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writers gone wild!
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Robert Hardy began filmmaking when he was a student at Florida A & M University. He used wheelchair dollies and broomstick poles for equipment for his first movie, Chocolate City. Made on a $20,000 budget, the film was released nationally to home video and distributed independently over the Internet. But for his second film, Trois, he was able to acquire financing. Hardy credits the Acapulco Black Film Festival for helping to bring the film to the silver screen.48
 Trois  |
Rainforest Films decided to cut out the middleman in order to bring its project to the big screen. This is another example of making a film by any means necessary. And any means is necessary, because the fact is many black films never make it off the shelf. Faced with the common studio and distributor contention that black films only have limited appeal domestically and no appeal internationally,52 self-distribution would seem the only option for independent black filmmakers.
Haile Gerima is an Ethiopian-born filmmaker, producer, and Howard University professor who has been making films since 1976. His 1993 film Sankofa received the Best Cinematography Award at the Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in Burkina Faso, first prize in the African Film Festival, and the Oscar Micheaux Award.53 Gerima launched his own distribution company in 1982 to address what he calls the imbalanced system of distribution in the U.S. His distribution company, Mypheduh Films (MFI), distributes his own work and that of other filmmakers of African descent from around the world.54
Sankofa
Sankofa is probably Gerima’s most notable film. Although it fared well at the box office, Gerima could not get Hollywood to back it. He produced and distributed Sankofa through his company, MFI. In the film, a 20th-century fashion model is transported back in time, to experience slavery first hand. Made on a $1 million budget, Sankofa grossed more than $2 million. It had long runs in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.55 The Magic Johnson Theatre in L.A. also showed the film for a run of three months.56 In the tradition of Oscar Micheaux, Gerima would take his reel from city to city, and hold discussions about the film with the audience. Over the course of its theatrical run, the film made more than $5 million.57
According to bell hooks, the film’s success is attributable to what she calls its Hollywood style. In an interview with the filmmaker Charles Burnett in Reel to Real, she says:
We don’t have a large enough African-American audience that values independent films. And when that audience does promote an independent film, it will usually be one that is similar to Hollywood films — like Haile Gerima’s film Sankofa. It’s very Hollywood. Contentwise, it may differ from Hollywood and in standpoint, but in the way it progresses as a story, in the way it highlights certain kinds of violence, particularly sexualized violence, it is very Hollywood.58
hooks’ critical assessment is not an observation that Gerima agrees with. In an interview with Anne Cremieux on Africultures.com, he says, "So if Sankofa was Hollywood, why was it not distributed to its full potential, why did I foot-walk it across the country, why did I open it myself, why did Hollywood reject it?"59 For Gerima, like Hardy, self-distribution was, and is, the solution. Other black filmmakers faced with such odds might want to consider this vehicle also.
Shot on digital video, Jerry LaMothe’s Amour Infinity is an urban love story about a young man who has just lost his job and his girlfriend, and has become a single father. Thinking his life can’t get any worse, he comes across an old high school flame named Amour, which further complicates his life.60
 Amour Infinity |
Despite the critical festival acclaim LaMothe has received, Amour Infinity was not picked up by a film studio. Other than its BCC run, the film has had no major exhibition or distribution. LaMothe was pursuing a video distribution deal for the film, but has since begun work on his second film.62 In his interview with William Morales on Blackfilm.com, LaMothe talks about the difficulties of distribution:
The distribution is definitely the hardest phase and process in the whole filmmaking process in itself. Generally, in the initial stage people will tell you that completing a film is like the biggest obstacle and it is a great achievement but actually the distribution in itself is the greatest challenge. Often one has to sit and wait to secure studio deals where they have different options of going to video or pay per view and that often can be very complex which is again why we took the initiative and put it out ourselves. We know the full potential of this movie.63
What’s the Problem?
While black filmmakers have made great strides within Hollywood since the early ’90s, disparities still exist within Hollywood’s acquisition of black films as compared with the acquisition of mainstream films, made primarily by white directors. Keenen Ivory Wayans was successful in obtaining a sizeable budget for Scary Movie 2, but that was only after proving the crossover appeal of the original film. For the most part, black directors don’t get those kinds of deals. This remains a fact, regardless of how well the examples presented have performed at the box office.
Although many movies made by black directors that are targeted to an African-American viewership possess cultural capital, that capital does not translate into potential profits for the industry at large. That is, unless the rules of business are based on exploitation. Until Hollywood reconsiders its approach to acquiring black films, obtaining sizeable budgets for production and distribution will be the thorn in the independent black filmmaker’s side.
Looking Ahead
While waiting for Hollywood to change its practices, self-distribution is a likely alternative. Without adequate finances, it is of course a lofty goal to achieve, even on video or DVD. And while lack of finances is no longer as much of an issue with regard to completing a film, as illustrated by Spike Lee and Jerry LaMothe in their use of digital video, there still remains a dilemma — attracting viewers. Having the wherewithal to self-distribute, or access to a deal, continues to be a burden for the black filmmaker.
