The purpose of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to provide a space to discuss diverse topics relating to African women in cinema--filmmakers, actors, producers, and all film professionals. The blog is a public forum of the Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema.

Le Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma est un espace pour l'échange d'informations concernant les réalisatrices, comédiennes, productrices, critiques et toutes professionnelles dans ce domaine. Ceci sert de forum public du Centre pour l'étude et la recherche des femmes africaines dans le cinémas.

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25 September 2015

Awkward is the New Black: A documentary about Senegalese-American Issa Rae

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Awkward is the New Black by Dylan Valley is a short documentary about the Internet webseries, social media sensation, producer, director and writer Senegalese-American Issa Rae.

YouTube description:

Issa Rae's work has garnered over 20 million views and 200 000 Youtube subscribers. Her web series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, was a refreshing comedy which amongst other things, highlighted the lack of representation of black characters in mainstream television. And, it was funny.

This short documentary explores the journey of Rae’s web series, highlighting in particular how ABG started as a zero-budget exercise amongst friends and eventually became appointment viewing with the backing of Pharrell Williams. Without the gatekeepers of traditional TV, Rae was able to let her true voice flourish, and walked right into the gap that the big broadcast networks had left wide open. The documentary is a celebration of the series, and also a challenge to indie filmmakers to fully use the digital tools literally at their fingertips, so often taken for granted.



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