Happy Birthday, Euzhan Palcy: Fem Film Rogue Icon Spotlight

 

Behind the scenes with Euzhan Palcy.

Euzhan Palcy, an incredible history making filmmaker deserves to be celebrated. Viola Davis said in a powerful introductory speech at the Honorary Oscars ceremony that Palcy is a woman of many firsts, that she did never sacrificed her blackness or womanhood. In the filmmaking field, it takes bravery and courage to get behind the camera and decide as a Black woman to tell evocative Black stories surpassing all genres. As a Black director controlling the Black image— historically almost always white, especially in biopics and blackploitation— Palcy sought to turn the tables in the cinematic medium, pushing out African diaspora in memorably prolific masterpieces.  

Euzhan Palcy with her much deserved honorary Oscar.

Born and raised in Martinique of the French West Indies, Palcy studied French literature and theater at the University of Paris (also called the Sorbonne) and art and archaeology and film/cinematography at the Louis-Lumière College. After The Messenger, a 1975 TV film set in her native Martinique and The Devil’s Workshop, a 1982 short, Palcy’s first major film Sugar Cane Alley— made for a million dollars with help from the French government— placed her on the filmmaking map. Based on Joseph Zobel’s semi-autobiographical Black Shack Alley novel, Palcy’s revolutionary work focuses on the grave injustices white landowners placed on Black sugar cane farmers in 1930’s Martinique. The protagonist young José lives with his grandmother Ma’Tine, witnessing generation after generation of the overworked, beaten Black farmers regardless of their age and health. Sugar Cane Alley— edited by the award-winning Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte— won many awards including the Best Work Award at the Cesar Awards, the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Darling Légitimus, and the Public Award at The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou held in Burkina Faso. 

Euzhan Palcy between Marlon Brando (Ian) and Donald Sutherland (Ben) in the barrister’s office scene. 

A Dry White Season, Palcy’s second feature-length starring Donald Sutherland, Marlon Brando, and Zakes Mokae, exposes South Africa’s brutal, ugly past— the unforgettably evil apartheid. The story unfolds rather quickly— showcasing the idle pleasantries of upper crust white lives versus the precarious uncertainty of peacefully protesting Black people. Even Black children are not safe from vicious political reign. Ben, the oblivious white professor, sees his country for what it is, influencing his young impressionable son Jonathan in the process. Everyone else including his own wife and treacherous elder daughter sees Ben as a traitor— all because he knows that killing Black senselessly is wrong! In Palcy’s film, there are no roses placed on the truth— it is bloody, violent, and heartbreaking. 

Palcy’s other works include the NAACP Image Award nominated Ruby Bridges for the Wonderful World of Disney, the documentary Hassane (“How Are the Kids”), and various shorts, TV films, and TV episodes. Throughout her career of bold, eye-opening risks, Palcy has explored the definition of the globalized experience, highlighting the devastating consequences that colonialism left behind in every nook and cranny of our world, of our tarnished history. 

Behind the scenes with Euzhan. 

Euzhan in action. 

The inspiring Euzhan Palcy— the first to direct a Hollywood film, the first Black filmmaker to win the coveted French Cesar Award and Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, a Silver Gavel from the American Bar Association, the Sojourner Truth Award from Cannes Film Festival, and wins at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Durban International Film Festival, and etc.— is a profound testament of commendable strength and diligence. The film industry is a very difficult road to navigate, especially for a Black woman, prone to working with low budgets, awards snubs, and every roadblock in between. That’s why in 2023, there remains a select few that please these juries/voters/guilds still stuck in a certain time, a time that is more often exclusive than inclusive. 

Although no official word yet on if Palcy is working on new projects, there is an audience interested in her past films and whatever comes next. 

Strong, insightful quotes to really think about by Euzhan Palcy:

“I wanted to make a Black story about South Africa. Unfortunately, no producer in Hollywood would put one penny into a Black story.” 

“Some people make movies for money or glory and will take any subject people offer them. But I cannot do that. I need to feel the story and make it mine.” 

“There are many projects I couldn’t get off the ground because they didn’t have white heroes. It’s a problem that everyone who’s been working in Hollywood has been facing.” 

“No one enters this stage alone. I would not be here without the wisdom and love from all those who joined me in my journey. My heart is bursting right now thinking about my grandmother, of my dad, of my mother, and my godmother and godfathers…” 

“Many have asked me why for a time I stepped back from a career that I love. I stepped back so that I could truly stand up and stand tall. If I didn’t make any movies for a few years, it’s because I decided to keep silence… I kept my silence because I was exhausted.”