For as long as film has existed, black life has been misrepresented or caricatured for the amusement or comfort of white people. There were minstrels of the silent film era, the servants of early Hollywood, the drug addicts and the drug addled of contemporary film. It seems black people only exist in film as a monolith, or a two dimensional placard on which others can place their preconceived presumptions. The films of the American Blaxploitation era started a movement of films by black filmmakers for black audiences, and while the genres have expanded the idea has remained the same.
2016 was a great year though for Black cinema, with films like Hidden Figures with Taraji P Henson, Barry Bandry’s Moonlight, Beyonce’s Lemonade and even Todrick Hall’s Straight Out of Oz. It was also the year British Nigerian filmmaker Seye Isikalu put out his full length short film The Ocean, a lush representation of heterosexual black love. Distinguished by its gorgeous lighting that seemed to preempt Moonlight’s lighting work and the undeniable chemistry between the film’s leads, it put Isikalu, formerly known solely for his extensive work as an in-demand fashion photographer as a voice to listen into in film.
There have always movies by black filmmakers for exclusively black audiences, exploring the vagaries of black life, but they have always been on the fringe, consumed outside of the mainstream. Perhaps this is because the common narrative around this medium is why Seye Isikalu’s The Ocean is not as widely known as it should be, but his sophomore film, Skinny Jeans will change all that. He has just released a short film Monochrome, almost exactly a year to the day since The Ocean was released, this time focusing specifically on stereotypes around black male intimacy and deconstructing them through ‘found footage’ style documentary footage of black men at ease around each other. There are longtime collaborators on this film as well as new faces, and subtle homage to Wole Soyinka’s memoir Ake, the younger years.
Monochrome seems to be a standalone project as well as a piece of a larger piece of work that will probably be released later in the year, and frankly we cannot wait.
For now, slake your thirst with Monochrome, here.
monochrome. from SeyeIsikalu on Vimeo.
Adele paid homage to pop great George Michael at the Grammys in her second performance of the evening. For her tribute, she sang Michael’s “Fastlove”, a Hot 100 top 10 hit off his 1996 album Older. A few seconds into the song. Adele stopped the set saying, “I fucked up, I can’t do it again like last year”, referring to her critically-panned performance at the 2016 Grammys. It’s nearly edgy and unexpected of an artist of Adele’s calibre, but it eased tensions for her eventual killer re-do. See Adele’s performance of George Micheal’s “Fastlove” below.
Beyoncé stole the night with her performance of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles” off her Lemonade album. Her highly spiritual performance is heavily centered around latent themes from her recent album; motherhood, forgiveness and love. Beyonce styled herself as not one but at least two religious icons: Osun, a Yoruba deity from West Africa, and the Virgin Mary. Highlights included holograms of her, her mother Tina and Blue Ivy, a levitating chair and the singer tenderly cradling her baby bump while wearing a golden headdress.
Chance The Rapper has come a long way from recording a basement mixtape while on a 10-day suspension in high school to performing at the Grammys. The 23-year-old bagged three out of seven nominations for Best Rap Performance (“No Problem”), Best New Artist, and Best Rap Album. For his performance, Chance gave a moving gospel-infused performance of “How Great” and “All We Got” off his Colouring Book mixtape. He was joined by Kirk Franklin, Francis and the Lights, Tamela Mann, and backed by a huge black gospel choir.
