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What inspired you to make this piece?
In 1995, I was inspired to write COMPOSITIONS because of my work, as a writer, inside of the Women's Correctional Treatment Facility in Washington, DC. I spent a year teaching incarcerated women how to reclaim (or find) their voice through the process of short story and poetry writing. One of the women, who could neither read nor write, was serving double life because she had murdered the man who physically and sexually abused her and her daughter. After winning an award from the Black Filmmaker's Foundation to make a film, I decided to use the grant to make THIS film (and tell a piece of her story).
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| From COMPOSITIONS. |
Tell us a little about the process involved in making this work.
When I first started writing this script, I interviewed a number of women who were living at domestic violence shelters. I wanted my story/script to be as true as possible. I did not want to disrespect their stories (their lives, really) by telling a story that was not honest and real and painful. When I finished my script, I relocated from Washington, DC, to New York to attend the New York Film Academy. This was the main provision stated in my grant -- I had to attend the Academy in order to make the film and learn more about filmmaking in New York. My featured actress, Kimberly Barnes, who had worked with me on two prior projects, was already living in New York, and she had agreed to star in the film. I put out an open call for actors and crewmembers (in New York finding people to fill these positions was not hard). After casting all of the roles, we lobbied for permits to shoot inside of Riverside Park at 155th and Riverside Drive. My partner, Edward Lewis, agreed to donate his truck, our Associate Producer agreed to cook our meals, and my Director of Photography relocated to New York from Washington to work on this project. Everyone involved in the project understood that we had no money, didn't know when we'd get money, and if we did get it, we were planning to put it back into the film. Even with all of the limitations, they agreed to stick with us and they did. Midway through the project (we shot over two weekends -- inside the first weekend and outside the second) we had to get a new Assistant Cameraperson because [the first] was committed to another project. The biggest problem with the shoot was that we did not have an experienced sound team, so we spent a lot of money on the back end to clean up the sound.
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| From COMPOSITIONS. |
Do you have any interesting and/or amusing behind-the-scenes stories about the making of this particular work?
A) The most interesting story is that we were in the middle of an important scene and the Park Manager informed us that we were in a restricted area and we had to move. Our Associate Producer did her best to stall, but we knew we were working with limited time. We were almost finished and I looked around and all of the sound tape was lying on the ground. The sound person had jammed the machine and had spent the last ten minutes in silence (while we were shooting the scene) trying to fix the nagra (the sound machine). She told me that she chose not to tell me because the scene was so good -- she didn't want to interrupt the flow!
B) While we were shooting the "escape" scene where our lead character was moving out while her boyfriend was away, the entire neighborhood came out and stood around and tried to help -- either by shouting encouraging words or by offering to help pack the car.
C) The apartment where we shot the film was owned by a friend of one of the crewmembers. It was our only option because it was the only place that we could use all day for free. Unfortunately, when we went to "scout" the apartment we realized that it was so dirty and cramped and disgusting that we had to build in another day of shooting just so we could clean it before we used it. The funniest thing is that at the end of the shoot we had to mess it back up so it could be exactly as we found it (as per her instructions).
Is there a relationship between your work as a video/filmmaker and life in the New York metropolitan area?
New York is the heart and soul of independent filmmaking and filmmakers. It is a place where your art is appreciated and nurtured and not just tolerated. I moved to New York because I want to make feature films and I am determined to stay here until that happens.
How has the burgeoning independent movement affected your life and work as a video/filmmaker?
The burgeoning independent movement has provided me with more opportunities to show my work. As a result, more doors are being opened that will eventually (hopefully) give me the chance and the money to write and direct my first feature film.
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