UNC’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center commenced its 21st annual Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film this fall, and is celebrating the Stone Center building’s 10th anniversary in an expansive fashion — its biggest festival to date.
The program continues with two films today in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room. The first work, “Melvin and Jean: An American Story” follows the story of a couple formerly affiliated with the international Black Panthers, while the second, “Jazz Mama” explores the turbulent lifestyle of a group of determined Congolese women.
Both films document separate stories on topics of social justice and activism, providing students with access to rare independent film screenings and, in this case, the opportunity to meet the director of “Jazz Mama.”
The festival affiliates with a number of other University organizations including the Center for the Study of the American South, Center for Global Initiatives, World View, African Studies Center, American Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas.
Staff writer Lucas DiPietrantonio spoke with Clarissa Goodlett, program and public communications officer at the Stone Center, to find out more about the Diaspora Film Festival’s purpose and legacy on campus.
Daily Tar Heel: What exactly will this event entail?
Clarissa Goodlett: “It’s part of our larger Diaspora Film Festival. It’s an ongoing festival that we have at the Stone Center every fall semester, and sometimes, we extend it into the spring. We typically are screening films, at least once a week and sometimes twice a week. We will usually screen, depending on the length of the film, one to two films and in this case, two films back-to-back.”
“What the event entails, I suppose, is that we will screen the films, and obviously, we have folks come in, and we cut right to the chase and start movies right away because we want to leave space for Q&A sessions. Whenever we have the opportunity, we try to bring in the directors of the film.”
DTH: For some the African Diaspora might be unfamiliar, what exactly does the Stone Center mean when referring to the diaspora?
CG: “Simply put, the diaspora is anywhere black people — people of African descent — are located outside of Africa.”
DTH: Who organizes the film festival?
CG: “The Stone Center runs it and we sometimes partner with other departments for certain individual screenings. This year were showing an extended festival. Were showing about 23 films. Usually we don’t show that many but it’s the 10th anniversary of the Stone Center building, so we did an extended film festival to celebrate the anniversary of the building.”
DTH: What are the exact qualifications of a film—what are you looking for?
CG: “The larger goal of the festival is to bring films to the Triangle, and to campus, that people don’t normally have access to. Its smaller filmmakers, independent filmmakers, so they wont necessarily have access to the distribution to get their films out there. We want to bring films that are bringing an interesting perspective on people of the diaspora. We want filmmakers who are interested and eager in getting their work out there.”
DTH: What goes into the selection of the festival’s films, particularly the films being screened on Tuesday?
CG: “Usually, it is myself and our director, Dr. Jordan, who will, throughout the year, scout films. Sometimes it’s just kind of hearing about films and people that we connect with through the other culture programs. For instance, with “Jazz Mama,” we’ve been working with Chérie. Her husband is the filmmaker, so we were made aware of that particular film. It fit in well with the context of what were trying to do, which is obviously bringing independent filmmakers who are doing films about the diaspora.”
DTH: What is each film about?
CG: “We picked ‘Melvin and Jean’ because the center issues we like to tackle are social activism and social justice issues. This film is about a couple who are involved in a Black Panther movement and kind of get caught up in that and got into trouble and then moved to France and are trying to come back to the US. They are from Winston Salem so there is a connection to Carolina.”
“Generally, with each film, you have a group of black people who are from a different country and are obviously part of a diaspora. The same thing goes with “Jazz Mama,” which follows the struggle of Congolese women, of trying to connect this idea of activism and people being of different parts of the Diaspora.”
DTH: Do all of the films in the Diaspora Film Festival have relating themes?
CG: “There is a theme of sharing stories and telling stories about black people in different parts of the world. Were trying to tell complete stories you know you hear bits and pieces of people’s stories, but were trying to give people access to documentaries and films that give people a complete picture of an activist or a movement and how a bunch of pieces come together. A lot of the films have kind of the theme of social justice. The idea is also to showcase independent black filmmakers.”
DTH: Why should people come?
CG: “These are films that you are not going to have access to in the movie theater or even regionally. A lot of these films typically are screened in large cities like L.A., New York, D.C., Atlanta; they don’t necessarily make their way down to North Carolina. I think if you have any kind of interest in independent film, filmmakers, stories about the diaspora or social justice, I think you should come. And also it’s free. Everything is free and open to the public. At the very least you’re going to get to see a free film and sometimes we’ll feed you on top of that.”
DTH: As an academic organization of UNC, what is the purpose of holding these film screenings in the eyes of the Stone Center?
CG: “For us, I would say its more educational and for the opportunity to access these films. Because we’re not filmmakers, a lot of these festivals are put on by filmmakers and folks who are in the industry to in fact showcase the work of filmmakers. That’s not the purpose for us. For us, it’s and educational purpose and to have access to these kind of films — to bring them to campus. And part of that, these filmmakers get another outlet for their films.“
DTH: For these films, since they cover black topics, do you largely have a black crowd demographic?
CG: “We usually have a really diverse crowd — it’s definitely not all black. We tend to have students who are interested in social justice issues, activism, and film, so we generally have a diverse group.”
DTH: How do you think UNC students will respond to these particular films?
CG: “I think with a lot of films, especially with documentaries, it gives you an opportunity to think. I think frequently there are a lot of questions left unanswered. With ‘Melvin and Jean,’ since the couple is from Winston Salem, there is a sort of connection with this particular area. When you’re talking about something that’s close to home, the topics resonate. With “Jazz Mama” I think that it will be very interesting to have the director at the screening. That’s really kind of a tremendous gift to have the director of the film there. You get to ask questions about the subjects of the film. I think when documentaries end, there are always questions about “what happens next” and when you have access to the director right there it makes things much easier.”
DTH: Are there any particular emotions that are evoked from these two films?
CG: “I wont try to predict any kind of emotional reactions on these two. I think, if anything, there will obviously be some curiosity. I’ll leave that to how folks may or may not react.”
arts@dailytarheel.com
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