Kindred Spirits

Join us for a discussion about Black Women in Genre with celebrated author and screenwriter Namina Forna (The Gilded Ones) and genre filmmaker Zandashé Brown (Blood Runs Down). Moderated by Film Fatales member Tchaiko Omawale (Solace).

Black women have had a significant impact in genre over the years, with a recent renaissance of novels by Black female writers being adapted for the screen. Come learn from filmmakers creating in this space. What are their inspirations? How has the film industry evolved and where do we go next? Genre is often used to explore taboo topics and socio-cultural perspectives from a new angle. Why does this particular space excite them? What stories do they want to tell and why?

This event is open to the public and will be accessible with live captioning. The registration link will be shared the day of the event and a video replay will be shared after along with the chat transcript. See you soon!

Namina Forna is a young adult novelist based in Los Angeles, and the New York Times and Indie bestselling author of the epic fantasy YA novel The Gilded Ones. Originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, she moved to the US when she was nine and has been traveling back and forth ever since. Namina loves building fantastical worlds and telling stories with fierce female leads.

Tchaiko Omawale

My filmmaking practice is influenced by my upbringing as a Third Culture Kid, and the longing to transform trauma responses to racism, deaths, and constant moving. The magic of cinema especially fantasy was a salve. Themes of the in-between in the African Diaspora, its effects on the body and spirit, fill my work. Thinking through how to decolonize my filmmaking practice has led to me understanding my creative impulses for fantasy aren't escapist but a connection to African Indigeneity and its healing potential. This learning generates stories, ethical practices of care, a focus on process and intuition. There is deep listening to my body, dreams, and as a new mother, the magic of my baby. My cinematic work is shamanism, a portal to healing. My fantasy film Sita, exhibited in the Project Row House show Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter, co-curated by Simone Leigh. I workshopped my award-winning film Solace in a South African township. It was the first time the audience recognized self-harm in their communities with compassion. The film's community outreach also included a conversation about food, trauma, and the Black body with Roxane Gay.

Based in New Orleans, Zandashé Brown is a writer/director born-and-bred in and inspired by southern Louisiana. Her work raises a Black femme lens to the tradition of southern gothic horror. Zandashé’s directorial debut, BLOOD RUNS DOWN, was one of five projects selected for the New Orleans Tricentennial Incubator Grant in 2018 and has gone on to screen at dozens of festivals in the US and abroad.

Her short film in development, BENEDICTION, was one of five projects selected for the 2020 Through Her Lens: Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program. Zandashé’s past narrative and documentary work has been supported by Kickstarter, Create Louisiana, the New Orleans Video Access Center, and the New Orleans Film Society where she now programs for the Academy-Award Qualifying New Orleans Film Festival and serves as Artist Engagement and Programming Manager.

Film Fatales organizes panel discussions, educational workshops and networking mixers focused on amplifying marginalized voices in film and television. Capacity is limited. The session will be recorded for those unable to participate in the live program. Your participation constitutes your consent to being recorded and photographed during the event and to Film Fatales sharing those recordings and photos with the world. Please contact us if you require an accessible accommodation.