Today we’re continuing our series of #WomenWednesdays spotlights throughout #BlackHistoryMonth, by celebrating the formidable career of Amma Asante! This Black British director was born to Ghanaian parents, 在斯特里汉姆长大, 在80年代的伦敦南部. She is the most high-profile black British female director currently working in the industry, and has forged a unique and meaningful filmmaking career since the early 2000s, which led her to be awarded with an MBE in 2017.
Image credits © DiscussingFilm
Growing up during the era of the Brixton riot, the openly hostile and discriminative behaviour towards her throughout her adolescence gave Asante the inspiration for her debut feature film ‘A Way of Life’; a social realist production which details the life of a single teen mother Leigh-Anne, as she struggles to stay afloat in the difficult world of crime, bigotry and poverty that she finds herself caught up in. This bold and at times unsettling debut won Asante the Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a filmmaker in their first feature, 2005年英国bwin体育苹果下载iOS学院奖颁奖典礼上. Speaking about her personal connection with the film’s story and characters, Asante said:
图片来源©Amma Asante
Despite the huge success and acclaim of Asante’s debut, it would be nearly 10 years before she helmed another feature film. Asante has spoken frankly about the reason behind this unusual hiatus in her career, citing a lack of opportunity for female and ethnic minority filmmakers in the industry. She has fought hard to counter the industry’s cycle of exclusivity, and had this to say to Edith Bowman during a BAFTA masterclass:
图片来源©PRI
When Asante did return to directing, it was with the period romantic drama ‘Belle’ in 2013, which stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as the historical Black aristocrat Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay. Next to nothing is known about the real life of this elusive historical figure, as she was born in the West Indies as the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of powerful and influential British aristocrats. Asante said she was drawn to the story because of the contrasts between the quaint, elite and genteel world of aristocracy that Belle moved in, and the inhuman atrocities of slavery that were being carried out under British rule at the same time. Asante spoke about the affinity she felt towards Belle, as the character at the center of these historical contradictions:
Image credits © Black Women Directors
阿桑特人的勇气, perseverance and vision are an inspiration to aspiring filmmakers, and she had this to say to creatives trying to find their voice in an industry, 还有文化环境, where external criticism and judgement is rife:
Image credits © The Guardian
We can’t wait to see what this trailblazing storyteller does next in her unique career path! We’ll see you back here on our LFA blog next week, for our next #WomenWednesdays throughout #BlackHistoryMonth. Don’t forget to share this post on social media, or email it to a friend to keep the conversation going.