Euzhan Palcy

Euzhan Palcy (born 13 January 1958) is a Martinican film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her films are known to explore themes of race, gender, and politics. Quotes “And they gave me everything I asked for,” “I will never forget that.” “I used to go to the movies as often as I could, and black faces, black characters, were totally absent,” “And very rarely, when we had a black character, a black actor, it would always be in a very degrading part. That would make me very sad.” “I had a culture shock, because at school we never talked about our culture,” “My desire for becoming a filmmaker came out of my love for film, and anger [about] what I would see. I couldn’t accept that that art that I loved so much would hurt me so much — by my people being totally absent.” “I prayed to God every night, I’m not kidding. After the family prayers, before going to bed, I would stay a little bit longer on my knees, and I would make a little secret prayer to God to make me grow up fast, just to be able to make a film.” “When I came across the book ‘A Dry White Season’ [by Andre Brink], I saw immediately what I could do,” “because [it’s] about the awakening of a white man, an Afrikaner. He saw the light, and decided to fight his own brothers in the name of justice. I decided to make the adaptation a story of two families – one black and one white.” “We had to give those people a voice. Remember, when I’m making that movie, Nelson Mandela is still in jail, and the Special Branch was killing people like flies. I was ready to make that movie at any cost, but if I do that, I want to make a real movie about the situation.” “I decided, OK, I cannot accept to direct the movies that Hollywood will ask me to direct. I kept struggling and pushing my own projects because I knew that they were good.” “It’s been very slow. The change was just on the surface, for many years. But it’s becoming better now, with all the platforms, the Netflix and the Amazon,” “There is a demand for these movies, to see different people’s faces on the screen. And it is fair.” 30 years after making history with ‘A Dry White Season,’ director Euzhan Palcy looks back-Los Angeles Times(1February 2019) “They were very matter of fact: they’d ask: ‘Can’t the lead be white?’” “I was pitching a story about a black freedom fighter and they asked me if he could be white. Incredible things like that.” “It wasn’t meant to be insulting. For them it was just normal. They loved my film-making and the stories, but eventually they would say: ‘Sorry it’s too black. Our marketing department cannot sell it.’” “I couldn’t compromise and betray the very reason why I decided to be a film-maker,” “People would ask ‘why did she disappear?’ Then I explain to them the choice I made, they say it’s a waste of your talent. I say no, I would have hated myself and I would have been miserable. I may be crazy, but I can’t change how I am.” “Robert Redford saw Sugar Cane Alley and he loved it,” “He was like a godfather to me – any problems I just had to call him.” “These are values that I stood by for many years. It’s taken time, too much time. But it is happening slowly,” “For many years I felt like I was by myself talking about these issues of racism and sexism in film. Now I am not alone.” Director Euzhan Palcy says Hollywood found her ideas 'too black'-The Guardian Category:Film directors