Black Womyn:Conversations With Lesbians of African Descent
November 30, 2007
black./womyn.:conversations with lesbians of African descent, an important and ground breaking two-hour documentary that was produced, directed, photographed, edited, and predominantly funded by Tiona M., a Black lesbian video and filmmaker, originally from Greenville, South Carolina and presently based in Philadelphia.
I had the opportunity to meet and work with Tiona, in 2005, during my artist-in-residency at the Digital Moving Image Salon at Spelman College. Since that time we developed a friendship and camaraderie, which includes her working as 2nd camera woman and graphic designer for my next project, which is a global documentary by and for women of color in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe affected by Violence Against Women (VAW) and HIV & AIDS.
Savoring the Salt: The Legacy of Toni Cade Bambara
November 24, 2007
Savoring the Salt: The Legacy of Toni Cade Bambara
edited by Linda Janet Holmes and Cheryl A. Wall
From 1990, when I was 21 years old, through 1995, I had the absolute privilege to know and learn from Toni Cade Bambara who was an award-winning author, screenwriter, organizer, activist, teacher. Her “hands on” influence on some of the most prominent writers and filmmakers spans two generations. Personally, were it not for Toni’s profound presence in my life at a critical period in my life, I don’t know if I would be a documentary filmmaker today. I wrote about my herstory with Toni and her pivotal role in my becoming a documentary filmmaker, in my featured essay “Asserting My In(ter)dependence: The Evolution of NO!”
Unveiling the Silence: NO! The Rape Documentary Study Guide
November 24, 2007
Unveiling the Silence: NO! The Rape Documentary Study Guide is available for purchase.
Created by Salamishah Tillet, Ph.D., and Rachel Afi Quinn, with the creative and editorial direction of Aishah Shahidah Simmons, producer, writer, and director of NO!, this 100-page interactive study guide may be used within a workshop, class session, or semester-long course. You may decide to screen the documentary film in its entirety or use segments integrated into a broader course addressing race, gender, and sexuality.
Review of NO! Featured in 35th Anniversary Edition of Ms. Magazine
November 24, 2007
A review of NO!, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed documentary, is featured in the DVD watch section of the 35th anniversary special collector’s issue of Ms. Magazine. “…Finally breaking the silence, the film shares stories of torment and healing whilen challenging African-American men and women to seek reconciliation.”
I, a daughter of an African-American feminist mother and an African-American pro-feminist father, began identifying as a feminist in 1979, when I was ten years old. Ms. Magazine was a part of my household throughout my formative years into womanhood. I was and am very thilled…elated to have NO! reviewed in the foremost, long-standing feminist magazine in the United States. You can read my blurb, which joins the chorus of feminists who share about how Ms. Magazine has impacted our lives over the past 35 years of its existence by clicking here.
Breaking Silences Ending Rape Documentary Available In December
November 23, 2007
It’s been a long time coming, but AfroLez® Productions has completed Breaking Silences, the two-hour supplemental video to NO! The Rape Documentary. As the producer and director, I’m so excited to be able to share this educational organizing tool with everyone in December 2007.
Breaking Silences features selected in-depth excerpts from the thirty plus hours that didn’t make it into the internationally acclaimed NO! The Rape Documentary. Photographed by Joan Brannon; Edited and Composed by Monica Dillon, Breaking Silences is compartmentalized into five individual segments which feature compelling messages from women and men violence prevention advocates/activists and riveting testimonials from women who are multiple survivors of sexual violence. Funded by the Ford Foundation, Breaking Silences is an ideal educational organizing tool, which can be used both independently and as a supplement to NO! The Rape Documentary. Read more
