MADEXXXX
“I shot a beauty event for Tia Dantzler, celebrity
makeup artist to Jennifer Hudson, Maxwell and
many others. I knew that was going to only
work in my favor. I also shot Ava Duvernay in
partnership with Jet Magazine for free as well
and that was an absolute no-brainer. I talked
to her and she was mad cool, even to the
point of offering film advice--and get this--she
followed me on twitter all because I didn’t
allow lack of pay to blind me of an recognizing
an opportunity.”
On tweeting about Chicago’s black film
landscape vs. LA.
“I’d say by 2020, Chicago is going to be
known by its independent filmmakers
that can bypass traditional film
distribution standards.”
“There are so many independent filmmakers
in Chicago that no one knows about because
we usually don’t work together. But now,
that’s completely changed since millennials, by
nature, are so collaborative. Since we can so
easily bypass traditional distribution standards
with social media, we can really move forward.”
“I have thought about moving to LA because
there’s lots of opportunity there but that’s a
double edged sword since it’s so much harder
to stand out. I’d rather stay where I am, shine
and make the big jobs come to me.”
On being a black woman in film and feeling
exclusion and marginalization:
“I started out in college competing with well-
off white guys and feeling less than because
they could afford gorgeous equipment that I
couldn’t. Now, I don’t even see competition
anymore.”
On affirmative action opportunities in film:
“That’s tough because we really want those
opportunities but also, my Ebony side keeps
telling me ‘naw, don’t submit to the man.’ It’s
something that I would really need to pray
about.”
He just understands color and everything that
comes with.”
On working with Nikki Giovanni:
“She’s so amazing. The idea was to capture her
in her element, not an int erview. The funny
thing is, I actually filmed her a few years back
at the University of Chicago and she said ‘I
remember you,’ while touching my face at the
recent shoot. That’s just the type of person she
is. So, when we filmed her reciting a poem,
she was really comfortable to the point that she
wound up crying at the end.”
Advice to prospective filmmakers:
“Just keep shooting. Do better than your last
project and eventually you will really find your
groove. There are times that I really wanted to
give up, but I found ways to get around that.
Before I got hired at Ebony and was depending
on my freelance projects to eat, I wasn’t getting
any business and I was left asking God ‘what
am I doing wrong?’ Shortly after that, I got a call
from a friend that works for Ebony about the
producer job and asked me to email the editor-
in-chief about it. But, I never sent the email.
Kyra Kyles wound up reaching out to me and
it’s history from there. No matter how scared,
discouraged or disappointed you are, just keep
going.”
On her life-changing trip to Egypt:
“The first thing I noticed was the lack of
prejudice there because it’s so multicultural, as
opposed to being in America where racism is so
pervasive. It felt like I was visiting my long lost
cousins; they were so welcoming and humble.”
On when she feels like she’s actually MADE it:
“I’ll feel like I made it when I start getting called
around the world to create art.”
Find out more about Chan at ChanCSmith.com.
JASMINE
BROWLEY
On filmmakers that inspire her:
“I love Bradford Young, the cinematographer
for Selma. He’s such a unique figure because
he’s so intune with the people but he doesn’t
have social media, so you have to find him.
made-magazine.com |
Listen to bi-weekly
interviews from successful
entrepreneurs.
38