THE BLACK PANTHER EDITION
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CONTENTS Interviews
Personal Essays
The Women of Wakanda
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Film Critic Carla Renata with Rebecca Martin
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Filmmaker Michal Aviad with Pamela Powell
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Filmmaker Tiffany Addison with Rebecca Martin
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Filmmaker Clare Cooney with Rebecca Martin
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by Marjorie H. Morgan
Body, Heart, Soul by Amy Renee Wasney
Third World as We Do Not Know It—Why We Need More Black Panthers That Defy White Patriarchy by Jaylan Salah
Read introduction by founder and editor in chief Rebecca Martin at cinemafemme.com/magazine.
CONTRIBUTORS REBECCA MARTIN, founder and editor in chief Rebecca Martin is the founder of Cinema Femme Magazine. Rebecca grew up in the Chicago suburbs, Singapore, and the UK. She loves to bring people together who share the same passions. Rebecca has always been passionate about film. She founded the meetup group Chicago Film Lover Exchange in 2011, which has grown to over 5,000 members. Rebecca is also passionate about empowering and encouraging women to follow their dreams and passions.
ALISON MARCOTTE, editor Alison Marcotte is a writer and editor in Chicago area. She’s always been passionate about storytelling, no matter the medium. During college, she interned at Real Simple, the Chicago Reader, and NPR’s KNKX and WILL. After graduating from UIUC in journalism, she contributed to The Onion’s satirical celebrity gossip website StarWipe. With a background in journalism and a passion for film, small businesses, and empowering other women, she’s excited to be part of the Cinema Femme team.
JENNIFER JENKINS, graphic designer Jennifer Jenkins is an awardwinning graphic designer who began her experience working at local newspapers, but her love for graphic design was sparked back in high school. Starting with advertisement design and pre-press, she worked her way up to small magazines and eventually onto larger publications like Chicago Lawyer magazine. From bright, splashy designs to clean, modern vibes, Jennifer brings a creative and fun spin to the graphic design world.
LAURINE CORNUÉJOLS, illustrator Laurine Cornuéjols is a French illustrator who uses a combination of traditional and digital media to communicate ideas and emotions in her work. With her illustrations, she creates a poetic and colorful world. When she is not working from her studio in London, she travels the world with her sketchbook and her watercolors. She loves exploring new places and is inspired by the beauty of the world and the people she meets.
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MARJORIE MORGAN, writer Marjorie Morgan is a writer, playwright, and journalist with special interest in cultural and social politics. Marjorie writes both critically and creatively for a number of national and international publications, such as The Guardian and Reader’s Digest, and she was also recently shortlisted for the 15th Windsor Fringe International Kenneth Branagh Drama Award in 2018.
AMY RENEE WASNEY, writer Amy Renee Wasney is a passionate writer and feminist living in the south suburbs of Chicago and an annual participant in National Novel Writing Month who enjoys hot beverages, baking, and crossstitching. Her favorite films include “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), “The Princess Bride” (1987), and “Big Fish” (2003), and her personal heroes are Fred Rogers and Hermione Granger. She tries to live up to their example each and every day.
JAYLAN SALAH, writer Jaylan Salah is an Egyptian poet, translator, two-time national literary award winner, animal lover, feminist, film critic, and philanthropist. Jaylan’s book “Thus Spoke La Loba” is a short story collection that explores sexuality, gender, and issues of identity. Her first poetry book “Workstation Blues” will be published with PoetsIN, a publishing house with a purpose to destigmatize mental illness and support international artists.
PAMELA POWELL, film critic Pamela Powell, a member of the CFCA, BFCA, Rotten Tomatoes, and the WFCC, currently writes for both print and online publications and cohosts a segment on WCIATV and WLRW radio. She attends film festivals around the world, including Sundance, SXSW, and Toronto, seeking new blockbusters and hidden independent gems. Pamela participates in panel discussions and local social impact film series and focuses on female filmmakers.
CARLA RENATA, film critic Carla Renata aka The Curvy Film Critic is a graduate of Howard University who has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and Variety. Her reviews have been featured on AAFCA.com, Ebony, NPR, and The Curvy Critic (formerly Black Tomatoes) on Black Hollywood Live. Carla is a proud member of the AfricanAmerican Film Critics Association (AAFCA), LA Online Film Critics Society (LAOFCS), and Online Association of Female Film Critics (OAFFC).
MICHAL AVIAD, filmmaker Born in Jerusalem, MICHAL AVIADIS an acclaimed and awardwinning feminist filmmaker of both documentaries and narrative films. She studied literature and philosophy at Tel Aviv University, and began making films in San Francisco in the 1980s. Since returning to Israel in 1991, she has continued to write, direct, and produce films and work as an activist for women’s rights. Aviad is a senior faculty member at Tel Aviv University’s Tisch School of Cinema.
TIFFANY ADDISON, filmmaker Tiffany Addison has been an actress and voiceover artist for several years. She also writes and produces films. Tiffany wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a short film titled “Road to Freedom” (2017). The film has been recognized in many festivals in the US and Cape Town, South Africa. She also wrote the feature film “Nothing Like Thanksgiving” (2018) and is the executive producer of short film “7vens Law” (2017).
CLARE COONEY, filmmaker Clare Cooney is a Chicago actor and filmmaker. She directed, wrote, and starred in “Runner” (2017), a short film that played at fifteen film festivals, winning several awards. She is a “Filmmaker to Watch” nominee from the Academy-Qualifying Atlanta Film Fest and is artistic director of Elevated Films Chicago. Recent film/TV credits include “Widows,” “Chicago PD,” “Hot Date,” “Soul Sessions,” and “Rendezvous in Chicago.” She is a School at Steppenwolf grad and is represented by Gray Talent. CINEMA FEMME MAGAZINE
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The Women of Wakanda BY MARJORIE H. MORGAN
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he film “Black Panther” (2018) is a typical Marvel action movie that’s not typical in its casting. A large amount of the action is performed by the women, main characters who don’t exist solely to assist the goals of a male character. They each have their own agendas and missions. The groundbreaking film “Black Panther” features Chadwick Boseman as the eponymous superhero from Wakanda who officially spearheads the battle on the villainous players, while surrounded by the skills and expertise of an army of women. The film is exceptional for a number of reasons, and this essay will focus particularly on the power of the female agency in the film. This agency is heralded in the opening sequence when the panther goddess Bast is highlighted as the fountain source of truth and power in Wakanda. Bast’s gift of the secret, potent, heart-shaped herb is handed to the Wakandans via a vision, and is tended and guarded by mainly female gatekeepers. The film’s principal stars are the country of Wakanda and the many women, not the titular “Black Panther” persona.
