(Re)Thinking film directing

a look at black brazilian women directors

Abstract

This article brings together some reflections from a doctoral thesis in progress in the field of sociology, in which I investigate the practice of film directing by contemporary black Brazilian women who, in defiance of gender, race and class oppressions, are occupying this position of power. Through its ways of thinking, doing and feeling, cinema provokes us to rethink directing, opposing a notion of Western authorship, more precisely the French politics of authors. In the light of the thinking of Leda Maria Martins (2021), understanding this function as a place of possibility for circularity, I discuss a perspective of “responsorial” directing. Following Edileuza Penha de Souza’s concept of Black Cinema in the Feminine (2013), I consider that ancestry, spirituality, family relationships and territoriality are determining categories for understanding the leadership of black female directors on their film sets and their relationships with their work peers. In this regard, I initiated a dialogue between Beatriz Nascimento and Sueli Carneiro, two prominent black intellectuals in Brazil, to deliberate on the impact and presence of the African form in Brazilian society, as well as the manner in which racism operates and its manifestations in the lives of these individuals. Based on this bibliography, I analyze the speeches of some female directors, observing how the categories mentioned are present in their cinemas.

[Received on: Oct 30, 2023 – Accepted on: Nov 25, 2023]