One of the most underrated and overlooked titles at Sundance last year was Dennis Dortch’s A Good Day to be Black and Sexy. Over six vignettes, Dortch takes a daring, authentic and frequently hysterical look at the sexual mores of a young black Los Angelenos. The film, which garnered Dortch a nomination at Tuesday’s Gotham Awards for Best Breakthrough Director, opens in Los Angeles today via Magnolia Pictures. We caught up with Dortch to discuss seeing The Story of a Three Day Pass at MoMA, Marvin Gaye as an auteur and his desire to work with George Clinton.
What films or television shows have you seen recently?
I don’t watch television. And I rarely watch films. When I do, it’s usually films from my peers’ at film festivals, etc, like Medicine for Melancholy, Ballast, etc. I immerse myself in what other people are doing currently. I just saw a screening of Melvin Van Peebles’ first film Story of a Three Day Pass in NYC.
Which ones stuck with you and why?
Story of a Three Day Pass. It was Melvin’s first film and first expression to the world in long form. I dig how his perspective on race, male/female relationships, and the art of filmmaking. And he is one my major influences socially as a black independent filmmaker in the 1960s and aesthetically as an artist. This dude took chances and did what he wanted to in the Industry and in his films.
Medicine for Melancholy. I thought I was going to be alone this year with an indie black film. Here comes director Barry Jenkins making a film of roughly the same budget constraints with something different to say on the black experience. Just on a social level, it was cool to see another black perspective along with my film on the festival and award circuit. On an aesthetic level, the dude did his thing and made a film that white people stood up and took notice of. So, in my mind, he is cut from the same cloth as Melvin, as far as breaking expectations. It’s the story behind and around the films that stay with me and inspire me to up my game.
How, if at all, does your interest in and appreciation of your favorite types of cinema inform your own work as a director?
Simply put, personal work from other artists always grabs my attention. If we are talking about music, it’s Marvin Gaye. Take his Here, My Dear double album that chronicled the break down of his marriage and divorce from his first wife. AND the proceeds from that album were part of the divorce settlement. That was deep to me. My first exposure to different genres of cinema outside the norm was the surrealism films of Fellini and Bunuel in film school. Both directors put a lot of themselves and the lives and characters of people around them in their films. That’s me 100%. Overall, I have an attraction to Italian films. They have a certain style and wit to them that transcends the language barriers. The Italian tongue-in-cheekiness is all over my work.
How often do you read fiction? Do you wish you read more?
Rarely, unfortunately. Especially for pleasure. I’m a work-a-holic. Non-fiction books about the industry or something I want to learn is the majority of my reading. The last fiction book I read was a collection of shorts stories. And I was reading that for research. But it does stimulate your own creative juices, so I wish I could do it more.
What would be your ideal literary adaptation and why?
Elaine Brown’s A Taste of Power. I know she wanted to make this film for years and it hasn’t happened. This is my era of interest. And social/politically this incredible woman’s true story needs to be told in a wider medium. And I embrace the challenge of interpreting the structure and perspective she presented.
How, if at all, has literature informed your work as a director?
I think as a child, literature definitely influenced my writing. I was a book nerd for real. As an adult, I read less and less, and I’m not sure how far reaching my childhood readings are. And they are limited to the books that were at my level growing up.
What are you listening to recently?
I mostly listen to independent recording artists. I am always interested in the underground artist, whether they are musicians, filmmakers, visual artists, etc. As far as music, there is an indie artist in Atlanta called Eva Kennedy. She is bad. I saw a live recording of her doing a rock (Betty Davis) version of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” She’s bad. There are other artists like Monica Blaire, Shawn Berry, Carol Riddick, Coultrain, Bryron the Aquarius, Peter Hadar, Liv, Stacy Epps, Madlib… If you know who these people are, then you know what I’m talking about. These artists take soul music beyond the simple “neo” label and experiment with their art without commercial considerations.
If you could collaborate with one musician on a film, who would it be and why?
George Clinton. The body of work this cat has produced would be enough to work with. Giving him a new fresh blank canvas to paint with, would inspire me to go places with a film that I would not have gone without him. I know he sees movies in his head when he’s composing. I hear music in my head when I am writing. Perfect match.
What would be the ideal pairing of filmmaker and musician for a concert film?
George Clinton and P-Funk (Parliament, Funkadelic). Of course, I’m talking about a performance from their prime in the 70s. But really, they still put on a slamming unique show and probably need an unique perspective to bring it to an audience.
Originally posted on:
SpoutBlog