The first human females introduced set the tone for the entire film: When the highly trained royal guard, Dora Milaje, knock on the door of Californian-based Wakandan spy, N’Jobu (Sterling K. Brown), he immediately shows both fear and respect to their presence. He says to his soldier companion, “Open it. They won’t knock again.” Throughout the movie, the ceremonial honour guard and high-security protection duties for the royal Wakandan family and status of the throne are led by the all-female Dora Milaje. During the entire film, Okoye (Danai Gurira), general of the Dora Milaje, commands respect from everyone with her quiet, dignified presence, her ever-ready status, and her unflinching loyalty to her position within the royal household. The female “Black Panther” characters are multidimensional and able to show both strength and tenderness without fracturing their personalities. An example of this occurs when General Okoye stops the rebellion of the Border Tribe, led by her “love” warrior W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), with the following exchange: “Drop your weapon.”
The strong representation of women gives innumerable female characters a performance range and depth that is not traditionally seen in superhero films or mainstream movies.
“Will you kill me, my love?” “For Wakanda? Without question!”
The all-Black female characters are not conflicted by their roles; they are strongly independent, unflinching, loyal, reliable, and trustworthy in varying measures. From Angela Bassett, as the ever-elegant Queen Mother Ramonda, to the reclusive warrior women of the Jabari Tribe who fight to rescue Wakanda from the outside villains, the women of “Black Panther” teach the viewer about feminism without the need for a single white woman saviour feminist in sight. 4
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The tripod of power that is central to “Black Panther” is embodied by two women and a man: King T’Challa, General Okoye, and international spy Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who are present at the high points of the movie, especially at the beginning—in the first ten minutes when their triangular connection is established—and later in the centre, and at the conclusion of the story when they resurface together to restore equilibrium to Wakanda and expand its global reach. Ayo, another senior Dora
Milaje, joins the trio at the United Nations press conference in Vienna at the film’s ending, making the concluding image of the Wakandan Empire mostly female. From a Black female perspective, “Black Panther” is the cinematic equivalent of Michelle Obama’s 2018 book “Becoming”; it is a testament to the reality and life of a people who are often ignored. Both pieces of media focus specifically on the individuality of the Black female body, and the movie, like the Obama book, is a celebration of a circle of strong women who always lift each other up. “Black Panther” disrupts the social constructions around the portrayals of race onscreen. From the protagonist (Chadwick Boseman) to the antagonist Killmonger aka N’Jadaka (Michael B. Jordan), this film populates the story with a wide range of dynamically complex characters who are a mixture of realistic positive and negative traits. Even Killmonger’s female partner is depicted as a highly skilled hacker and undercover agent, despite the fact that she is later assassinated when she is of no further use. “Black Panther” is a revelation and celebration of Black spaces personified by Wakanda that have been protected from the disruption of Western influences. It is also a filmic imagination and cultural restoration of the possibilities that may have occurred if Black African history was uninterrupted by white colonialism. The women in “Black Panther” are central to this story; they are never invisible. They are the scaffolding, spine, and substance of the action within this epic creation; their actions and individual choices are essential to the shape of the narrative. In the closing scenes of the film, the titular Black Panther thanks Nakia for saving him and his family, before the powerful Wakandans stand before the world at the United Nations to reveal their true identity and offerings of their rich culture to the world. Director Ryan Coogler uses a firm yet delicate and detailed touch with the direction of this film. The inclusion of historical and traditional African tribal garments is a bow to the long history of the African continent, and the oft-overlooked strength, innovation, and intelligence of the people who originated from there (production designer Hannah Beachler and costume designer Ruth Carter). The character of Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), along with her female design team, mirrors the vibranium that is at the centre of the story, and is an illustration of the hidden riches of Africans. Shuri is a perpetual innovator and a punmaster whose philosophy is summed up in the following sharp dialogue between her and her brother, King-elect: “How many times do I have to teach you? Just because something works doesn’t mean that it cannot be improved.” “You are teaching me? What do you know?” “More than you!” Shuri counters and walks away to continue her research.
