Open CallOpen Call: Rough Cuts
Bi-Racial Hair (Rough Cut) (4:14)
Lisa Russell | Brooklyn, NY
"Slit my wrists, my blood does not excrete in black and white" prophesizes 13-year old Zora in her poem entitled "Bi-Racial Hair" which was performed live in front of 1500 of her peers and adult allies at the Urban Word NYC Teen Poetry Slam.
My proposed short film of the same title, is a satirical look at the racial tension young African American's experience who are of mixed ethnic backgrounds. Using Zora's poem as the thread, the film follows her initial comedic rant about the challenges she faces in stylizing her hair to her personal frustrations of being teased about her ethnicity by her African American peers. The film weaves between fictional reanctments of sections of her poem with candid interviews (conducted by Zora) of youth. Illustrating the struggles youth of mixed color face with identity and social position, the poet's resolution about proposing a "new race" sheds light on the complexity and depth of the racist wounds our nation still faces 150 years after the abolishment of slavery.
This rough cut has been updated as of 1/29/08.
Lisa Russell is an independent filmmaker whose work is inspired by her background in humanitarian relief and international development work. Since receiving her Masters in International Health and Development in 1998, Lisa has since produced and directed films in such diverse countries as Brazil, Ghana, Niger, Malawi, South Africa, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While some of Lisa's work has been broadcasted on public television (including PBS and Channel 4 London), most of Lisa's films are tied into advocacy, fundraising or legislative efforts with UN and international agencies. She actively screens her films around the country at universities, conferences, festivals and hill briefings and has reached thousands of students, young people and others to spark dialogue about U.S. responsibility in global affairs. In September 2005, Lisa collaborated with Grammy-nominated artist Zap Mama to create "The WOMAN Tour" - a 3-week nationwide initiative of film screenings and musical performances to increase awareness of global women's health. She was a 2008 receipient of a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grant and was selected as one of 25 filmmakers for the National Black Programming Consortium's New Media Institute. Currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, Lisa is also a teaching artist with Urban Word NYC, where she leads workshops blending film screenings and open mics for young spoken word artists to initiate awareness and dialogue about social issues affecting today's youth.
Lisa is currently in development of three new documentary film projects: an advocacy video on unsafe abortion in Ethiopia; an advocacy and new media project with the UN on youth in conflict/crisis areas (to be shot in Liberia, Colombia, Lebanon and New Orleans); and her independent film, MYTH OF THE MOTHERLAND which profiles a group of young spoken word artists on a creative writing journey to diverse African countries to address myths and stereotypes of the Mother Continent. For more information, visit www.governessfilms.com.
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Beautiful and real
The words are filled with such powerful imagery. It's funny, yet painful and hard to swallow at the same time. What an amazing young woman.
The audio up until the poem starts could actually be cleaned up . . . the levels are too hot. And the wind in the outdoor shots isn't good.
inspiring
First of all, thank you for introducing me to this phenomenal poem and poet. After seeing your pitch I checked out Zora at the NY Knicks poetry slam and am grateful that her wise words are being heard and (thanks to you) seen. Congratulations, it's coming along so nicely.
A few thoughts...
1. I love the middle part of the film best, where themes from the poem are enacted. I'd like to see the whole film take on that flavor, with the best of the mirror shots mixed in (the mirror shots are fabulous, but I wanted fewer of them). From your description it sounds like you're planning to add interviews so maybe I'm speaking too soon.
2. I agree with the prior posters that you should show the slam footage sooner, even at the beginning, mostly so we know where the applause is coming from. I realize there are technical issues with image sizes, etc. but the clean sound of Zora is really what matters.
3. I don't see the need for the first scene, but I confess I'm probably missing something obvious there - are you trying to show that she's a typical teen who avoids her parents, with added bonus that we see their two races? I like when you show her parents later in the mix, and I think we'd get who they are without further context.
It's a gorgeous film and subject, and I can't wait to see the finished piece!
bi racial hair screams!
this is surely a piece of footage that needs to be circulated. excellent dub mix of the poet and the actress. i truly enjoyed it, and hope the message goes for and wide.
Thanks for your comments..
I'm very appreciative of the comments that were posted previously and over the past several days, have tried to utilize them in my new cut. Unfortunately, I found there were several obstacles in cutting it in this fashion: the footage was shot in a different format and in 4:3 so mixing them wasn't working, and going back and forth between performance and re-enactment made the piece even more unbelieveable.
I'm obviously still working on sound and color but if you have other feedback on how to improve the piece, I'd love to hear them.
Thank you,
Lisa
Bi-Racial Hair
Previous commentary was generously on-point. Inter-twining Zola with Poet's Performance would definitely give this very unique directing style more depth. Technically, a little more work on the production values is needed, i.e., better lighting, audio pickups, yet, shot selections were pretty good. Given a workable production budget would do this short film greatly...Zora's character was believable in the context it was presented...her mimic expressions were quite cute...there's a very bright future for this 13 year old, her parents should be proud, along with Indie Aire, whose own self-consciousness and inspirational music I would guess inspired the Poet! Good job! This creative style is worth noting!
hair stories
I think that the energy in the live poem is fierce, however, the re-enactment is a bit unbelievable. Is she (the actress) the writer of the poem? Perhaps you could come back to the live performance for part of it? Loses my attention about half way through visually. I would like to see the performance of the poem intercut with her in the mirror if possible.
I love some of the things she says, though some of it teeters on the edge of stereotyped and racist imagery of black identity...unintentionally and subconsciously. Yet amazing how perceptive and aware of history this 13 year old appears to be.