongst black people was almost non-existent on screen up until the mid-’90s. Love & Basketball helped usher in a new era of black intimacy and desirability in film. For black women, regardless of socioeconomic background or religion –many of us been grounded in a tradition of silence when it comes to sex as a way to undermine stereotypes of hypersexuality. Black women have often been taught to suppress their sexuality, or we’ve been shamed into silence about physical needs and desires. It’s a mold that has slowly been chipped away in the last thirty years or so in popular culture. 

In Love & Basketball, Prince-Bythewood presents sex as a celebratory act —a moment to be enjoyed. In Quincy’s arms —Monica is not merely desired, she’s also protected, and she never needs to be put on display. Sex scenes —especially when they are meant to capture a first-time encounter aren’t often given the care and consideration that should be expected of the experience. With Maxwell’s “This Woman’s Work” in the background Prince-Bythewood presents the beauty and candor of sex (with the visual use of a condom and verbal consent). Though we see Quincy’s reactions to Monica and her body — his appreciation, and reverence of her is evident —the experience is presented through her perspective. She isn’t an object to be ogled or placed on display. Instead, because the camera stays on her face, the audience  is privy to her emotional state and the romance of the encounter. 

Continue reading at The Spool.

'The Twilight Zone': Sanaa Lathan And Damson Idris On Their Time-Bending Episode, "Replay"

More than sixty years after the classic sci-fi series aired on television, horror mastermind Jordan Peele has reimagined The Twilight Zone for the 21st-century. As the series narrator and host, Peele takes his audience through ten episodes that explore the intricacies of the modern world through the Us director’s haunting lens. The third episode of the series, “Replay,” starring Sanaa Lathan and Damson Idris, is one of the most superb of the electric first season.

In the episode, Lathan stars as Nina, an acclaimed attorney who is driving her son Dorian (Idris) to get him settled into his first day at a fictional Historically Black University. Eager to capture the memories, Nina records their road trip on an old camcorder. When the mother/son duo find themselves in the crosshairs of a racist state trooper (Glenn Fleshler), Nina discovers that the camcorder can rewind time.

Ahead of the “Replay” premiere, Shadow And Act sat down to chat with Damson Idris and Sanaa Lathan about stepping into The Twilight Zone and why this particular episode will stick with the audience for a good long while.

"I used to watch the re-runs of the original, and I was always just so fascinated with them," Lathan explained. "To this day I remember images from some of the episodes. When I read the script I was like, 'Sign me up!' It's a whammy what this woman, Nina Harrison, goes through. She goes on this real emotional journey, and I just was super excited to play her."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Reconstruction: America After The Civil War connects America's troubling present with its horrific past

The circumstances and conditions of the current social and political climate in the United States can seem dizzying, as the civil rights of citizens who are not rich, white, and male are trampled over. Rampant white supremacy has stepped out of the shadows, marching its way back into the White House, and other branches of the United States government. The truth is that racism was never truly snuffed out in our democracy, which is how it’s managed to rise to the surface once again. In his new PBS miniseries, Reconstruction: America After The Civil War, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., unpacks the seldom discussed twelve-year period just after the Civil War. As America tried to restructure itself as a country without the foundation of slavery, while grappling with the status of millions of newly freed African Americans —former slave owners also had their own agenda. They began writing a revisionist history of slavery and the Civil War while using widespread casual violence to terrorize and disenfranchise black people and sympathetic white people.

In the second decade of the 21st-century, little has changed. We have seen the horrors of the Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and the massacre of nine black worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, in Charleston, South Carolina. Though shocking and nightmarish, these conditions and acts of terror are not new. In many ways, America has ignored its history or tried to revise it. But we face our past and reconcile with it, we will continue spiraling in cycles of immense progress and devastating regression.

Continue reading at The A.V. Club

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Talks His New PBS Series 'Reconstruction: America: After the Civil War'

To understand the 2015 massacre of nine Black worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina at the hands of a white supremacist — or to begin unpacking the long history and continued terror of Black people at the hands of whites, we must understand the history of America. Often, the antebellum period, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement are referenced. However, in his new four-hour PBS series, Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. argues that much of the racial turmoil, violence, and inequities in this country stem from the collapse of the Reconstruction era.