Realistically, not all members of the Wakandan Tribes accept Shuri’s technological advancements. M’Baku (Winston Duke) from the Jabari Tribe demeans her with his initial reference to her as “a child” and views her position as a researcher as a person “who scoffs at tradition.” M’Baku has some of the funniest lines when he interacts with the American CIA agent Ross (Martin Freeman) in the mountain home of the Jabari. The humour of the film is not to be overlooked, especially when it so smoothly tackles both patriarchy and white supremacist ideals. An example of this is the discussion of beauty in the scene in South Korea. The film covers individuality and the choice of whether or not to wear Western hairstyles. When Okoye comments on the wig Nakia wears to blend in on their mission, Nakia—referring to American singer Willow Smith’s 2010 song “Whip My Hair”— smoothly responds, “Just whip it back and forth, eh?” The normally naturalistic women complete their mission and eventually capture the elusive villain Klaue and, in the process, humorously use the abhorred wig and necessary high-heeled shoes as weapons against their opponents in the Busan, South Korea, nightclub. The message of “Black Panther” is that the potential and influence of women must not be ignored or discounted. From the strategic actions of Nakia as an undercover spy and refugee saviour on a personal mission who will not abandon her calling, to the knowledge centre of Shuri, who has the final words of the film when she says to the injured Westerner Sergeant Barnes, “Come, there is much more for you to learn,” all the women excel as examples of depth and variety of the Black woman. The women of Wakanda break all current Black women stereotypes: the Wakandans are strong, they have choices, and they are independent. Nakia, from the River Tribe, was T’Challa’s chosen one, yet she left him and her home in Wakanda to follow her calling and her dreams for happiness by using her skills to emancipate and aide others in the world beyond the Wakandan borders. Nakia reinforces her agency when she reminds King T’Challa that she could be a great Queen if she wanted to, but her choice is to do something else. The central question of this epic movie is “Who are you?” and what do you choose to do with all of who you are. The Wakandan women are glorious from the commencement of the film to the closing credits and they present a varied representation of Black women’s lives. However, the follow-up Marvel story of the Dora Milaje is eagerly anticipated with the hope that the role of Ayo—a high-ranking royal protection officer—will be expanded to include more of the same-sex relationships that exist amongst women. ■ *Listen to audio version here: https://soundcloud.com/ cinemafemme/the-women-of-wakanda-by-marjorie-hmorgan
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Body, Heart, Soul BY AMY WASNEY
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eneral Okoye, Spy Nakia, Princess Shuri. The film might be “Black Panther” (2018), but without these women, there would be no T’Challa, no Black Panther, no Wakanda, no Earth. While T’Challa was coping with his new role and doubting everything he knew, the women of Wakanda were by his side, showing him who they already knew him to be. While the king and leader of the Wakandan people is T’Challa, the Black Panther, with his superhuman abilities given to him by the heart-shaped herb, the greatest warrior Wakanda has is General Okoye. She leads their army, the Dora Milaje, with a strong hand and fierce loyalty. In the fight in Busan, South Korea, she takes on many of Klaue’s men all on her own. With nothing but a spear and a wig, she uses her knowledge of combat and her training to defeat the multitude of bad guys with guns. During the car chase, she takes out one car using just a spear. And when she is flipping through the air after being blown up, she uses her other spear to save her own life, proving that she is resourceful and able to think quickly. After the ritual combat fight between T’Challa and Killmonger, Okoye’s strength and loyalty takes another form. Until that moment, it seemed as though she was loyal to T’Chaka, T’Challa, and the royal family. But it is during her conversation with Nakia when you see where her loyalty lies. Okoye is loyal to Wakanda above all else. She will fight for Wakanda, she will kill for Wakanda, she will sacrifice everything she loves for Wakanda, and she will die for Wakanda. It’s during this conversation that you see what makes Okoye such a great warrior. While in her personal life she values love and friendship, when she is the General of the Dora Milaje, everything is for Wakanda. When she made the choice to serve her country no matter who the king is, she may have made a few ene-
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mies or lost people’s trust, but she knew deep down in her heart that no matter what happens or who comes along, her loyalty and love of Wakanda is unwavering. And it was this loyalty that eventually led to her being able to save the country she loves so much. Okoye’s greatest moment of using strategy over force is when she stands in front of a temporary ally, protecting him from a charging rhinoceros, knowing that the animal loves her and will stop for her. She then stands against W’Kabi, her love, knowing also that he loves her, but not knowing if he will stop for her. She uses her love, both for W’Kabi and Wakanda, to stop the fighting. This great general stops a terrible battle in its tracks, simply because she is able and willing to use something other than brute force. If Okoye had not done this, the battle would’ve raged on and Wakanda would’ve been devastated, but because she was able to remind W’Kabi and the Border Tribe of love, they were willing to throw down their weapons and unite once again. When we first meet Nakia, she is undercover on a mission to rescue a group of kidnapped women. It’s our first introduction to this woman and she’s in the thick of danger, putting her own life on the line to rescue others. Nakia accepts T’Challa’s offer to return home for the coronation ceremony, but she will not be staying in Wakanda for very long. In a nation of people who value their own home country over all else, Nakia sees the suffering in the rest of the world and will do whatever she can to help. Once T’Challa is crowned as King, Nakia doesn’t forget the position she is in to help others. As they walk through the streets, Nakia does her best to convince T’Challa that Wakanda should be doing more to help the outside world, trying as hard as she can to convince him that Wakanda is strong enough to help others without losing what makes them so great. He does not agree to her request, but she has planted the seeds in his mind. She knows that T’Challa has a good heart, and she is going to do everything in her power to bring that good heart out and not let T’Challa hide in fear. Nakia has enormous physical strength and power, as we see in the fight in South Korea, the Wakandan battle, and the fact that during the coronation ceremony she is the River Tribe’s prize warrior who declines to challenge for the throne. If it was what she wanted out of life, she could have very easily become a Dora Milaje, but that wasn’t her calling in life. Nakia constantly values love over war, helping over fighting. She wants Wakanda to help other people and nations, but she doesn’t want them to send their weapons to oppressed people; she wants to offer aid, refuge, help. She wants to help oppressed people not by bringing the oppressors down, but by lifting everyone up to a higher level. From an outsider’s perspective, it may seem that Nakia does not have the loyalty to Wakanda that Okoye has, but Nakia’s loyalty should never be questioned. She does not bow down to the new king when Killmonger takes over; she does anything and
