Celebrated Filmmakers, Producers Share Insight into Black Cinema at Shasha Seminar

Legendary director Charles Burnett paved the way for generations of African American filmmakers in his work, including director Shaka King who made the recent Academy Award-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah.

Burnett and King spoke and screened their work at Wesleyan during the 2024 Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns, titled “Black Voices and Visionaries in Cinema,” on Nov. 8 and 9. The two filmmakers were joined by international film producers Ama Ampadu and Tamara Dewit for presentations and a panel discussion. Endowed by James Shasha ’50, P’82, the Shasha Seminar supports lifelong learning and encourages participants to expand their knowledge and perspectives on significant issues.

“Burnett is part of the heroes that smashed open those doors not just for Black folk but for other groups as well, including women who are still underrepresented in our industry,” said Yared Zeleke, visiting assistant professor of film studies and co-organizer of this semester’s Shasha Seminar. Mirko Rucnov, associate professor of the practice of film studies, co-organized the series with Zeleke.

Burnett, who, among other films, directed Killer of Sheep, My Brother’s Wedding, To Sleep with Anger, and The Annihilation of Fish, received an Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017. After screening a director’s cut of The Annihilation of Fish at the Seminar, he answered audience questions on working with the film’s lead actor, the late James Earl Jones, and the theme of community that exists throughout his filmography. Burnett said that he wanted to better represent Black communities, including the ones he was a part of, in his work after pre-Civil Rights Movement films like Birth of a Nation did so much damage to them.

“The kids I grew up with, I tried to tell their story. That’s how Killer of Sheep came about; it’s all about my friends,” Burnett said. “I wanted to tell the story about who they were and try to circumvent those sorts of incredibly tasteless movies that Hollywood had put out about people of color and say, ‘this is how we live in a community.’”

Burnett’s work was an inspiration to King and he, too, addressed the idea of community in his films. But King said his film was focused on highlighting the danger of political apathy and being apolitical for his community. “When that happens, you can be convinced and conned into making all types of decisions detrimental to your future and your children’s future,” King said.

King was the director, co-writer, and producer of Judas and the Black Messiah, which was nominated for six Academy Awards, including “Best Original Screenplay” and “Best Picture” in 2021. He is currently developing several television projects with Netflix and FX.

“Shaka’s film Judas and Black Messiah subverts the conventions of American films dealing with the historical rendering of the racist practice of the political structures in the 1960s,” Rucnov said. “He bravely exposes that the oppression was installed from the very top of the U.S. establishment. By telling the story through the point of view of the informant, William O’Neal, Shaka depicts from the inside the devastating scope of how the establishment has annihilated the African American community with ever-lasting consequences.”

Burnett, King, Ampadu, and Dewit participated in a panel discussion, “The Future of Black Cinema,” moderated by Zeleke and Rucov on Nov. 9. The four explored barriers to making films centered around Black characters or Black history, the changes they would like to see in the industry, and how they measure success.

Ampadu is a senior production and development executive at the BFI Filmmaking Fund and produced Zeleke’s 2015 film Lamb, the first Ethiopian film selected for the official Cannes line-up in Un Certain Regard. Dewit is an Ethiopian-Canadian filmmaker who has produced several films through her company Gobez Media.