Ahead of the series premiere, Professor Gates hosted an evening at the New York Historical Society where he discussed Reconstruction, why it was vital to unpack this time period, and what it all means for us now. Shadow And Act was on hand for his keynote address.

"Between 1865 and 1877, Black people experienced more freedom and rights than at any other time in American history," Gates explained. "It's the embodiment of [Abraham] Lincoln's new birth of freedom, from the Gettysburg Address or what scholars later have called America's second founding. But most schools don't teach much about Reconstruction. They’re skipping from [General Robert E.] Lee's surrender at Appomattox to Rosa Parks, Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.], and the civil rights movement."

If you think about the ten year period that was Reconstruction— it seems nearly unfathomable. Black people owned land and were opening businesses. Black men were voted into various branches of the government, and some Black men had the right to vote. So, how did we go from this vision of a new America to Jim Crow, the civil rights movement and the rampant white supremacy of the 21st century?

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Aretha Franklin's Gospel Documentary 'Amazing Grace' Is A Profound Gift [Review]

Forty-seven years ago — at the height of her career, Aretha Franklin traveled to Los Angeles where she created the soul-searing gospel album, Amazing Grace. It would become the best-selling gospel album of all time and the best-selling album of the soul singer's career. For two nights in January 1972, in the unassuming New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles —Franklin would take her audience to church —literally. Accompanied by her four-piece band, Reverend James Cleveland, and the Southern California Community Choir, Franklin returned to her gospel roots, effortlessly belting out sublime renditions of hymns like “Never Grow Old” and “Precious Memories.”

Amazing Grace was always supposed to be more than an album. Franklin assumed it would be a part of cinematic history. Warner Bros. had hired filmmaker Sydney Pollack to capture the album's recording on film, but the movie was left incomplete and did not see the light of day until now. Franklin had the film shelved after being dissatisfied with the finished product, and it is only after her death—with her family’s blessing—that Amazing Grace is getting the audience that it deserves.

Much more than a music documentary, Amazing Grace is a historical moment and an heirloom to Black history. Amazing Grace acts as an entry point into the historic Black church—a throughline for many members of the Black community—inviting its audience into the core of the institution to seek God, a higher power, or some sense of solace and understanding through Aretha Franklin’s voice.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

On 'Queen Sugar's Ralph Angel And The Nuances Of Black Fatherhood

n the canon of Black American television, Black fathers have been a staple – particularly on some of our most beloved sitcoms. From James Evans on Good Times to Phillip Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, these men have been the ultimate father figures for those of us who are deeply connected to our own fathers and for others who felt a paternal void. Despite varying economic statuses and levels of education, these men were pillars when it came to representing idyllic versions of Black nuclear families. They were was respectable, whole, and constant. After all, according to the CDC, Black dads who live with their children are actually the most involved fathers of any race. And yet, as much as we admire these characters, reciting classic lines, words of wisdom and reminiscing on our favorite scenes, these TV dads don’t look like the young Black fathers that we see on a daily basis. These are the young men pushing strollers down 116th street in Harlem or even styling their daughter’s hair on Instagram. Since networks and creators were so concerned about putting out a specific kind of Black image, they failed to pave the way for certain types of Black fathers to be seen on screen. These men look like our brothers, friends, or even the towering figures that have raised us. Though we’ve observed single Black fathers on TV before like Flex Washington on One on One, and even very involved fathers like on Kenny Chadway on Showtime’s Soul Food, Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar is the first time we've seen a single millennial Black father in a TV drama. Kofi Siriboe’s Ralph Angel is an anomaly on television. Stoic but loving, Ralph Angel is struggling to parent while trying to unravel his own identity as a Black man, father, ex-con, and landowner. His presence is very refreshing.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

The Cast Of 'The Lion King' On Broadway Unpack The Show's Majestic Blackness And Its Incredible 20-Year Legacy