everything she can, working outside of the law and Wakanda’s protection to save the country she loves. She goes to the General and asks for help in overthrowing the man not fit to be king, she sneaks through tunnels to steal the heart-shaped herb, and she offers that herb to M’Baku, leader of the Jabari, even though he has not earned the role of Black Panther. She has spent her life working as a spy outside of her beloved Wakanda, and now to save her country and restore Wakanda to its glory, she has to turn against it. Nakia did not know what kind of repercussions she may face by giving the heart-shaped herb to M’Baku, but she did what she had to do because she knew it was the only way to save what she loved. Finally, we have Princess Shuri, T’Challa’s younger sister. Before I begin, I feel I should make a disclaimer: I have always been the younger sister, and let me tell you, it’s not easy. Younger sisters have the ability to lift your spirits, make you laugh, boost your ego, bring your ego down a few notches, and humiliate you, all with just a few words. Nobody believes in you more than younger sisters do, but there is also nobody who will hold you more accountable for your actions, and Shuri is all of this and more for T’Challa. In her first two minutes onscreen, she teases him, tries to teach him, scolds him, and retaliates when he teases her. At the coronation ceremony, the pride on her face for her brother could melt even the hardest of hearts, yet she is still able to keep him in check when she raises her hand to complain about her corset. Throughout the entire movie, we see Shuri save T’Challa’s life again and again. While he is in South Korea, she is driving the car for him, constantly communicating with him, reminding him of the kinetic energy in his suit. After the ritual combat battle with Killmonger, Shuri is the one who rescues T’Challa’s Black Panther necklace. Even when she believes him to be dead, she is still managing to rescue him. In the final battle with Killmonger, at T’Challa’s request she turns on the train, allowing the lights to deactivate the Black Panther suits, which is what eventually leads to T’Challa’s success in the fight. Shuri is T’Challa’s biggest cheerleader, his strongest critic, his best friend, and the one he would be truly lost without. There is no denying that T’Challa is a strong leader with a good heart, but without the women of Wakanda, he would be lost in the tall grass. With the help of the heart-shaped herb, he has superhuman strength, speed, and instincts, but he would lose every war he was in if he didn’t have Okoye. He is kindhearted and good-natured, but if he didn’t have Nakia, he would be following in the footsteps of past kings and keeping vibranium and Wakandan technology a secret out of fear instead of helping the rest of the world and providing aid. He knows who he is. He is proud of his heritage, proud of his country, proud of his father, and proud of himself. Without Shuri by his side, he would have none of that. Only with the women’s body, heart, and soul—Okoye, Nakia, and Shuri, respectively—can T’Challa truly be the Black Panther that Wakanda deserves. ■ *Listen to audio version here: https://soundcloud.com/ cinemafemme/body-heart-soul-by-amy-wasney CINEMA FEMME MAGAZINE
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Third World as We Do Not Know It Why We Need More Black Panthers That Defy White Patriarchy BY JAYLAN SALAH
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hen I first started my international film criticism career, I never thought anyone would be interested in what a twenty-something Egyptian feminist woman had to say. I was not Western, I had not studied the art of filmmaking at a prestigious international film academy, and I most certainly did not belong to any film “cliques.” My feelings bordered on isolation, insufficiency, and envying white privilege. A male colleague once told me—rather bitterly—that had I been born in a European country or an American state, my life would have taken a completely different toll. “Just compare your position to a Western woman your age with a similar set of skills,” he said. From that moment, I grew to hate white privilege and believe there was no way out of that enormous capsule of being a non-Western, nonwhite female. Fighting for my rights sounded a bit cliché and spoiled when I had to fight for a regular desk job and put food on the table amid patriarchal societal restrictions. That’s why cinema needs to bring more films like “Black Panther” (2018) into the spotlight. In a pivotal scene from “Black Panther,” when T’Challa is asked not to freeze when he faces his fierce, beloved warrior Nakia, Nakia—disguised as a kidnapped poor black girl among a group of stolen African females by a Boko Haram–like gang—removes her long khimar, the Muslim dress code which covers the head, neck, and shoulders, showing her glowing black skin and ath-
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letic body as she defends a young, kidnapped black boy from her heroic lover’s irrationality. In that particular scene, director Ryan Coogler’s superhero adaptation grabbed my attention. In just one scene, multiple feminist themes were highlighted in light of stories being told from a nonwhite, non-male, non-patriarchal point of view. The female protagonist’s veil was taken off for her to have more freedom in kicking some bad guys’ asses. She ripped the conservative clothing meant to subdue women and restrict their movement without basking in sexy attire like many movies made from a white, Western point of view. In “Sex and the City 2” (2018), the four lead women wear niqabs—the face garment covering the face, worn by a particular subset of Muslim women—as means to sneak away from angry, rabid Arab males who were both infatuated and offended by Samantha Jones’s blatant Western sexuality. Instead of discarding the niqab as means to highlight the social impact of such facial and body covering, the clothing piece is used by the four women to further decorate their sexual liberation rather than make a social commentary about the female garment and how it enhances or hinders women’s progress. In “Black Panther,” women’s fashion statements are bold, colorful, and culturally appropriate. Seanamarena blankets, lip discs, hand dyeing, and beading form a mesh of cultural combinations, proving that “Black Panther” redefines aesthetics of beauty without losing the cultural context to which they pay homage. Nakia handles a fight with both wisdom and nurture that’s lacking in many films with male protagonists, where murder, mayhem, and torture are the driving forces behind key action scenes. “Black Panther” uses clothing and accessories as means to heighten the complete experience of an Africa untainted by the white man’s burden. The inspiration for how people wear their clothes, paint their skin, or emblazon their features comes from the Tuareg, Zulu, Maasai, Himba, and Dinka tribes. When T’Challa’s sister Shuri complains of the uncomfortable corset she is wearing, it’s a throwback to all the uncomfortable fashion moments where women sacrificed comfort and ease of movement for beauty and aesthetics. Here we have multiple female characters with mindsets of their own, where patriarchy does not loom over their heads to conform to how men see them. “Black Panther” matters for many reasons, none of which are superhero-specific. When a film is released, I usually surf the internet for in-depth reviews which try to analyze the content past what first meets the eye. In her piece for Black Girl Nerds, Jamie Broadnax describes “Black Panther” as “afro-futuristic and Blackity-black as hell.” In The New Yorker, Jelani Cobb describes how Coogler emphasizes history as the major African-American villain: “Black Panther ... has been an inherently political character since his inception, during the Black Power era of the nineteen-sixties. He is a refutation of the image of the lazy and false African, promulgated in the white world and subscribed to even by many in the black one.”
