When the American singer and actress Queen Latifah first debuted with her distinctive two-octave vocal range in 1989’s ‘All Hail the Queen’, she was already focused on tackling issues around inclusion. The timeless duet with Monie Love, “Ladies First,” emphasized the value of women in society and has remained a representation of female emancipation. With her Queen Collective initiative, created in collaboration with Procter & Gamble, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Tribeca Studios, the New Jersey native continues to practice what she has been preaching nearly four decades later.
Queen Latifah spoke to ESSENCE ahead of the debut of two films made due to her effort. She discussed her ground-breaking partnership with P&G, the directors involved, and how important it is to elevate Black women in cinema. This project, which is in its fourth year, started because, in front of and behind the camera, “women of colour, women generally, and people of colour, are under presented, enormously underrepresented”. We walked off the stage together after sitting on a panel with Mark Pritchard at a women’s event in New York a few years ago and remarked, “Man, we’ve got to do something about this,” to which he replied, “Yes, we do.”
The Queen Collective, which permits women to direct their own films, was one of the ideas that emerged from her conversation with Pritchard. To enable them to convey their story, “we finance them, support them throughout the filmmaking process, and offer distribution.” According to Latifah, the timing of this initiative was ideal given the persistent underrepresentation of people of colour in the media and has provided many aspiring filmmakers with the chances, information, and tools they need to advance their careers.
This year, Queen Collective enlisted the help of six Black directors—Idil Ibrahim, Jenn Shaw, Luchina Fisher, Vashni Korin, Imani Dennison, and Contessa Gayles—to fulfil its unwavering promise to broaden audiences’ perspectives on a global scale by creating five original documentaries and, for the first time, a scripted short. Beginning with “In Her Element,” directed by Ibrahim, and “Gaps,” directed by Shaw, the six movies will be released throughout the year. The two movies, which had their world premieres in January 2023 at the Sundance Film Festival, are now viewable on demand on all BET platforms, including BET, BET HER, BET SOUL, BET JAMS, and PLUTO TV.
The Queen Collective’s actions have a ripple effect on every aspect of what it takes to properly develop, film, and release a picture, in addition to widening the representation gap for Black filmmakers. Queen Latifah says we’re trying to create a pipeline of individuals who are qualified in every element of making movies, not just brilliant filmmakers. “Our directors go on to recruit at least 50% diverse crews, and that’s one of the benefits of it,” she adds. She continues that you can pursue various occupations, including those in visual effects, hair, cosmetics, clothing, costuming, cinematography, grips, and gaffers. The amount of experience that could be gained from producing one movie would be incredible. And that is what we hope to create. One of the ways we’re doing that is through The Queen Collective, and we’re excited to introduce our filmmakers and our works to you.
Comments are closed.