For twenty years, Simba’s coming of age story has reigned on the Broadway stage. I saw it once as a child in the mid-'90s and again a few weeks ago to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary. The experience was even more magnetic than I'd remembered. As the sun rises (literally) over the darkened theater, actress Tshidi Manye’s voice reigns out loud and clear as she belts, "Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba" opening the show with the iconic song "The Circle of Life." And with that, the audience is transported to Africa's Sahara. Giraffes move nimbly across the stage, and birds and elephants come swooping up through the aisles. It's enchanting to watch the majority black cast electrify the audience. It’s an experience that has become ingrained in actors Lindiwe Dlamini, James Brown-Orleans and Bonita Hamilton -- veterans of the show. Dlamini has been with the show since it opened in 1997. A lioness and shadow puppets operator, the South African native also acts as a den mother helping to integrate newer cast members into the show. Brown-Orleans and Hamilton aren’t novices either. Brown-Orleans has been with the production for sixteen years handling the puppets and portraying the hyena Banzai, while Hamilton has been with The Lion King for fourteen years as the hyena Shenzi. All three of the actors sat down to chat with Shadow and Act about The Lion King’s legacy and what the show has meant to them.

For Hamilton, The Lion King was an awakening. "It's one of the first shows that I'd ever seen," she said. "I saw it when it was in LA like in 1998 when I was in graduate school. I was sitting there, and I was watching it and it was the most amazing thing that I had ever seen in my life. The whole show I was like, ‘I don't know who I would play or what I would do in this show, but somehow I have to be a part of it.’ I'm from Montgomery, Alabama, and I had never seen such African influences on stage and African American excellence on stage. I'd never witnessed anything like that. It was a coming of age thing for me. I also think that it resonates with audiences throughout the world because it transcends. It transcends cultural barriers, race barriers and age barriers."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Superfly': Director X, Trevor Jackson and Jason Mitchell On Bringing Gordon Parks Jr.'s Blueprint To The Present-Day

“There is a difference between getting out, and getting pushed out.” Michael K. Williams’ character Scatter offers those haunting words of advice to Youngblood Priest (portrayed by Trevor Jackson) in the new trailer for Superfly. Though this 21st-century film is a world away from Gordon Parks Jr.’s 1972 Harlem-set Super Fly, the core of the story remains untouched. Set in Atlanta, Jackson’s Preist has become increasingly wary of the drug game. The constant paranoia has become all-consuming. Determined to start over, he bands together with his girl Georgia (Lex Scott Davis) and his business partner Eddie (Jason Mitchell) for one last job before he vanishes. Seated at the helm is Director X, known for his astonishing music videos for everyone from Drake to Rihanna, and the filmmaker was determined to elevate Atlanta life in all of its glitz and glory without removing the layer of grime that comes with street life, violence, death and drugs. Seated in the center of a nightclub in ATL surrounded by equipment, props and the incessant chatter of extras in the background, X is clearly in his element. He'd been called upon to deliver a 2018 version of Super Fly, and he's determined to deliver. “We all know the reality of movies nowadays,“ he explained. “People want properties. If you're going to spend 20 million bucks, would you spend it on something you know people will be interested in right away, or would you spend it on an idea? We all miss the old days when people spent a lot of money on ideas they had, but this is the energy in the air right now. I think Cleopatra Jones is being remade. They're doing another Shaft. Even Taraji's Proud Mary; it's not a remake, but it's definitely in the energy of those old movies.”

Despite Hollywood's remake and reboot climate, X revealed that when he first received the script, though it was named Superfly, the tone of the original was nowhere to be found. For him, that was unacceptable. “I read the script, and it wasn't about a drug dealer trying to get out," he remembered. “I said, We gotta make Super Fly, so that’s the movie we’re making. You've got Scatter, Eddie, Georgia, Cynthia, all those main characters that were in the original are here. The major story points happen. We took the major beats of Super Fly and said, 'Alright, these are the major things that happen, these are the things that have to happen in our version, and all the other stuff we do from there is an expansion.'”