Black teens showed their support and infatuation with the comicverse, empowered seeing themselves owning the screen instead of silently taking a secondary role. Kenneth Franklin, a high school senior, wrote in VOX Atlanta, “‘Black Panther’ is very much a ‘black’ movie. No, it’s not ‘just a superhero movie,’ it’s a black superhero film, directed and written by black people, for everyone, but with black people in mind.” If not for the political, cultural, and feminist significance, “Black Panther” would be the last film on my to-watch list. I rarely watch superhero movies and admit, rather discontentedly, that I have no clue what the difference is between the DC and Marvel universe. I watched Tim Burton’s “Batman Returns” (1992) for Catwoman; the idea of a woman dying and being resurrected by the cat gods to wreak havoc on a cruel, patriarchal world was not to be missed. I skipped all the Batman/Penguin drama just to see the meek Selina Kyle transform into a mega-sized cat who plans to avenge all the bullying she endured from her male counterparts. Watching “Black Panther” has given me a similar experience, being from a country that most privileged nations deem “third world,” “regressed,” and “developing.” I belong to the same continent, if from a different sector with a different cultural backdrop and political history.
I saw an Africa which I dream of exploring and growing old within. The Egyptian heritage is a standalone testament to the greatness of a nation that had nothing to do with European invasion, and through a film like “Black Panther,” I could also dream of a film which tackles Egyptian history through a lens unmarred by orientalism. Something that defies “The Mummy” (1999) and “Cleopatra” (1963), where Egypt’s history and culture are decoded by people who hijacked the present and the future of its own children. With “Black Panther” in my DVD player, I enjoyed watching black people owning up to their lives, freeing their brothers and sisters without waiting for a white savior à la Indiana Jones– style. There are no colonialists or white men carrying the burden of looking after the ignorant Africans who cannot fend for themselves. Wakanda is not only the ultimate African dream, but more or less the fantasy for people not born with a white privilege spoon in their mouths. ■ *Listen to audio version here: https://soundcloud.com/ cinemafemme/third-world-as-we-do-not-know-it-by-jaylansalah
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A Conversation Between Cinema Femme Magazine Founder Rebecca Martin and Film Critic Carla Renata GROWING UP CARLA RENATA: My father was in the military, so we traveled quite a bit. My love of film was fostered by my mom. On Sundays, my brother and I would grab some cereal, hop in bed with Mommy, and watch old movies all day long. It would be anything from Charlie Chan to Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney to Rita Hayworth. Mommy would be share trivia about the films and stars. She was kind of like Turner Classic Movies, but she was just my mom. So that’s where it started.
BROADCAST JOURNALIST TO TRAVELING SINGER/ACTRESS TO FILM CRITIC RENATA: I graduated from Howard University with a degree in Broadcast Production, which now would be called Broadcast Journalism. My intention was to produce the evening news on
ABC. I interviewed for a desk assistant position and realized it wasn’t a good fit financially. So, I opted to put that career on pause and sang around the world with USO tours and cruise ships. REBECCA MARTIN: So, you are a singer? RENATA: I do sing and I’ve been in numerous Broadway shows. What happened was I came to LA to pursue acting. Things were going well for a minute and then it all came to a screeching halt. I thought maybe it was time to put that college degree to work. I had a publicist who booked me as a guest on an online radio show. The host and owner of the station kept inviting me back and eventually offered me to be his cohost. Around that same time, I was encouraged to start a blog where The Curvy Film Critic was born. Since that time, I’ve been invited to become a member of the African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society (LAOFCS), and Online Association of Female Film Critics (OAFFC). Through networking opps with those organizations, I was able to meet other critics who shared the same passion I had about film. 10
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MOTIVATED RENATA: When I first got on the trajectory of being a film critic, my only reference was Siskel & Ebert and Leonard Maltin on Entertainment Tonight. But, I noticed, there were no women critics. So, after some research, I discovered less than 5 percent of women were film critics and 2 percent of that were people of color. I felt like, this is ridiculous. MARTIN: It is ridiculous; it’s very frustrating. RENATA: I thought I can do this! I had Turner Classic Movies for a mom and a degree in film. So, as luck would have it, a friend of mine knew the president of “Black Hollywood Live,” a YouTube station/channel that is owned/operated by Maria Menounos and her husband Keven Undergaro. So, I pitched a film review show. We did some test shows and finally launched the show (“Black Tomatoes”) February of this year.
SPEAKING MY TRUTH RENATA: My film critic site has gone through various incarnations, for a variety of reasons. I’ve finally settled on “The Curvy Film Critic” because I’m curvy, I’m a film critic, and it’s easy to remember. Since the market is so saturated, you have to find a way to stick out. I decided the best way for me to stick out was to speak my truth. I learned from Roger Ebert how to not say I don’t like something without throwing acid rain on someone else’s parade. If I don’t care much for a project, I may say something like, “It wasn’t my cup of tea, but these people will like it or give a synopsis of the film.” I’ve actually screened some films that were so bad that I couldn’t find the heart to review. I simply couldn’t find the words or anything redeeming about it. For example, a studio representative reached out to me to review a film. When I watched it, I found myself in a very precarious position of not knowing what to say. So, I decided on the truth. When asked for a quote, I confessed my feelings for this film. To avoid saying all of that in a review, I’m just not going to review it. I was petrified when I clicked send. The rep emailed me back and was appreciative that I told the truth. I was scared. I’m an independent, I don’t have someone bankrolling what I say or do. One bad sentence or one bad review to the wrong publicity firm or studio representative, and I take the chance of being cut off. MARTIN: Yeah, that’s admirable; you could have gone another way. RENATA: Yeah, that’s just not who I am. However, on the flip side, the past ninety days have been a whirlwind. The LA Times published an article regarding fourteen underrepresented film critics of color. I was one of them. In addition, I was featured in Variety during the Toronto International Film Festival. MARTIN: That is fantastic, congrats! RENATA: …And featured in The Cherry Picks, which I believe is how you found me. Also hosted a night of “The Black Experience on Film” for Turner Classic Movies through my film critics organization, AAFCA. MARTIN: I saw that; what a great experience for you. RENATA: We made history doing that. Turner Classic Movies had never done anything like that before. Because my love of film was fostered by my mother, to be able to have her watch me hosting Turner Classic Movies was everything. MARTIN: Wow, that’s amazing.
