Before migrating to the States from Jamaica, I did not know I was Black. Even though I did not yet know I was Black, I had already intuited something about complexion, class, and treatment. I used to sit on the stone wall across from the classroom buildings and watch my wealthier schoolmates play. I did not belong to that crowd.
While I started writing about my professional trauma for my own healing, I now know that I write for all of us who do the work of racial and social justice. I tell these stories for all of us leading change, wherever we find ourselves.
Logline
Racism is physical. It weathers the body. It is violent. It kills. It’s not some theoretical thing. Through cinematic visuals, story, and tone, this film will allow audiences to see and feel what was trapped in one woman's body for decades. We retrospectively trace Yanique's struggle for racial justice within the white woman-dominated philanthropic sector in Washington, D.C. and her pleasure-filled personal transformation.
Synopsis
Directed by Mignotae Kebede, the film begins by reflecting on Yanique's formative years in Jamaica and the moment she became aware she was Black, after moving to a working class neighborhood in the United States at the age of 10. We explore the burdens that Black women carry through Yanique’s personal reckoning with racism, healing, and liberation. While experiences of white woman fragility and profound heartbreak characterized one part of Yanique’s journey, her exploration of pleasure led to personal and institutional transformation. Nonetheless, Yanique's physical and mental health suffered as a result of the disappointing realization that the philanthropic sector was willing to live with structural racism instead of doing everything it could to tear it down. Drowning under the weight of it all, Yanique set out to rescue herself and has since left behind high profile positions to continue on her path toward personal awakening. The poetic sequences creatively reenact Yanique’s essays from the book in a hybrid approach, while observational filmmaking captures her ongoing healing and the spaces she has created to help others heal. If you are a Black woman who has survived, or is surviving, racial abuse in the workplace, we are making this film for you.
Act 1: Weathering
This act symbolizes the struggle of treading water, holding on for so long that it takes a physical toll. It reflects the strain and endurance required to stay afloat.
Act 2: Basement
Here, the symbolism deepens as Yanique faces a metaphorical drowning as she realizes that the transformational change she seeks is not coming any time soon. This act serves as her reckoning and sets the stage for a transformative journey.
Act 3: Pleasure
The final act represents a path toward healing and self-discovery. Yanique finds her truth and creates space for pleasure and rest for herself and others. She embraces the joy and relief that come from knowing that the liberation she was seeking for others is available to her too.
TEAM
Yanique Redwood
Executive Producer | Author
Dr. Yanique Redwood is an author, speaker, racial justice strategist, and facilitator of intimate spaces that center care and connection among Black people and people of color. After a decade as CEO of iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility, Dr. Redwood self-published her first book White Women Cry and Call Me Angry: A Black Woman’s Memoir on Racism in Philanthropy.
She is now the Principal of Collective Work, a consultancy devoted to helping people and organizations answer the question: What liberatory practices can we collectively cultivate so that our strategy is powerfully and authentically executed? Dr. Redwood is now fully devoted to her health and wellness. This means making radical decisions every day to protect them both, including spending most of her time outside of the United States. She lives in both Montego Bay, Jamaica and Washington, DC.
Dr. Yanique Redwood
Executive Producer | Author
Bethel Dixon
Producer
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Bethel Dixon
Producer
Bethel Dixon is a writer/producer focused on creating a body of work that tells authentic and moving stories centered upon the lives of people of color around the globe. As a first generation Ethiopian-Eritrean American filmmaker, Bethel's distinct voice and vision draw her towards the exploration of humanity, family, women, immigrant life, and film as a vessel for social impact. Bethel is a former Black Producers Fellow selected by the Black TV & Film Collective and Wavelength Productions as well as a former screenwriting mentee of the Women In Film Mentoring Program.
Her short film HERE was nominated for Best Narrative Short at the 2022 Pan African Film Festival and Outstanding Dramatic Writing at the 2022 Micheaux Film Festival. In 2023, the film won Special Mention, Emerging Narratives at the March On Washington Film Festival and held its international premiere at the Toronto Black Film Festival. Bethel studied feature film writing with the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and prior to shifting her career towards independent filmmaking, worked in network development and programming for nine years.
Director | Producer
Mignotae Kebede
Mignotae is an award-winning Producer, Director, and Writer with a passion for creating impactful content that bridges the worlds of creative expression and social change. She has over 8 years of experience in the industry, working on documentaries, unscripted series, music videos, live performances, branded content, and narrative films.
Her work has been featured on the PBS Docu-Series "No Passport Required”. Mignotae’s contributions have also extended to notable platforms such as HBO Max, National Public Radio (NPR), and Bravo. Mignotae’s work reflects a commitment to shedding light on important social issues and amplifying voices that often go unheard. Her work serves as a catalyst for conversations, inspiring audiences to question, empathize, and engage with the world around them.
Mignotae Kebede
Director | Producer
Mansa Johnson
Director of Photography
Mansa Johnson
Director of Photography
Mansa Johnson, a cinematographer from Washington, DC, launched his film career in 2010 with encouragement from his twin brother, Kwasi, and classmate Iyore Odighizuwa. He has since worked with the Washington Wizards, artists like Jazmine Sullivan and Akon, major networks including BET and ESPN, and events such as the Super Bowl. Mansa has worked on award winning projects and now serves as a Director of Photography for documentaries, music videos, and narrative films with his business partner, Mignotae Kebede.
BUDGET
Our crew is 90% Black, 50% of which are Black women.
WHY NOW
The stories of Black women professionals experiencing racial aggression at work are rarely told. Through Yanique’s story, we hope to validate those who are struggling with similar experiences. We want Black women to know they are not the problem and they are not alone. We also hope to encourage broader conversations about racial trauma, the toll that it takes, and the healing and care that Black women deserve, while holding a mirror to the sectors that systematically engage in harm.
KITCHEN CABINET
Our community of powerful women working behind the scenes to bring this film into the world.