Though the original film was considered an action drama during its time, X wanted to elevate the narrative by amplifying the most explosive notes in the plot and fleshing out a glossy and elite Atlanta world for Priest. “There's a little bit of art to everything," the "Work" music video director expressed. “Everything's just a little hyper-real. I didn’t want to do this super realistic drug story. I'm not interested in that. We're making a fun summer movie. Strip club culture is such a big part of the scene out here, but even that, this is the Superfly version of Magic City. Atlanta is the Harlem of today. If you were poppin' in Harlem in the '70s, you was poppin' around the world. If you're poppin' in Atlanta, you're poppin' around the world. This is that black epicenter now."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'13th' Cinematographer Hans Charles On 'Mr. SOUL!' And Being Deliberate About The Black Image

In the years following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination as the Civil Rights Movement began to fray and crack, the Black Power movement arose, and Ellis Haizlip’s PBS series SOUL! gave black artists, poets, musicians, dancers, creators and activists a platform to tell their stories. SOUL! debuted on September 12, 1968, with Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles as its first musical guest. The show aired for five years before it was stamped out in the wake of President Richard Nixon’s suppression of the media. But for those five years, what Haizlip gave black people was glorious.

With their new documentary Mr. SOUL!, co-directors Melissa Haizlip and Sam Pollard celebrate Mr. Haizlip, an enigmatic and profound man who dedicated his life to honoring black people. To bring Mr. SOUL! to life, Haizlip and Pollard turned to actor Blair Underwood to narrate the film and 13th cinematographer Hans Charles to create the images. Amid the Tribeca Film Festival, I sat down to chat with Charles about Mr. SOUL!, black images and why he embraces being labeled a black cinematographer.

Charles’ journey into film began with a simple curiosity. "I think I just realized that there was a lot of action happening around the camera," he reflected. "There's just so much energy around it, that it felt like a place where you always would get a chance to work. That felt different from those people who wanted to be writers or directors. There is a certain energy and a certain sense of collaboration that occurs around the camera. That visual observation made an impression on me. I started as a film loader. I interned for Brad on a film called Mo. Then I became a second assistant on Mississippi Damned. Brad was teaching for one semester at Howard , and I was probably the worst cinematography student; I really didn't understand the technical concepts. But I would always be the first student there and the last student to leave. Toward the end of the semester, he asked two of us to be interns on a commercial he was doing. He asked his best student, and he asked me — the most enthusiastic student. I was the one who showed up the next day."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Phantom Cowboys' Beautifully Twists and Bends The Coming-Of-Age Genre (Tribeca Review)

Coming of age documentaries certainly aren't new territory. Recent films like Quest and Raising Bertie are stellar projects that document the transformative years of their subjects as they embark on the journey from their teen years to adulthood. Daniel Patrick Carbone's Phantom Cowboys uses that same model but twists it into something we've never seen before. Following three different young men -- Larry, Nick and Tyler from Pahokee, Florida; Trona, California; and Parkersburg, West Virginia -- Carbone introduces us to these young teens just as they are stepping into themselves. All three are on the cusp of shedding the wistful naivete of childhood, but instead of following them, Carbone breaks away, re-entering their lives seven years later to see where they’ve ended up. Pahokee, Trona and Parkersburg are all very particular places in the United States. Almost frozen in time, except for the glimpses of technology that Carbone hints at throughout the film, there is minimal opportunity for the people in these towns. When we first meet Larry at 13 years old, he spends his days running through sugarcane crops and shooting rabbits with his best friends. At 20, he’s taller, broader and newly released from prison after a 3-year bid for aggravated battery. Despite his circumstances, his spirit is not completely worn down, but his innocence and excitement about the world have long since disappeared.

In Trone, Nick's life plays out very differently. At 17, he lives for football, and his identity is deeply ingrained in his community. In Trone, the chemical plant seems to be the only way of life; Nick's father has worked there for decades. As a teen, Nick seems weary of a certain future at the plant, but at 23 with a 4 a.m. wakeup call, he’s thankful for the steady income and the familiarity the plant provides. In fact, he’s turned down a college football scholarship to remain close to his family, teaching his little brother to fix things and to ride a motorbike.