RENATA: That was everything to me. And to have her enjoy it, we stayed up all night, watching all of the movies films until 2 a.m., and I had a set call for another project at 6 a.m. MARTIN: Oh my goodness. That’s rough. RENATA: When I finished shooting that day, I flew straight to Toronto for the festival. MARTIN: But I bet it was worth it, right? Even though you were probably pretty tired. RENATA: It was totally worth it. And the funny thing is now, it’s coming to the point that I need to get an assistant, an associate or something, because, when I was at Toronto, I was getting like a thousand emails a day. MARTIN: Yeah, you definitely need an assistant. That’s a lot. RENATA: It was crazy. On average, I get somewhere between five hundred and a thousand emails a day. Most of them are like, this screening is happening, can you do an interview, can you do that interview, I’m like. . . MARTIN: By the way, thank you for doing this interview! RENATA: You’re welcome. It’s a lot going on, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s everything that I wanted to do. Sometimes, you need to know exactly who you are and where you’re supposed to be to know where you are going.
see anyone who looked like me talking about films or being a film critic with a passion for film. I know there probably was someone out there, but I didn’t see or hear them. I didn’t know they existed. I’m hoping there’s some little girl, some teenager, some chick in college, who’s a Broadcast Journalism major, who sees me, hears me, and knows that anything is possible if you work hard enough. Nothing is impossible. If you want to be a film critic, be a film critic. Don’t let anyone throw acid rain on your parade.
“BLACK PANTHER” (2018) RENATA: There has been numerous Marvel Comic Books films. But this was the first time, in fifty years, Marvel decided to give “Black Panther” some love. What happened when they did? It was like watching a superhero revolution happening. One of the “Good Morning America” segments that aired during the film’s premiere week had an audience full of little kids. Black, white, and otherwise with “Black Panther” costumes on. One of the costumes that struck me the most was a little girl with a “Black Panther” costume on. When the hosts interviewed and asked her, “Why are you so excited about ‘Black Panther’?” she
KNOW WHO YOU ARE, IN ORDER TO KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING RENATA: It’s really funny, because this screening I went to today was “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2018), and one of the quotes in that movie from Rami Malek, who’s playing Freddie Mercury in the film, he said pretty much exactly that: You really need to know who you are, in order to know where you’re going, how are you going to make your impact or imprint on life. Freddie Mercury was somebody that knew that unequivocally. He never tried to be someone that others wanted him to be. He was simply himself. As a woman and a person of color, trying to navigate through the waters as a film critic is difficult at best. Everybody is talking about #MeToo, #TimesUp, diversity, and inclusion. Middle- aged white men are acting like they’re an endangered species. I’m like, nobody’s trying to make you an endangered species, nobody is trying to make you extinct, nobody’s trying to get rid of you. All I’m saying, and the bottom line for me is this is . . . let’s just add some more voices to the diaspora. It’s upsetting to me that for a film like “Ghostbusters” (2016) and “Ocean’s 8” (2018) or “Widows” (2018), that the studios do not go out of their way to invite women to those screenings. It’s just like, really though? Really? At the end of the day for me, film is an art form. It’s like a painting. If you were going to any museum anywhere in the world, someone will stand in front of a painting and not two people will see that painting the same way. Same thing goes for a motion picture. People will see the same motion picture and not have the same experience. For that reason, it is important to have more diverse voices involved in all genres of film criticism. Everybody’s voice is represented and not just from one vantage point.
FINAL THOUGHTS
simply responded, “I finally saw somebody that looks like me.” MARTIN: Wow, that makes me happy. RENATA: It’s important children see themselves represented, across all different lanes of life. It is only then they know it’s possible. If I had seen one black astronaut when I was a kid, I probably would have been an astronaut. Representation is important and how it’s presented is just as important. MARTIN: It’s really been a pleasure speaking with you. You’ve lifted my spirits, so thank you. RENATA: Thank you, Rebecca, happy you feel that way. What you are doing is important. You are giving a voice to women who, for up until this point, didn’t have a voice, didn’t have a place to go, only a few select places. We appreciate you. MARTIN: Well thank you! Thank you, that means a lot. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you. ■ Learn more about Carla Renata, The Curvy Film Critic, at www. thecurvyfilmcritic.com. You can hear her film reviews on Sundays at 5 p.m. on Black Hollywood Live’s “Black Tomatoes.”
RENATA: I wanted to say, when I was growing up, I didn’t CINEMA FEMME MAGAZINE
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Filmmaker Michal Aviad Talks with Pamela Powell About Her Film “Working Woman” Michal Aviad’s newest film, “Working Woman,” premiered at TIFF and recently screened at the Chicago International Film Festival. “Working Woman” (2018) tells a remarkably timely tale of sexual harassment in the workplace and the effects upon a woman’s entire life and family. Orna (Liron Ben-Shlush) is a happily married woman trying to help make ends meet and balance motherhood. Obtaining a high-profile real estate sales position, she becomes a sensation, but the price she pays may be higher than she anticipated as she combats the advances of her boss while trying to keep her job. With extraordinary performances and an intuitively thought-provoking script cowritten by Aviad, “Working Woman” is a riveting and realistic portrayal of women’s challenges in the workplace. Aviad directs her cast with deft skill, allowing viewers to walk in Orna’s shoes and understand these complex situations more clearly. I had a chance to talk with Aviad about her inspiration in developing such an intricately real story as well as her own empowering actions in life.
