Friday, October 4, 2013

Support BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez: A documentary film!



From the website:

BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez: A new film by Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, with musical score by Evan Solot You may have read Sonia Sanchez’s poetry, or attended a reading of her work where she combined spoken words with improvisational jazz and dancers. Or you may have attended a political rally where she challenged discrimination, illegal wars or lack of educational opportunities for underprivileged youth.

You may have experienced her as a teacher or mentor as she pioneered African American studies in higher education, taught creative writing, or developed women’s studies courses. If you have had one of these experiences, we hope you will agree with us that a film that brings this petite but powerful whirlwind to a larger audience is long overdue. Happy birthday Sister Sonia. We are launching this crowd funding campaign for BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez on the 79th birthday of this pioneering artist.  At 79, this dynamic writer is still going strong, fighting racism, sexism, oppression, poverty, and violence, while she continues to mesmerize audiences around the world. 

The title of our documentary is drawn from Sanchez's second book of poetry, We a BaddDDD People. In the documentary we trace the lifetime arc of this African American poet and activist who as a young, shy girl in Birmingham struggled with the loss of her mother and an embarrassing stammer only to emerge as an artistic and cultural leader and forceful public speaker. Always challenging the status quo, Sanchez tells us just how she became a “woman with razor blades between her teeth.” Sanchez rose to prominence as a seminal figure in the 1960s Black Arts Movement, raising her voice in the name of black culture, civil rights, women's liberation, and peace as a poet, playwright, teacher, organizer and early champion of rappers and spoken word artists.

She is among the earliest poets to incorporate urban black English into her poetry, and she was one of the first activists to secure the inclusion of African American studies in university curricula. Deemed "a lion in literature's forest" by poet Maya Angelou and winner of major literary awards including the American Book Award, Sonia Sanchez is the author of more than 17 books of poetry that explore a wide range of global and humanist themes, particularly the struggles and triumphs of women and people of color.

Despite Sanchez’s achievements, this is the first in-depth broadcast biography to include multi-generational artists, such as Questlove, Talib Kweli, Ursula Rucker and Jessica Care Moore, as well as contemporaries and scholars speaking about the impact of her work. The film looks at Sanchez as a writer and at the groundbreaking artistic and political movements she embraced and influenced. At the heart of the film are her powerful words that often segue into song or chants, and at times are accompanied by music and even dance.” Her work is read by Sanchez herself, and others including Ruby Dee, Nikki Giovanni, Ursula Rucker, Haki Madhubuti, Ayana Mathis, and John Bracey Jr.

Click here to go to the Kickstarter!

No comments:

Post a Comment