For Tyler, Parkersburg represents one thing, dirt racing. At 18, he spends his days with his father at a garage, making money to support his daughter. But at night, it's all about racing. When we meet Tyler again at 25, his obsession has begun to pay off. With four little girls and a wife to support, he’s starting to win races while making a name for himself in the racing community. When Tyler's not working or behind the wheel, he’s taking his daughters to and from school and tucking them in at night. He's completely cloaked in adulthood.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

How The Searing Short Film 'Haven' Hones In On The Beauty And Horrors of Black Girlhood

Some films remain forever embedded in your psyche and stick with you long after the final credits roll. Writer/director Kelly Fyffe-Marshall’s searing short story Haven is exactly this type of film. In a few short minutes, Haven hones in on the beauty and horrors of black girlhood -- tackling a subject that is often buried in the black community. After the film’s premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, I chatted with Fyffe-Marshall and Haven executive producer Tamar Bird about the film, its perfect casting and why it’s so important to tell painful stories. The idea for Haven was sparked by a conversation that Fyffe-Marshall had one day with her director of photography. "My DP Jordan Oram (Drake’s “God’s Plan") had shown me another film, and it was about two people in a room," she remembered. "So he sparked something in me. I thought, ‘What's something that as black women we don't see a lot of on TV?’ For me, it was a black daughter getting her hair done. That's something that nearly all black women went through at least once a week as a child. So, I started with that, and it just became Haven.”

Once the idea was formed, Fyffe-Marshall found the perfect collaborator in Bird, an actress and award-winning Canadian filmmaker. "Kelly and I have known each other for about six years," Bird revealed. "When she presented this to me, I remember saying, 'This is it. Don't do anything to it, don't change anything. This is perfect. This is what we need; this is what the world needs.' From there we just wanted to make it as true to our childhoods as possible — that nostalgic feeling of listening to reggae music in the background and watching TV while you're getting your hair done."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

HBO 'King In the Wilderness' Executive Producer On The Film And Examining Dr. King's Final Years

It’s been fifty-years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated leaving an unfulfilled dream, a blueprint for humanity, a turbulent country, and a furious race of people behind. In these past five decades, Dr. King has been immortalized; hoisted up as an almost mythical being – a martyr of the Civil Right's Movement. Though history has painted Dr. King in a certain light, his closest friends and allies haven’t forgotten the last few years of his life – years that were full of confliction and uncertainty. In his searing HBO film, King in the Wilderness director Peter Kunhardt chronicles the last few years of the Civil Right’s pioneer's life – a time where even his beliefs and doctrine toward peace and non-violence were tested. A week before the film’s premiere I chatted with novelist, screenwriter, and professor Trey Ellis who served as an executive producer and interviewer for the project. For Ellis, it was essential to look back at Dr. King’s life and legacy through the memories of those who stood by his side day after day. King in the Wilderness gives an alternative view of a man who stood in the midst of an increasingly unstable country, rallying for the end of racism, war, and poverty.

Ellis had been yearning for a project on Dr. King’s life for some time, so when he heard that Kuhardt was putting something together at HBO, he jumped at the chance to get involved. "I talked to HBO a long time ago, but then around January of 2017 Peter approached me about this new take on Dr. King to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his assassination," Ellis explained. "We all decided that the later King, King in the Wilderness was the least told and also the most important for what we're going through today. So I was really excited, to come on board to do most of the interviews. Taylor (Branch) interviewed Harry Belafonte, Andy Young, and Reverend C.T. Vivian and I had the pleasure of interviewing the rest of them. We spent a year traveling around the country talking to real-life heroes for two to four hours at a time. Some of them were heroes that I knew, like John Lewis, or Jesse Jackson and others like Cleveland Sellers or Bernard Lafayette were people that I’d never heard of before, but once I got to speak with them, I was just so amazed by their strength."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Remembering An Icon: 'King: A Film Record … Montgomery to Memphis'