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! PAMELA POWELL: You’ve been in this industry long enough to see the tides begin to turn. Looking back on your career, was this story inspired by your own life or observations? MICHAL AVIAD: I worked ten years as a waitress, and since the late 1980s as a filmmaker and film teacher. I’ve experienced many things at work and in life—from humiliating sexual comments to sexual abuse. Struggling to work as a woman filmmaker was and still often is accompanied by degrading behavior towards me as a woman. . . . In addition, I have been working with feminist colleagues for many years to bring issues of female equality into the national consciousness. For example, in our industry, two years ago, with the Israeli Forum of Women in Cinema & TV, I took part in writing a treaty which calls everyone to report sexual harassment at work and detail the actions that will be taken against harassers. POWELL: Tell me about developing deep characters and relationships in this film. AVIAD: ... While writing, I wanted to shape Orna and her husband as a loving couple, since I wanted my heroine to reject her boss’s advances because she is simply in love with another man, her husband. I wanted to make Ofer, Orna’s husband, lovable and sexy, and what is sexier for women (I wish men realized this) than a caring father? We were writing a story in which I wanted to find out how sexual harassment at work affects not only the victim’s soul, but also her relations with her entire environment. I wanted to find out why Orna and many women do not tell even loved ones about the struggle they go through. POWELL: This film’s story will most certainly, and unfortunately, resonate with a majority of women in the workplace. With such an empowering end, what do you hope others will take away from it? 12
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AVIAD: I am glad you see the end as empowering, since Orna, like most women and unlike the #MeToo heroines, does not go public. . . . In reality, women who go through sexual harassment at work, more often than not, lose everything: their job, promised money, their hopes to advance and the ability to find a similar job. But Orna is not just a helpless victim, she goes out to fight for what she can get. POWELL: Tell me how you worked with Liron (Orna) whose performance was subtle yet complex and exuded intelligence and strength. AVIAD: First of all, Liron is an extremely intelligent and talented actress . . . when Liron auditioned, I felt that she knew Orna. Liron was twenty weeks pregnant at the time, but I felt she was my heroine, so we waited for her to give birth and recover. While filming, Liron was breastfeeding, which was an additional feminist angle to the set. In the months prior to filming, Liron and I researched Orna together. . . . We slowly shaped every step of Orna’s journey. POWELL: The hotel scene literally stopped me from breathing as I hesitantly watched the details unfold. Can you tell me about the research about sexual harassment and assault that you did to portray such realistic responses? AVIAD: My previous narrative feature film, “Invisible” (2011), is about the trauma of two women who were raped many years earlier by the same serial rapist. My personal experience and years of reading testimonies on the subject helped me grasp the complex reactions of victims of sexual abuse. Shaping the assault scene at the hotel stems also from watching films, the majority of which were made by men. I was trying to veer away from creating a scene that can sexually stimulate viewers. Rape and harassment scenes in cinema are traditionally directed to combine the greatest ticket sales formula: sex and violence on the screen. I do not want to be part in that tradition. I wanted to show a horrific scene that didn’t involve nudity and blood. POWELL: To say that this is a timely tale is an understatement. What are your thoughts about the timing and issues that apparently are not only happening in the U.S., but around the world? AVIAD: When #MeToo happened, I was in the middle of shooting. The news was for me a breath of a new hope. . . . So far the women that came out in the #MeToo moment are famous, wealthy celebrities who make news. I would love nurses, chambermaids, and secretaries to come out with their stories without paying a terrible price. . . . I feel optimistic, but the road is still long. ■ “Working Woman” has been picked up for distribution by Zeitgeist and Kino Lorber. Michal’s film “Working Woman” is being released in theaters in March and April 2019 in NY and LA.
A Conversation Between Cinema Femme Founder Rebecca Martin and Filmmaker Tiffany Addison FROM ACTOR TO FILMMAKER ADDISON: I have been in the industry for quite some time, I would say literally over sixteen or seventeen years. I’ve made a lot of headway as an actor. I’m working onstage, doing voiceovers, doing commercials, TV, film. I’ve had the ability and the opportunity to do something in all of these areas. After all of this time, I’ve started to think about my career, where my career is going. . . . A friend of mine suggested I write something. There’s a whole other side to it when you’re behind-the-scenes. I have a view on the business in both perspectives. So I go in, I tackle it, I try to write a short film, which would be called “Road to Freedom” (2017). I thought it would be OK, but at that time I didn’t know anything about writing, so I met a guy by the name of Mark Harris. He mentored me in writing a script, fleshing out concepts, and learning how to create a full script. I worked with him for two years, then I took it upon myself to write a short film called “Road to Freedom,” and after that I wrote a feature film (“Nothing Like Thanksgiving” (2018)).
She does check herself, does a wide sweep on her life, from a child, to a teenager, to an adult. It takes her a full circle around to that moment, then she gives her answer. MARTIN: That sounds really interesting; I really want to see it. Can I find it online? ADDISON: Not currently, since it’s being submitted at film festivals. It has done very well. It was in a couple different film festivals; it went to Cape Town, South Africa. MARTIN: Wow, that’s awesome! ADDISON: Yeah, I’m pretty proud of what “Road to Freedom” has done. We shot that in April 2017, a one-day shoot at one location. I funded the entire project. Then I just had a couple of people that came on, people that invested in me. It just turned out to be an amazing project that I’m very proud of. MARTIN: That’s amazing. Congrats! ADDISON: I had my mentor, Mark Harris, who also produced the film with me. He was alongside assisting me during this process to make sure I was making the right decisions. In October 2017, I decided I wanted to shoot a feature. We got the script together. It was originally called “Nothing Like Family,” but now the title is “Nothing Like Thanksgiving.” It’s so amazing, Rebecca, because I literally was in the process from the very beginning: having an idea, putting it on paper, securing investors, going to meetings. Once the funds were secure, we moved on to preproduction and hired everybody. My mentor (Mark Harris) was the director of this film, and I coproduced it with him and starred in the film. “Nothing Like Thanksgiving” will air on Thanksgiving of this year on Urban Movie Channel.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
SHORT AND FEATURE REBECCA MARTIN: Can you tell me what “Road to Freedom” (2017) and “Nothing Like Thanksgiving” (2018) is about? What influenced you? ADDISON: “Road to Freedom” is about forgiveness. It’s a close depiction of my life. When I think of my relationship to my father, it was sort of an estranged relationship. We were in each others’ lives, but we did not really have a strong relationship. The story is about a girl named Rachel who has been proposed to, and in the midst of her making a decision, before giving her answer, time kind of stops; she does this evaluation. You see, in her hands, of what takes place before she gives her answer. Once she gets to this conclusion, it was more of, “I need to check myself, to see where I am, if I should be saying yes or no.”