Technological advances might serve as a solution in the future. When the dot.com industry was at its peak, a host of Internet sites were launched to serve as an alternative distribution vehicle for independent filmmakers. Most of them failed, including ones launched by big-name directors like Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. In the long run, for most of these companies, serving up free content that required excessive bandwidth became too costly. Without true broadband delivery, the companies were unable to execute effective business models.64 As broadband becomes more of a reality, the potential for distributing films online and earning revenues increases. Pay-per-view, pay-per-byte, pay-per-hour, and even set fees for streaming downloads per month could be likely.65
 Undercover Brother |
Warrington Hudlin envisions an entirely different future for black filmmakers that resembles the structure of the music recording and distribution industry. In the article "Fade to Black," he says, "We need more black executives, and I mean more than one token. Unfortunately, most studios don’t even have that. The only way we’ll see meaningful change is when blacks have their own studios, or [when] studios create black divisions."67
However the game ultimately plays itself out, independent black filmmakers have a long, bumpy ride ahead. Based on their recent activity in the film industry, it appears they are up to the challenge.
NOTES
48. Lorraine Morris, "Top Black Independent Films of 2000," Upscale, (March, 2000) p. 36.
49. Tome Koegh, "A Partial Victory," Film.com (2000). http://www.film.com/film-review/2000/10013098/23/default-review.html
50. "Rainforest’s Impact on Cinema," & "Rainforest’s Impact on Hollywood," Rainforest Web site. http://www.rainforest-films.com/wow/area.cfm?xcr=hi&xhc=3
51. "The Movie Times: Movies of 2000 By Release Date: Domestic Gross in Millions," (December, 2001). http://www.the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/moviesof2000.html
52. George Alexander, "Reaching the Silver Screen," Black Enterprise, (December, 2001) p. 94.
53. ______, "Filmmaker Haile Gerima to Speak at Screening of his Latest Work," Stanford Online Report, (February 23, 2000). http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/february23/gerima-223.html
54. ______, "Haile Gerima, " Sankofa.com. http://www.sankofa.com/haile_gerima.shtml
55. John Hartl, "Fighting to Be Seen," Film.com (1994). http://www.film.com/film-review/1994/9366/109/default-review.html
56. Anne Crémieux, "Interview with Haile Gerima (Ethiopia/USA)," Africultures.com (March, 2001). http://www.africultures.com/actualite/sorties/anglais/gerima.htm
57. Emma E. Pullen, "Global Majority Is Black Films’ "Foreign Market"," Africana.com, (January 26, 2001). http://www.africana.com/DailyArticles/index_20010126.htm
58. bell hooks, Reel To Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies (New York: Routledge, 1996) p. 159.
59. Anne Crémieux, "Interview with Haile Gerima (Ethiopia/USA)," Africultures.com (March, 2001). http://www.africultures.com/actualite/sorties/anglais/gerima.htm
60. Wilson Morales, "Amour Infinity : Rappin’ with Actor/Director Jerry LaMothe," Blackfilm.com, (May, 2001). http://blackfilm.com/0305/features/i-jerrylamothe.shtml
61. ______, "Film Feature: Jerry LaMothe," Socialstep.com. http://www.socialstep.com/culture/film_feature.asp
62. I interviewed LaMothe for a story that was to appear on BlackPlanet.com six months ago, but I was laid off before the story got to run. My niece has recently read for a role in his upcoming film.
63. Wilson Morales, "Amour Infinity: Rappin’ with Actor/Director Jerry LaMothe," Blackfilm.com, (May, 2001). http://blackfilm.com/0305/features/i-jerrylamothe.shtml
64. Jim Hu, "Icebox Prepares to Unplug, Cut Staff," Cnet News, (February 7, 2001). http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4744306.html
65. Lynne d Johnson, "Waiting for DSL," BlackPlanet.com, (April 25, 2001). http://www.blackplanet.com/Members/Channels/frameset.html?CATID=22&ID=4453
66. George Alexander, "Reaching the Silver Screen," Black Enterprise, (December, 2001) p. 98.
67. George Alexander, "Fade to Black," Black Enterprise, (December, 2000) p. 115.
April 2002 | Issue 36
Copyright © 2002 by Lynne d Johnson
Lynne d Johnson is a writer, cultural critic, and educator. She is editor-at-large for Mosaic Literary Magazine and has written about music, cyberculture, literature, and the performing and visual arts for several online and offline media outlets, including Africana.com, (ai) performance for the planet, Artbyte, New York Press, Sonicnet.com, The Source, VIBE, and XLR8R. Check out her website at http://www.lynnedjohnson.com.
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