In our February issue we raved about She Wasn’t Last Night, ‘One of The First Ever Black Lesbian Romantic Dramatic Feature Films'. 

We recently caught up with the film’s writer and Director, Darice Marcella Jones, in the comfy lounge area of Vauxhall’s Riverbank Park Plaza Hotel.

Straightaway Darice greeted me with a warm, secure hug. A true Nubian sister, she wore relaxed attire and her natural, twisted hair was wrapped in colourful African cloth. Her manner emanated a level of wisdom and knowing, way beyond her 35 years. She spoke with a soft yet sure voice and I felt immediately at ease - this sister was real.

We talked about her life, her film-making passion and She Wasn’t Last Night.’                                       

What is your job title and what projects are you involved in?
I am a Director of films and Writer of screen plays which focus on the experience of African decedents and stories that have a holistic approach to our experience.
I am also a Volunteer Coordinator for a small non-profit organisation which matches children with older adults and I am a Supervisor at a youth shelter.

Where are you from?
I was born in Colorado Springs, USA and I was raised in Oakland, California. I live in Hathaway, in Oakland, one of our wonderful chocolate cities.

Chocolate?
We have a high population of African descendents.We give Oakland that term.

You don’t find that a little derogatory?
No, it’s all of the wonderful temptations of chocolate. It’s a positive thing.

You’re here in the UK to promote your film 'She Wasn’t Last Night'. How did you arrive at that title?
It was born out of wanting to have something to grab the audience; to get people’s attention. It has an intrigue to it. What’s interesting is that the title is about what the film is about, which is change and this woman (the main character) becomes something that she hasn’t been throughout the story. It captures what happens on a lot of different levels. There’s that relationship intrigue implied by the title, and there’s also change.

The film is a Romantic Drama with lots of themes: A crumbling relationship, the threat of a third party ‘player’, a business prospect, general community spirit and trusted friendships. Is the film saying this is the life of a black lesbian or could it relate to anyone?
I think that the things that occur are universal but they happen in the unique way that they happen in same-sex couples. There’s definitely things that are typically African and specifically women-oriented that I think female same-sex couples would identify with more so than the rest.

Is it really one of the first feature-length movies about black same-sex loving couples?
Yes - it’s 2009 and it’s just incredible that we are talking about first at all! There’s another feature, a thriller called Black Aura on an Angel, which is probably the first black lesbian feature, period. There’s also another film coming out alongside mine which has a similar number of African descendents in it.

The fact that your film is one of the first of its kind, how does it make you feel?
I am connected with the other film-makers at home and we are a team, there’s nothing to compete for. I’m excited by that and  because we made this on a community basis. We decided that we would bring people together. We asked them to not only engage in making a film but also in building communities. The response has been incredible from all over the world.

I am not sad but I feel the weight of the fact that people have not felt that they have the space, time, the opportunity or the resources to make this work before.

Are you the owner of Griot Soul Films which produced She Wasn’t Last Night?
Griot Soul Films is a community base, a foundation. I am the Executive Director and we also have a volunteer board.
We produce complex images of African descendants, for community members. I’ve written five other screen plays. In them we are looking at ourselves from every different angle. I think that the images in the mainstream have been stewed or stereo-typed. We (at Griot) feel proud and confident in taking a stand.

All of the actors in She Wasn’t Last Night have done work for Griot. Every single actor was asked to take part in the community building effort. They were cast for their acting ability but we also asked if they believe in Griot – the love, community and a desire to help. They are all activists in their own right.  

How do you get to this point – did you wake up one day and say ‘I want to write films’?
I grew up in a family that loves stories. Stories have always been very important. Both of my parents are readers. My sister and I would read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – that was our activity together.
 
My father was an inspiration for the name of the company. I felt like he had a griot soul. Griot is a West African term. It was the person who would hold the history of the people - who was related to whom.

We spend most of our African lives trying to re-connect with our African history which was so violently stolen from us. It is important to me, and a core quest to make those re-connections.

You state: ‘We believe integrity and holistic representation is at the heart of great filmmaking’. Would you explain this?
The film industry, like every other industry, has for a long time been controlled by the dominant culture which has been white men and white women who do not exactly understand the experience. There has been a disconnect between what is being said and the black folks who come in to say it.
 
You do get some black actors who bring a sense of dignity to some outrageously written material. I am proud that we are doing that but we shouldn’t have to.

There is so much further we can go in telling our own stories. The more we don’t feel the need to assimilate to white culture and are comfortable in our own skin as black people, our stories can be told more effectively. If we write our own material then we can bring something more to the presentation of it.

I think we are understanding our own stories so much better. Some of our first stories have been, maybe a skeleton outline. We are just getting comfortable with the whole concept.

There are a lot of things we are supposed to be ashamed of and in a given situation we are totally different people.  A lot of shifting goes on between who we can be at home and who we can be when we are around other cultures. Our homes, for so long, have been this way that we have never quite been at home.
In some other cultures the idea would never occur for them to let go of their cultural world. They are never made to feel ashamed.

Tell us about your website, Free Black Souls
It’s a way for us all to connect and share tools. Connecting and figuring out how to do something is something that moves me.

http://www.griotsoulfilms.org
http://www.freeblacksouls.com

blessence magazine.com would like to give special thanks Outburst UK for this interview exclusive. 

Griot Soul Films:
"Evolutionary Stories Told By the Folks Who Live Them"

Our Mission:
A non-profit film company dedicated to producing
complex literary and historical images of African descendants and providing community members tools to do the same.

Griot - Pronounced Gree-Oh means in the most simplest terms 'Storyteller'.
The Griot holds the stories of the village and maintains the African storytelling tradition.

~We Believe People Should Have the Tools to Tell Our Own Stories.
~We Believe Interdependent Community Funded Films Can Enhance the World.