ADDISON: The one thing that I encourage individuals to do, in all your getting, or in my getting, get understanding. In all the getting that your getting, get your understanding, because being able to understand what you do, there’s a level of respect that comes with research and understanding the act before jumping in, because it looks easy. You’ll get around making a lot of mistakes and a lot of errors. Throughout my process, there were a lot of decisions that were made that I know if I knew about the first time around, I would have been that much more sharp. If I had done some research. MARTIN: Well now you know and are ready. You can keep going and going . . . ADDISON: Absolutely. I wouldn’t have trade this experience for the world, but I do believe get understanding of what you’re doing, and then one thing that is key is to find someone to serve. We’re always ready to just get into that position; we haven’t put any legwork in. Find someone that does what you do, and absorb like crazy. Sit under them, learn. Because then you’ll be that much more well-rounded and able to execute the vision that you have. MARTIN: Thank you for doing this interview. You are very inspiring and look forward to sharing your story with our readers. ADDISON: Thank you so much. It’s an honor. ■ Tiffany Addison’s feature “Nothing Like Thanksgiving” came out on Thanksgiving 2018. You can find “Nothing Like Thanksgiving” on Urban Movie Channel. CINEMA FEMME MAGAZINE
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A Conversation Between Cinema Femme Founder Rebecca Martin and Filmmaker/ Actor Clare Cooney I first heard about filmmaker and actor Clare Cooney after her buzzworthy short film “Runner” (2017) showed at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in 2018. A few months later, I had the pleasure of meeting Clare at the Midwest Independent Film Festival. With her female-focused film and her activeness in the Chicago film community, I was so happy she took the time to share her story. See highlights of our conversation below:
“RUNNER” REBECCA MARTIN: Can you talk about what “Runner” is about? What got you to the point of doing the film? CLARE COONEY: We made it about two years ago, and I had just not been getting a ton of on-camera work. I’d done some plays in Chicago, there was a year where I did a bunch of plays all in a row, but that’s rare for me, I haven’t done a lot of theatre here in Chicago. I think the Chicago theatre community is more of an in-club thing than the film/TV community is. So I had the idea for the script—the idea came to me during the summer of 2016. And I talked to my friend Jason Chiu, who’s the DP, and I talked to Shane Simmons, my producer, obviously. “How can we do this, can we do this for super cheap? I don’t want this to be delayed by crowdfunding. Can we do this the cheapest way we possibly can?” We were lucky on the fact that I had a bunch of friends that came on and jumped on board and worked on this with me. I never had directed a film before. I had literally only directed one play in college, and another bit of scene work in college. That’s literally all I had directed. But I had been working as a casting director in Chicago for four years. And I was an actor—and I feel that actors are directing themselves, in the scenes that they are working on. So I felt like I was very prepared. My friends just trusted and believed in me. We filmed it over the course of two days and we made it all on nine hundred bucks. It was a very DIY project. It was very tiring and on my next project I’ll want to have more support. I want to be able to pay everyone. But “Runner” was the perfect way to start, and I would have never learned so much if I hadn’t done it that way. The film is about a woman who goes on a jog and sees a confrontation down the alleyway. The confrontation becomes violent. So she becomes an unintentional witness to this altercation, and it’s about what that does to her life, how it affects her emotionally, how it affects her friendship group, and how it haunts her moving forward. MARTIN: That sounds great. COONEY: Yeah, so kind of a thriller. It’ll make your palms sweat, that’s for sure.
CHICAGO COONEY: That is the amazing thing about Chicago: it’s got amazing talent, with a small town vibe. But to some extent, we need to work on thinking bigger. With your magazine and peo14
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ple making films, we need to get more distribution here, we need to get more production companies, we need to get people to invest into our work. It’s wonderful that we’re supportive in our community or in our little neighborhood, but you need to keep that kindness, and that vibe, but think bigger.
COMING UP COONEY: I have so many different things I want to do. So a few months ago I directed a pilot; it’s called “Dad Man Walking,” written by and starring this guy John T. O’Brien, heavily influenced by his life as a single dad. So he asked me if I would direct the pilot for him, and I was totally game. It was my first time being hired as a director. It was a huge experience for me. I was working with a DP I hadn’t worked with before, working with a team that I hadn’t worked with before. In “Runner,” I was surrounded by my friends, people that I trusted. So that was definitely a big learning experience. Right now we’re in post, about to submit to film festivals. I’m also an editor . . . I taught myself how to edit while making “Runner.” Now I kind of make my money as an editor. I’m the editor for a web series called “Beta,” a very female focused/girl power kind of series. In terms of what’s coming next for directing, there are two different projects I’m kind of mulling over. So once we get into the new year, I’ll have time to do some thinking and writing, and
hope to direct something in 2019!
FINAL ADVICE COONEY: There is no route in this business that will take you where you want to go. It’s all these diagonal and sideways paths to get you to where you need to get. I think the way that I’ve made strides and any success has always been unexpected to me. The one thing that I’ve learned is to be kind to everyone. Go to as many events and plays and film screenings as you can, and do as much as you can, help out, volunteer, because you never know where those connections are going to take you. Finally, just work really hard and do good work. Do those things, and I’m not saying those things will make you really famous, but you will be in good company and will have a lot of exciting endeavors happening in your life. Those are the key things. ■ Clare Cooney is a Chicago-based actor and filmmaker. You can learn more about her work at www.clare-cooney.com.
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