| U People | |
| Documentaire. États-Unis. 2009. Couleur. 76'. VO : Anglais, ST : Français. Distr. : U People LLC | |
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30 femmes, transgenres, lesbiennes ou hétéros de couleur, se rassemblent à Brooklyn pour tourner un clip vidéo en hommage aux femmes noires qui les ont précédées. Entre deux prises, elles échangent leurs réflexions sur des questions de race, de genre et de sexualité.
This is no simple making-of video. This is 30 women and transmen of color, gay and straight, who gathered at a brownstone in Brooklyn to film a music video celebrating black women’s lives. "U People" captures candid and thought-provoking discussions of race, gender, and sexuality spurred on by the music video’s themes and by the intelligent, talented, and beautiful people who joined together to create it – people who are too often marginalized in front of and behind the camera. The result is an empowering and illuminating reminder of the power of community. |
| Hanifah Walidah & Olive Demetrius | suckaforlife.com |
Olive Demetrius est diplômée d’études de cinéma et de genre du Hunter College. Elle a travaillé à la production de Lesbian Sex and Sexuality et chez Linton Media sur The Advocate et Out. Elle est l’une des productrices de U people. Hanifah Walidah a commencé sa carrière en s’occupant d’un site mettant à disposition des films expérimentaux et des courts de fictions, tous écrits et réalisés par elle-même. Elle co-produit et réalise également des clips. Hanifah Walidah began her film career from a labor of love while maintaining an online site, www.suckaforlife.com that featured a multitude of documentary, experimental and narrative film shorts; all of which were written, directed, edited and scored by Hanifah. She directed and edited a 3-minute short “True Grits” within a 24-hour period as apart of the NYC Midnight Run where it placed Best Of. She co-wrote “White Lies Black Sheep” from James Spooner, filmmaker of the internationally awarded documentary Afropunk. Hanifah has co-produced, wrote and directed music videos Make A Move, which debuted on LOGO’s Click List January 2007. Make a Move set a precedent by featuring an all woman cast and crew of women of color both gay and straight and became the catalyst behind U People. and Do You Mind (U People Soundtrack) and the film U People. Directors Bio (works together) Filmmakers, Hanifah Walidah and Olive Demetrius are both partners in art and in life. They first met new years of 2006 after a series of coincidental run ins. Within just 3 months they were collaborating on Hanifah’s music video Make A Move which debuted on LOGO’s Click List January 2007. Make a Move set a precedent by featuring an all woman cast and crew of women of color both gay and straight and became the catalyst behind U People. Hanifah the writer, musician and director and Olive, writer the cinematographer together have innovatively garnered a strong community around one film with their site www.iloveupeople.com. Forthcoming projects include the U People Story Archive, comedic series “Funny People” and a documentary short “Azizah” about Black-American Moslem girls who are now self-identified as gay women. Olive Demetrius studied Film Production and Gender Studies at Hunter College. Since that time she has added her talents to the production of Lesbian Sex and Sexuality and was a part of the team at Linton Media that put together the Advocate Magazines Out 100 whose honorees include Iman, Jackie Warner (Bravo), Wilson Cruz, Augusten Burroughs and other LGBT celebrity and activists of note. Through a professional opportunity offered by the National Black Programming Consortium to work for LOGO in their creative and online departments, she shot an interview Annie Lennox for NewNowNext, was 1st camera assistant for the Big Gay Sketch Show and pivotal member of their team. As a freelance producer she has contributed to the Lucy Awards for outstanding achievements in photography interviewing host of groundbreaking masters in the art of fashion, art and documentary photography including Parick Demarchelier, Herman Leonard and Susan Meiselas . She is one of the producer/directors of U People the Film, co-host of the associated podcast and blogger for the internet community that has grown from the film’s popularity. |
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