Fifty-years after his assassination and on what would have been his 89th birthday, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (MPAA) honored the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The NMAAHC and The Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA) held a screening of the Academy Award-nominated film King: A Film Record … Montgomery to Memphis in 35mm archival print. The four-hour long documentary had only been screened once previously on March 20, 1970, just two years after the icon was stolen from the world. Throughout his life, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strength, perseverance, and wisdom made him a giant. In the decades after his death, he’s become an idol – in many ways Dr. King has become almost mythical. King: A Film Record is the closest most of us will ever get to the man himself. Directed by Sidney Lumet and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the film is made up solely of archival footage and short vignettes spoken by some of his closest friends and allies including Ruby Dee, Harry Belafonte, and James Earl Jones. Through footage of the period, King’s speeches, marches, and sermons, the audience is drawn into and mesmerized by a man who so steadfastly believed in non-violence and in reshaping a very broken America.

The film's lead-in was an introduction from the iconic and regal Harry Belafonte in partnership with the MPAA. The 90-year-old activist spoke all these years later of his first time meeting the young Reverend. The King of Calypso recalled the uncertainty that he heard and saw from the man who seemed surer than anyone that Black people could and would overcome Jim Crow and stifling segregation. Though Dr. King seemed determined to the public, at 26-year-old, he felt unprepared to take on the role as the moral compass of an entire people.

Propelled by Rosa Parks' arrest to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott which took place from late 1955 to 1956, Dr. King and his comrades were determined to strike down Jim Crow and segregationist laws. However, what he nor Belafonte would anticipate was King’s towering legacy that would not only shift opportunities for Black Americans in a way that hadn’t been done since the Reconstruction era but also how he would inspire generations across the globe including our current Black Lives Matter movement. Though he may have felt unsure, Dr. King also predicted our current predicament.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Boots Riley And The Cast Of 'Sorry To Bother You' On The Bold, Whimsical Film (Sundance Interview)

There are plenty of films with commentary surrounding race, commodification, self-worth, and what it means to be normal. However, none of those films have been as strange, compelling and masterful as Boots Riley’s debut feature film; Sorry to Bother You. As Riley said bluntly in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "I'm not good at sounding like somebody else or doing what someone else does." Starring the incredible Lakeith Stanfield as Cassius Green, the film follows a young Black man trying to find his purpose in life in an alternative version of Oakland. Living in his uncle’s (Terry Crews) garage, Cass finds solace in the arms of his artist, sign-twirling girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson) who chooses activism over affluence.Desperate for more in life, Cass finds a job at telemarketing company where after receiving some advice from an older co-worker (Danny Glover) he quickly rises up the ranks. However, what he isn’t prepared for is what he’ll have to sell or how he'll have to sell out to stay at the top. Steven Yuen, Omari Hardwick, Armie Hammer and Jermaine Fowler also star.

At the MACRO Lounge presented by Shea Moisture at Sundance Film Festival, Riley, Thompson, Yeun and Crews lounged on a plush couch and discussed bringing this magical and shocking film to life. For Riley, who is a musician, activist, and poet, the idea for Sorry to Bother You was born out of the desire to break all the rules. “I read all the hack books like, How to Write a Script in 30 Days and What Not to Do When Writing Your Script," he recalled. “I read those purposely to figure out what rules I could play with. And, as I wrote those first few pages, I realized that that's not the way that I create normally. "

More than just creating a story on his own terms, Riley wasn’t interested in being confined to a certain genre. “A lot of times when people decide, even in music or film, that this thing I'm making is this genre, we edit along the lines of what we're told is the genre," Riley explained. “We leave out a lot of real things, a lot of real joys and pains and awkwardness and other ideas and we stick to this pretty formulated thing. If we're gonna truly make something that comes from artists that aren't usually able to get a voice, those artists have also had other experiences.”

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

JET: Be In the Now | Jhené's Journey [Exclusive Interview]