{"id":1685,"date":"2017-07-20T18:13:39","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commarts.pleather.us\/2017\/07\/20\/chanelle-aponte-pearsons-dazzling-ode-to-black-lesbian-love-is-the-next-great-queer-project-of-2017\/"},"modified":"2017-07-20T18:13:39","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:13:39","slug":"chanelle-aponte-pearsons-dazzling-ode-to-black-lesbian-love-is-the-next-great-queer-project-of-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/2017\/07\/20\/chanelle-aponte-pearsons-dazzling-ode-to-black-lesbian-love-is-the-next-great-queer-project-of-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Chanelle Aponte Pearson\u2019s Dazzling Ode to Black Lesbian Love Is the Next Great Queer Project of 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the success of “Moonlight” and “Atlanta”\u00a0are any indication, 2017 is set to become\u00a0the year of the visionary black auteur (about time already). Joining their ranks soon enough is Chanelle Aponte Pearson, director of ‘195 Lewis,” which recently won a Special Mention from Outfest for “highlighting the contemporary life of queer black woman with flair, vibrancy and substance.”<\/p>\n

The short series explores\u00a0the joys and pitfalls of open relationships in a\u00a0vibrant community of black queer women living in\u00a0Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. Flowing with\u00a0original music by members of the community and glowing with luscious\u00a0colors and warm light, Pearson breathes life into the eclectic mix of characters\u00a0with equal parts humor and lust. The script, by first-time screenwriters Rae Leone Allen and Yaani Supreme, radiates a confident\u00a0originality that heralds a fresh new perspective.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tRead More<\/strong>\u2018Atlanta\u2019: Donald Glover Wants You To Feel What It\u2019s Like to Be Black<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

Allen and Supreme originally approached filmmaker Terence Nance<\/a> with a treatment for the series, hoping the director of the 2012 Sundance film “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” might like\u00a0the project. He did, but he\u00a0liked it for Pearson, a producer on “Oversimplification” and operations manager at Nance’s production company, MVMT.<\/p>\n

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A still from “195 Lewis”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Screenshot<\/p>\n

“Terence saw the brief description of the show, and immediately thought, ‘Chanelle — you need to do it,” Pearson told IndieWire. “Terence is\u00a0really good at encouraging folks to take it beyond the idea stage. We\u2019ve been friends and partners for a long time and he has always been super supportive.”<\/p>\n

When Pearson met up with Supreme, the two immediately hit it off. “We talked for hours about queerness in Brooklyn, and poly-ness in Brooklyn\u00a0and how we\u2019re not seeing that,” recalled Pearson. “We were really excited to create a project reflective of the experiences we were observing in our community.”<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tRead More<\/strong>Donald Glover\u2019s FX Project \u2018Atlanta\u2019 Casts its Leads as Production Gets Underway (Atlanta is *Hot* This Year)<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

For Allen, the impetus to make\u00a0the series was similar. “Yanni and\u00a0I both moved to New York around the same time, and\u00a0we were just blown away by the scene of all the black queer women in Brooklyn,” she said.<\/p>\n

She describes an experience every queer woman can identify with: Re-visiting\u00a0“The L Word” and noticing all the ways the groundbreaking\u00a0lesbian show (which ended in 2009 and may return soon<\/a>) feels outdated. “We were like — our lives are so much better than this.”<\/p>\n

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For the first time since leaving their respective Dallas and Washington D.C. homes, Allen and Supreme found themselves surrounded by a dizzying variety of queer women of color. “All the women had natural hair and Masters degrees. I think it’s a Brooklyn thing,” said Allen. Part of the magic of “195 Lewis” lies in the\u00a0representation given a\u00a0community that rarely sees its own stories told — much less one created\u00a0by its own.<\/p>\n

“There are so many images of the opposite of us — black people that are underserved, marginalized, having issues. All that stuff is real, but I think there is a big vacuum around the beauty of our lives. I feel like, it\u2019s almost a service to overdo that. Because there\u2019s so little of it in cinema,” said Allen.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tRead More<\/strong>\u2018Insecure\u2019 Season 2 Review: Issa Rae\u2019s Stronger Follow-Up Year Finds Confidence From Unlikely Inspirations<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

With so much at stake, the team fretted over every single detail, down to each character’s hair. “Even something like,\u00a0‘should this character have an afro or should she have a blowout?’” recalled Pearson. “I specifically remember an argument that was — ‘No, Jamila has a blowout, that’s a part of who she is.’”<\/p>\n

Of the many comic touches in “195 Lewis,” the often dense philosophical\u00a0reasoning\u00a0the characters use to manage the stress\u00a0of multiple booty calls is its most singular juxtaposition. “A lot of the lines are verbatim from our lives,” said Allen. “Black women are the smartest beings on the planet. They’re the original beings. It’s odd to me when people are taken aback by it. I’m like — ‘Where do you hang out? Who do you talk to?’”<\/p>\n

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A still from “195 Lewis”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Courtesy Outfest\/Screenshot<\/p>\n

Pearson modestly attributes the show’s quality to the crew — which she estimates was 90 percent queer women of color.\u00a0In true indie film form, many of the PAs and grips had little to no experience. Ryann Holmes, founding member of the black and trans collective Bklyn Boihood, stepped in as music supervisor to give the show its electrifying soundtrack.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tRead More<\/strong>\u2018The Feels\u2019: Constance Wu Stars in Lesbian Comedy That Amusingly Untangles Differences Between the Sexes \u2014 Watch<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

“I think that\u2019s reflective of the community. Sometimes we\u2019re shut out of a lot of institutions or spaces, so we have to create the opportunities for ourselves to make the work that we want,” Pearson said.<\/p>\n

Pearson has received a few industry boosts\u00a0that will\u00a0aid the\u00a0transition\u00a0from producing to directing: In 2015, she\u00a0won the Gotham Awards’ Spotlight on Women Filmmakers\u00a0Live The Dream grant, and she was a fellow with IFP’s Screen Forward Lab. With all the buzz surrounding the project, there is no doubt there are many more accolades coming her way.<\/p>\n

“195 Lewis” played Outfest Los Angeles on July 14.<\/p>\n

Stay on top of the latest film and TV news! Sign up for our film and TV email newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: IndieWire Digital TV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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