Queen Sugar: All The Borders 2019

Queen Sugar
Season 4 - Episode 8
”All The Borders”

Synopsis

Charley and Micah stare at the remains of the Queen Sugar Mill, as the fire captain reveals that all signs point to arson. Violet confronts Sam Landry about the attack and reveals that they share a past. Charley has a heated conversation with Frances Boudreaux and later, Sam Landry insists to Charley that his hands are clean. Meanwhile, Deesha helps Ralph Angel with his upcoming hearing about his reentry program and Violet says a prayer for Nova. The following morning, Nova receives a surprise visit from Calvin, but when Micah unexpectedly arrives, he inspires Nova to ask Calvin some tough questions. Elsewhere, Keke talks to Micah about taking their relationship to the next level on prom night, and Darla calls Ralph Angel during his evening with Deesha. Finally, Romero and Charley's relationship reaches a breaking point.

Shut Out

I had been banging against the door of television ever since I made my first feature. With Independent Spirit Award nominations, a Sundance Jury Prize nomination, having worked with incredible actors and creators, I watched as male colleagues received five picture deals, representation, TV opportunities, etc, etc. My female colleagues though, just like me, were not getting those chances, no matter what we tried.

Enter Ava

Then Ava DuVernay created “Queen Sugar,” a gorgeous Black family drama set in Louisiana, for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The show premiered in 2016, and Ava made something boldly clear: that the show would only be directed by women, and mostly women of color. This fully changed the landscape of television, a wave of proper representation behind the camera, that will hopefully continue to grow and grow. We call this “The Ava Effect” and it was an honor to be a part of it.

In the spring of 2019 I received the call from Ava. I had been in touch with her over the years, but this call came as a complete surprise. She asked if I would like to direct “Queen Sugar” episode 408. I fell to my knees, in my home office, deeply overwhelmed with gratitude. Twelve hours later I was in New Orleans prepping my first television show. This moment changed my entire career, and my life.

Sisterhood

I love the structure Ava established for incoming directors so that we were set up for success. Her number one directive to me was to watch every episode of the show. Which I did. And which is a discipline I’ve carried into every show I’ve done since. Ava also provided a couple days to shadow our fellow directors when we arrived to work. There was a deep and vibrant camaraderie among these women. We shared meals, stories, advice, and embraced this opportunity before us with warmth, enthusiasm, and all our filmmaking prowess that we had been chomping at the bit to get to use in TV production. Ava gave us a powerful producing director, mine was Cheryl Dunne, who was there to show me the ropes and have my back. And my DP Kira Kelly was there to introduce me to the visual language of the show and collaborate in elevating the episode visually.

Directing TV

I loved immersing myself into the machine of the show, which was my first experience seeing how everyone and everything fits together in television. It was a surprisingly similar tempo to independent features…very fast. My work writing, directing, producing and editing my own films was so valuable here, as I could find a creative collaboration with the established crew, while also bringing elements of my cinematic language that aligned with the vision of Queen Sugar.

I was so grateful to my Showrunner and the writers of my episode for weaving a deeply emotional story that gave the actors so many layers to work with. My years of studying and then teaching acting are a huge part of what I bring as a director, where it is of utmost importance to me to hold space for deeply moving performances. I love actors, and I think what they offer the world is most courageous and a great gift to humanity. The actors on this show absolutely blew me away with their ferocity, presence, vulnerability, and generosity. It was such a privilege to witness them do their thing.

The Ava Effect

It is so powerful, expansive, and inspiring what Ava did for me and for every other woman who directed “Queen Sugar.” It has brought incredible friendships and colleagues into my life, more work and opportunities, and continues to take on new paths. And the gratitude and honor that we feel carries through us, driving us to keep the door open behind us, as well as follow Ava’s lead, build houses and open our own doors, to create more work for women who are still trying to get in.