The maker of the acclaimed documentaries A PLACE OF RAGE and WARRIOR MARKS turns her camera on the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE COLOR PURPLE.
British filmmaker Pratibha Parmar previously collaborated with Alice Walker on both the documentary and book versions of WARRIOR MARKS, which deals with female genital mutilation. For the present project, the two women rejoin as director and subject respectively, telling Walker’s story. At the same time, the project is conceived as not only a biography of the celebrated author/activist, but the story of race, class, gender, and social change in America during her lifetime.
Parmar has about a month left in her IndieGoGo campaign for the film. To date, she has raised over a third of her $50,000 goal. More information about the project may be found on the film’s website, which also includes a mailing list subscription (under Contact).
I’ve been aware of Parmar’s work since the early 1990s, and had the pleasure of featuring it in NewFest over the years. Like Walker, she is herself a provocative figure for her feminist, lesbian, and diasporic activism, making her a perfect match for this project, which promises to address the controversies that have surrounded the author and her work. There are still too few women and people of color who reach the level of public acknowledgement that Walker has, so projects like this are important not only to contextualize Walker fascinating life and her powerful work, but also for the visibility it provides for those who don’t represent the mainstream.
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