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 She’s Gotta Have It |
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page 1 of 4
By Lynne d Johnson
Introduction
Since the popularity and commercial success of films by both Spike Lee (She’s Gotta Have It, 1986) and John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, 1991), Hollywood has viewed the black film as a viable commodity. Nonetheless, finances allocated to black film projects are significantly lower than those allocated to other feature-length films. And although, as this article will highlight, independent black filmmakers tend to operate outside of Hollywood, a host of festivals, markets, and exhibition vehicles — specifically for black filmmakers — have cropped up in recent years to foster the necessary business relationships to obtain a studio deal. An overview of some of the outlets is presented, along with key organizations that assist black filmmakers with understanding the business of cinema.
Five filmmakers — Spike Lee, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Robert Hardy, Haile Gerima, and Jerry LaMothe — and their films will be discussed as case studies to further describe and analyze Hollywood’s business relationship with black filmmakers. In these stories, various forms of filmmaking and distribution practices are documented as examples of the distribution of black films. The case studies will present problems that black filmmakers have encountered in receiving distribution deals, as well as some of their successes. Finally, a conclusion will offer a summary of problems and solutions as they pertain to the distribution of black films.
Black Film: History and Definition
Black American filmmaking began to take shape in the beginning of the twentieth century. The films of this period are referred to as race movies, and the practice of black filmmaking was established as a result of the great black migrations.1 As a black urban population developed, so did a market for black films. Black filmmakers exploited segregation by creating movies that catered to African-Americans.2 From this era, the most notable filmmaker to emerge was Oscar Micheaux.3
 Oscar Micheaux  |
And while the production of race movies took place completely outside of the parameters of Hollywood, it also involved black and white cooperation. Ironically, the demise of this era in black filmmaking was accelerated by the burgeoning civil rights movement: a philosophical shift that emphasized integration and assimilation rather than economic development as the way to achieve racial equality.6
The next breakthrough for black cinema was during 1969-1974, a period known as the blaxploitation era. In the late ’60s, the film industry suffered severe economic problems stemming from the maturation of the television industry and the continuing complications of the 1948 Paramount Consent Decree — major Hollywood studios were forced to divest their interests in both film production and exhibition. The film industry was in need of new strategies for earning revenue. This wave of filmmaking — blaxploitation — also arose out of liberal pressure on the film industry to respond to civil rights.7
In an effort to tackle these issues, the film industry selected accomplished Life photographer Gordon Parks as the first black director of a Hollywood film (The Learning Tree, 1969). Then in 1971, Melvin Van Peebles’ independently financed the controversial Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasss Song, which ushered in the blaxploitation era.8
A year prior, Peebles was hired by Columbia to direct Watermelon Man, a film in which a white racist wakes up black.9
During this period, the film industry released an average of 15 films per year that featured African-Americans as sexually charged or action-oriented characters. The films were aimed at a black viewing audience, but were written, produced, and directed by white filmmakers.10 From a critical standpoint, blaxploitation films often depicted African-Americans in a manner that reinforced negative stereotypes — about black people and black life — within American society.11
The production of black-themed films started to decline when movies like The Godfather and The Exorcist were released. One-third of the domestic box office for these films came from black communities.12 The film studios decided it was no longer necessary to generate product that specifically targeted a black audience. Just as quickly as the blaxploitation era arrived, it disappeared. Hollywood went back to business as usual, and distributors focused on big-budget films with special effects and popular stars.13
Today, studios hesitate to label a film black, especially if it has potential for crossover appeal. It is generally understood that a black film is one targeted primarily to an African-American audience.14 A black film not only has to be made by a black director, it has to feature a majority African-American cast with a concept that focuses on the black experience and is therefore targeted to African-American viewers. By definition, such a film would have no prospect for crossover appeal. bell hooks, in Reel to Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies, further defines black film:
In the United States it has been assumed both in the past and in the present that a black filmmaker will construct black images, will focus on narrative content that highlights black experience, and that the images he or she creates will necessarily work against the stereotypically negative ones represented by the white mainstream. This demand is imposed by both financial backers and audiences.15
Films specifically targeted to a black audience did not garner Hollywood’s attention again until Spike Lee released She’s Gotta Have It in 1986. His success enabled a small number of black independent filmmakers to experience greater access to first and second-tier film distributors’ resources.16
An Overview: The Black Film Market
With the rise of black independent filmmakers came the formation of organizations that could remedy the institutional disenfranchisement of black filmmakers and audiences.17 The Black Filmmaker Foundation was established in 1978 by Warrington Hudlin to provide workshops, seminars and conferences, exhibitions, a skills bank, and employment listings for its members.18 BFF also hosts DvRepublic.com, an online community created for the discussion of original programming.
 House Party |
BFF has aided numerous black independent filmmakers with directing, producing, and learning about the business of films, but it is not the only organization to do so. There is also the African-American Filmmakers’ Association, the Organization of Black Screenwriters, and the Alliance of Black Entertainment Technicians, among others. There are also other organizations and companies that have emerged to serve as facilitators for the marketing and exhibition of independent black films. Blackfilm.com, an online resource for the black film community hosts a midnight screening series of independent films and discussions. The events take place at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles and the Walter Reade Theater in New York.20
UniWorld Films, a division of UniWorld Group, is a marketing company that produces film-related events. Black Cinema Café, a showcase for independent black films, is one such event that UniWorld created for the independent black film market. The event is targeted to consumers in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.21 These cities have a high density of African-Americans. While these events are targeted to moviegoers, there are also many showcases, exhibitions, festivals, markets, and events that have been developed specifically for the film industry.
NOTES
1. S. Craig Watkins, Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the Production of Black Cinema (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998) p. 91.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Elizabeth Heath, "Film: Micheaux, Oscar," Africana.com. http://www.africana.com/Articles/tt_823.htm
5. Ibid.
6. S. Craig Watkins, Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the Production of Black Cinema (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998) p. 92.
7. Jesse Algeron Rhines, "The Political Economy of Black Film (Race in Contemporary American Cinema: Part 4)," Cineaste v21, n3 (Summer, 1995) p. 38.
8. Ibid.
9. Melvin Peebles Biography. Infoplease.com. http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0766465.html
10. Jesse Algeron Rhines, "The Political Economy of Black Film (Race in Contemporary American Cinema: Part 4)," Cineaste v21, n3 (Summer, 1995) p. 38.
11. _______, "Black Genre Is Born," Black History Month 1998, BlackVoices.com.
12. Jesse Algeron Rhines, "The Political Economy of Black Film (Race in Contemporary American Cinema: Part 4)," Cineaste v21, n3 (Summer, 1995) p. 38.
13. Ibid.
14. George Alexander, "Fade to Black," Black Enterprise, (December, 2000) p. 110.
15. bell hooks, Reel To Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies (New York: Routledge, 1996) p. 71.
16. S. Craig Watkins, Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the Production of Black Cinema (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998) p. 98.
17. Ibid. p. 97.
18. Ibid.
19. Jesse Algeron Rhines, "The Political Economy of Black Film (Race in Contemporary American Cinema: Part 4)," Cineaste v21, n3 (Summer, 1995) p. 38.
20. Blackfilm.com (info@blackfilm.com). (December 14, 2001). Blackfilm.com Report. E-mail to Subscribers (reports@databack.com).
21. UniWorld Films, about us. http://www.chelseaharlem.com/uniworldfilms/about_us.html and Black Cinema Café, about BCC http://www.blackcinemacafe.com/aboutbcc.htm.
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