Three Female Filmmakers Who Are Changing the Industry
Filmmaking the literal definition meaning the making of motion pictures. The making of motion, forward motion which in my opinion is what film is supposed to do. Move us forward, as an individual, as a community, and as human beings.
Film has come a long way especially in the last few years. I remember not very long ago wishing that I saw someone like myself not just in front of the camera, but behind the camera showing ownership of the story and the importance of it. And here I am today, a filmmaker. It may sound cheesy, but in many ways, I’m making my dream come true. That dream is still VERY big, but I’ve started, and I wouldn’t be even here at this moment without the representation and inspiration of these incredible filmmakers that paved the way and showed me what could be possible.
Kira Kelly
I have had the pleasure of working with Kira Kelly, and I can definitively say she is one the most detailed and kind humans you will know. The fact that she is also the first Black woman to be invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) in 2020, reminds us that this forward movement in film is still slow, but nonetheless incredibly important. Her staggering credits include the Emmy Award Winning Documentary 13th, directed by Ava Duvernay, HBO’s Insecure, OWN’s Queen Sugar, and a project with Google to change the camera phone forever, finally making it inclusive to people of all skin tones. She is making history in more ways than one.
As a cinematographer, she is the director’s eye. Kira’s ability to show strength and vulnerability at the same time is what has drawn me to be a fan of her work. There is a quiet strength that she exudes in herself and in her projects that is beautifully impactful. Her ability to capture an actor or subject in a way that heightens their emotional state is flawless. As a filmmaker, I am inspired by the emotion that she is able to evoke through the lens to tell a story and her mission to bring black stories to the forefront.
Michaela Cole
If you haven’t heard of Michaela Cole, your whole world is about to be rocked! She has created one of the best written pieces of work I have seen in years. She started as an actor and found herself miserable in acting school, that is when she turned to writing and ended up creating a one-woman show loosely based on her own experiences. It caught the attention of people that can make things happen and became a wildly popular show, Chewing Gum, in the UK.
It then found its way to Netflix and was all anyone could talk about for a moment. In articles, Michaela Cole described her experience on Chewing Gum as a crash course in film school. It was her show. She was the main actress, but she was also the creator and writer on the show, and she was new to the business. She talks about how difficult it was, but also empowering. When people would tell her no to things, she was bold enough to ask, “Why?” She learned that this would enrage people, but she was in a place where she didn’t know the “decorum” of Hollywood which truly became an advantage.
But that was just the beginning for Michaela. Her most recent work, I May Destroy You, is an actual masterpiece. It is a must watch show that she once again created, wrote, and starred in. The show is a brilliant and even comedic unpacking of the “grey-area” between consent and sexual assault. One of my favorite things is analyzing scripts and film and I could easily teach a whole class just based on this show. She manages to discuss a very heavy and difficult topic with grace, but also without restraints. The show goes places you aren’t prepared for, makes you laugh when you’d least expect it, and also reminds you that reality is sometimes hard to look at for what it is. But ultimately, I May Destroy You can change your life.
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Lastly, but certainly not least, Gina Prince-Blythewood. You may have heard her name more recently for her upcoming film, Woman King starring Viola Davis. We’ll come back to that. Gina Prince-Blythewood is a brilliant director also known for the classics, Love & Basketball and Secret Life of Bees and the more recent Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron. (This film was a whole rollercoaster ride and I still have fingers crossed for a sequel.) I don’t know about you, but Secret Life of Bees was one of my favorite reading assignments in school and I remember when the movie was coming out. It was one of the first times I had seen a black family on film that demonstrated love in way that I had not seen on film before. I remember the warmth I felt while watching that film, and that stayed with me.
Now she is leading the charge on the Woman King, and as I type this, I am feeling all the goosebumps already. This film, also produced by Viola Davis, tells the epic history of the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries and the all-female warrior unit that protected that kingdom at all costs. I don’t think people truly understand the importance of stories like this. Or maybe people do, which could be why it was even difficult for someone like Viola Davis to get it produced.
I say that representation matters. We know that now, we already knew it. And as we evolve, we as women and women of color are seeing ourselves in positions of power and influence, telling our own stories, and writing our own futures, while teaching the women of the next generation to know and be proud of their history. And with knowledge is power and strength that cannot be defeated. The feeling I get when just watching the trailer for the Woman King is truly indescribable. To see women that look like me, women that could have been my ancestors that fought for livelihood, it changes the way you view yourself, it changes the way you think about yourself and in turn changes what you think is possible for yourself. That is why these stories matter and why I will continue watching and learning from these women and women just like them. We can continue to break barriers, create our own way, and move history forward one story at a time.
Marquelle Young is an award-winning Director and Producer. She has directed several films, that have gone on to win awards in the film festival circuit and is currently working on her fifth production for this year. She has over a decade of work as a professional actor and coach, having trained at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, and with various professionals over the years including the likes of Tony-winning Director, Kenny Leon and Emmy-winning Director, Mary Lou Belli to name a few.
As a director, she is known for her ability to connect with actors and bring the vulnerable work out of them they never knew existed, instilling empathy in them and the audience as a whole. Marquelle has a passion for all aspects of the arts and works toward growth and honoring the power of storytelling. She believes empathy will save the world.
Follow Marquelle and her production company on Instagram to keep up with her projects.
Marquelle’s newest film Tell Me will be featured in the Macon Film Festival on August 20th at 2:15 PM at Theatre Macon in the Georgia Shorts block. This will be followed by a panel discussion on mental health, details here.
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