DGA Breakfast at Acapulco Black Film Festival

By Wendy Jane Carrel

The Acapulco Black Film Festival (ABFF) opened in the Mexican resort city on June 6, 2000. Designed to support and empower up-and-coming African-American filmmakers, the ABFF featured many events over its six days including the Directors Guild of America - sponsored filmmaker's breakfast, held in a penthouse conference room at the Acapulco Hyatt Hotel.

ABFF Co-founder, producer and DGA director member Warrington Hudlin, and DGA Assistant Executive Director Rodney Mitchell, opened the meeting.

"I have a confession," said Hudlin, "this is my favorite event and favorite moment of the festival. We who started off in the business are here for the tradition of passing the torch, the tradition of passing the torch of the benefits of the DGA. The DGA protects us."

Hudlin then introduced actor/ producer/comedian and DGA director member Robert Townsend (Hollywood Shuffle, The Five Heartbeats) who moderated a panel of DGA director members: Reginald Hudlin (House Party, Boomerang), Euzhan Palcy (Sugar Cane Alley, A Dry White Season), Michael Schultz (Cooley High, Car Wash, Greased Lightning, Krush Groove, Carbon Copy) and Oz Scott (Bustin' Loose, Dreamland).

Townsend asked panelists how and why they became directors. Reggie Hudlin, whose latest film The Ladies Man is due for release this fall, recalled that his first film, House Party, was based on a short film. "The stories and films I like are Jason and the Argonauts, Animal House, Killer of Sheep, Z, State of Siege, Malcolm X and Bruce Lee movies. I wanted to do what they did in my own way."

Palcy, whose Siméon was showing at the festival, decided to become a filmmaker when she was a 10 year old in Martinique. "My family loved film, poetry and music. But we"d only see white characters in films at the movie theater. If the movie had black actors, the price to see the movie was raised. I used to direct my younger brothers in stories I wrote. I decided to go to France to study. As a woman, I felt it was important for me to master the techniques of cinema. I learned how to be a director of photography. The first overseas drama I worked on was The Messenger, it took six months to film. I directed Sugar Cane Alley in Martinique, then I directed A Dry White Season."

Schultz told the audience that in the beginning he didn't know how to get into film. "I was too bashful to be an actor and too self-centered to be a producer. I wanted to reach people, to touch people, to open people's minds. I wanted to inspire and uplift everyone and be a bridge between races and change our perception of who we are. There was one brother who had made it back then, Gordon Parks, and I knew I could do it. So I watched the great filmmakers Zefferelli, Antonioni, Fellini, and I loved the power of the medium. I learned the basics of working with actors and material in the theater. I came to Hollywood in the mid-1970s. I started in television because it reaches millions of people. I directed movies for television, series episodes which led to directing a series of features."

Scott, whose Spanish Judges was also in competition at this year's ABFF, started his career in the theatre like his mentor Schultz. However, he took a more traditional path. "I went to NYU Theater and Film School. I worked on documentaries in New York. I worked on films following Michael Schultz around. He was one of two black filmmakers working when I started. I thought I might have to wait around six years to get a film to direct so I went into TV sitcom directing and worked on The Jeffersons and Archie Bunker's Place for a few years, making a feature film every three or four years only. I thought it was better to keep working, and I wanted to survive."

In response to his own question, Townsend recalled, "When I was a boy, blacks in the media were pimps, slaves, junkies and milkmen. I loved television and I stayed home at noon to watch television. Little by little I realized that directing gives you a chance to create and change images. My first acting job was on a TV series in Kentucky. My character was being educated by his white neighbor. The production was throwing bread and making crumbs on the floor of the place that my character was supposed to be living in and something inside me went, 'No. I am for real. You can be poor but it doesn't mean you are nasty or dirty.' That's when I realized I could create the world and I would become a director."

Townsend's next question, "What makes a great director?" elicited a variety of responses from the panel. According to Reggie Hudlin, "Battles are won and lost at the beginning. The work is easier if you choose a project you really care about. Regardless of that, figure out your ultimate goal. If you say you need a hit, be clear on your primary, secondary and tertiary goals. Be clear in your intent. Your ability to marshal all forces on your set - lazy, indifferent or hostile - is paramount. Be the force that everyone on your set responds to. Let everyone feel they have something to contribute. Give clear vision of what you want to each person."

"I used to compare directing to being a pregnant woman," said Palcy. "The process is almost the same, for nine months you are protecting everything about your baby. Directing starts with vision. You have to know why you want to be a filmmaker and stick to what is the truth for you. The script is very important. You have to have a good script, make sure it is a good script. Don't be complacent. Get feedback. And don't be afraid of the money people. Tell them what you need. You need to teach them who you are, make suggestions. Also, your relationship with the actors and the crew is very important. I want my people to feel the film is their baby too. Treat everyone with respect."

"God gives us gifts and we must use them well," answered Schultz. "Incredible perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, constant examination, attunement to your world, and the ability to create a unified voice are required in order for your vision to end up on the screen. Directing is a constant learning process on how to effectively get what you want from every department."

It seemed only fitting that Townsend, who also stars in a show called The Parent'Hood, would make the following analogy. "As the director you are the parent, you don't know who is going to act up," he said. "The real deal is that you have a team, and it's your job to manage the team, to interact. Make everyone comfortable. You have to have understanding for all, and you have to have done your homework."

The panel then opened the session to questions from the audience. Michael Schultz reminded the filmmakers that when they present a project for financing they should present their project as a movie, not a "black movie," so it can be sold. "It's all about perception," he said. "Car Wash was successful because it was a movie for everyone."

In answer to queries about how to be successful, Townsend responded, "Make a film, get exposure, keep busy, get paid on your next film if you didn't get paid on the film you just made. And don't blow it with a 'my way or the highway" attitude about anything. Get a good lawyer. Spike Lee, for example, got a lawyer who was connected. Play with the players."

DGA Assistant Executive Director Rodney Mitchell answered a range of questions, many relating to DGA membership for new directors. Mitchell also spoke about how the Guild protects the creative rights of directors, the benefits of Guild membership and explained how the DGA has opened its doors to many emerging filmmakers via the flexibility inherent in the Guild's low-budget agreements.

Mitchell and Warrington Hudlin encouraged the filmmakers present _to acquaint themselves with the resources and the networking available through the DGA and its African American Steering Committee (AASC). "There is a vast repository of knowledge in our membership that can be utilized," Mitchell added. "For example, a director could find a DGA-qualified unit production manager who would be willing to work on a low-budget feature or the AASC can provide references and resources to hook up with talent."

The festival wrapped June 10 with a festival awards ceremony and dinner at the Acapulco Convention Center in Acapulco, Mexico. The Best USA Film Award went to Chicago writer director Carl Seaton for One Week, a contemporary drama about moral dilemmas relating to sex and HIV. The Best International Film Award went to director writer Melvin Van Peebles for his French-language film Bellyful, a digitally shot comedy about racism and the power of living your truth, which premiered at Cannes 2000 in the International Critic's Week section.

Table of Contents     Top of Page