Bachelor's Degree, International Studies, FRANCE, 1983
Master's Degree, Journalism (Documentary Filmmaking Program), U.C. Berkeley, 1986
Master of Fine Arts Program, Photography and Video, San Francisco Art Institute, 1991-1992
Directing credits :
Author / Director: A QUI PROFITE LE CRIME? (The Prison Dream)
(52 min, 2002, prod. ARTE - Coup d-Oeil) McRae, Georgia, could use a few prisoners. The small town is home to an empty 1,500-bed prison, built "on spec." by the CCA, the world's largest private prison company. Using the story of the CCA's attempts to fill this empty prison, the documentary examines the economic impact of incarceration in the United States. (European broadcast scheduled for January, 2003.)
Co-Director / Editor: BLACK IS...BLACK AIN'T
(87 min., 1995) Last project of American filmmaker Marlon Riggs, completed posthumously. At once an exploration of Black identity and the story of Riggs' struggle with AIDS
- 1995 Sundance Film Festival, Filmmakers' Trophy o 1995 Berlin Film Festival
- 1995 San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival, Golden Gate Award
- 1995 Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Best of Festival
- 1995 Festival dei Popoli o 1995 theatrical release
- An ITVS co-production.
Co-Producer / Director: INTO THE GREAT TRIBULATION
(55 min., 1993) Raucous yet poignant look at the world of San Francisco's street preachers
- 1993 San Francisco Film Arts Festival
- 1993 Philadelphia Int'l. Film Festival, Honorable Mention
- 1994 American Film Institute Film Festival
- 1994 Brooklyn Arts Commission Documentary Award
- 1994 screening tour US art museums and galleries.
Co-Director / Editor / Art Design: ANTHEM
(10 min., 1991, with Marlon Riggs) Rap-poetry-music video
- 1992 PBS broadcast
- 1992 London Film Festival
- 1992 screening tour US art museums
- 1994 theatrical release
Co-Producer / Director: THE SHRINE
(50 min., 1990) Documentary exploration of El Santuario de Chimayo, New Mexico's celebrated healing shrine and site of the largest religious pilgrimage in the US
- 1990 Chicago Latino Film Festival
- 1990 PBS broadcast
- 1991 VITAS Festival of Contemporary Folklore and Culture, First Prize "Legends"
- 1991 San Antonio Cinefest, Honorable Mention
- 1991 American Anthropological Association Honoree
Other credits :
Author: LES MARCHANDS DE L'INSECURITE (Merchants of Fear
(52 min., 2002, prod. ARTE - Coup d'Oeil) Exploiting the French public's fear of crime, a growing number of entrepreneurs are selling "security consulting services" to city governments, and in the process introducing "zero tolerance" and other strong-arm U.S. policing techniques in France.
Editor: LE MARIAGE D'ALEX (Alex's Wedding)
(45 min., 2002, dir. Jean Marie Teno) Chronic of a polygamous wedding ceremony featuring a satisfied husband, an excited young bride and a bitter first wife...
Editor: SI GUERIKI, LA REINE MERE (The Queen Mother)
(62 min., 2002, dir. Idrissou Mora-Kpai) A young man returns home to confront the misogynous traditions of his culture.
Editor: LES ENFANTS DU BLANC
(60 min., 2000, dir. Sarah Bouyain) Documentary history of "metissage colonial" in West Africa. o Burkina Faso INPUT selection
- 2000 Lussas Documentary Festival o 2001 Fespaco Festival.
Editor: VACANCES AU PAYS
(75 min., 2000, dir. Jean Marie Teno) A personal reflection on modernization and development in Cameroon
- 2000 Berlin Film Festival o 2000 Cinema du Reel
- 2000 Visions du Reel, Nyon o 2000 San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
- 2000 Munich Documentary Festival o A ZDF/Arte co-production
- 2001 Theatrical release.
Editor: CHIEF!
(61 min., 1999, dir. Jean Marie Teno) A personal documentary chronicling abuses of power in Cameroon
- 1999 Berlin Film Festival
- 1999 Festival du Reel, Nyon
- 1999 Fespaco Festival
- 1999 San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
- 1999 Toronto Festival
- 1999 London Film Festival
- 2000 Theatrical release.
Editor: BEYOND THE MOON
(50 min., 1997, dir. Saundra Ardito) Documentary portrait of the theater troupe The Five Lesbian Brothers.
Art Director / Sound Editor: CLANDO
(98 min., 1996, dir. Jean Marie Teno) Fictional account of contemporary urban life in Cameroon
- 1996 "Vues d'Afrique" Film Festival, Montreal, Co-Winner Festival Grand Prize, Human Rights Prize
- 1996 Festival de Cinema Africano, Milan, Audience Award
- 1997 London Film Festival o A ZDF/Arte co-production
- 1998 Theatrical release.
Editor: MY BODY'S MY BUSINESS
(30 min., 1992, dir. Vivian Kleiman) Safe sex documentary
- 1992 Chicago Film Festival, Silver Plaque Award
- 1993 San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
- 1993 Toronto Film Festival.
U.S. Editor: IN BLACK AND WHITE, Conversations with African-American Writers
(6 x 30 min., 1992, prod. RTSI/California Newsreel) Six profiles of contemporary authors.
Editor: AFFIRMATIONS
(15 min., 1990, dir. Marlon Riggs)
- 1991 screening BFI National Film Theatre, London
- 1991 New York New Festival
- 1992 Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art Award.
Assistant Editor: TONGUES UNTIED
(60 min., 1989, prod. Marlon Riggs)
- 1990 Best Experimental Work, L.A. Film Critics Award
- 1990 San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival, First Prize, New Visions
- 1990 Berlin Film Festival, "Teddy Bear" Best Documentary
- 1990 London Film Festival.