The family keeps coming together and helping each other, and that is what Ava made. The constant pummeling of, ‘No, you can’t keep this land.’ And you know what? They keep getting back up. … There’s such a parallel between all of the things that happen to the Bordelons on Queen Sugar and what happens to us as women in this business. … She keeps putting another woman farmer, and then another woman farmer. It’s about this farm that this family owned, and keeping that land, and Ava has been trying to keep this land for us as women, as artists, as directors. Sitting amongst these photos, cards and scripts, how can I describe it? To paraphrase my Queen Sugar Sister Director, Lisa France: “What is Queen Sugar about? It’s about this land. It’s hard to believe this award-winning series makes its final bow on OWN on Tuesday. I had never been asked to direct television before: No one was looking for me, and what if no one asked me again?! Nothing was going to stop me from this opportunity. I arrived on crutches, having directed two feature films, 70 commercials, and just broken my ankle on both sides. Queen Sugar is one of the longest running dramas centered around a Black family on television.Īnd, for its seven seasons, it featured 42 female directors at the helm. Every episode in the one-hour series was framed and filmed like a movie. We viewed Black skin in every hue and hair in every fashion - lit and laid to perfection. We watched these characters endure roadblocks that were systemic, metaphoric and literal. There were trysts, marriages and misunderstandings. Siblings and lovers came together, argued and came undone. Guest Column: Trans Visibility Is More Important Than Everįor seven seasons, Queen Sugar has told the story of the Bordelons, a Black family - farmers who owned land and lost it activists who organized, marched and made us aware entrepreneurs who served their community. As preposterous as it seems, it’s also proof that one decision can inspire and affect lives, even an industry, if you push for it. ![]() This was the first TV show in 94 years to have all female directors. Ava making this decision, and Oprah Winfrey agreeing (the series airs on OWN), ushered an incredibly needed change into the industry. There is no way to quickly answer what Ava DuVernay’s decision to push for hiring female directors on Queen Sugar has done for my career other than to say I don’t think I would have a career directing for television if she didn’t. (I’m still not fully down with Scriptation - don’t tell Rachel Raimist and Valerie Weiss!) And I have piles of scripts. Call sheets and shot lists that have made their way home in pockets and backpacks. I’m organizing, which inevitably turns into sitting and thumbing through remnants from episodes of TV shows I’ve had the honor to direct.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |