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Cyrille Phipps’ Shortlist

Published on February 18, 2009

The Shortlist article series is your opportunity to learn about the films that inspire intellectual, artistic and activist leaders—leaders like Cyrille Phipps. We asked Cyrille Phipps to share her favorite films and his thoughts on the power of documentary to change the world. So what films make Cyrille Phipps’ Shortlist? Keep reading to find out.

Who is Cyrille Phipps?

Cyrille Phipps

Cyrille Phipps has been a media educator and video documentary maker for almost fifteen years. She received a B.F.A. in Film Drama from Syracuse University and M.A. in Media Studies from The New School University.

Working in film and video, she has collaborated on various documentaries that have aired on PBS, TNT and the BBC. She was the co-founder of Black Planet Productions, which produced the award winning grassroots series Not Channel Zero- the revolution, televised. As a member of this collective, she co-produced a number of critically acclaimed documentaries including, Black Womyn, Sexual Politics and the Revolution. She also produced and directed a number of documentaries and community-oriented programs dealing with issues such as AIDS, homophobia, sexism and racism.

As a producer/director, videographer and editor, she has received several awards such as The BRIO Award from the Bronx Council of the Arts, an Honorable Mention at the National Black Programming Consortium’s Annual International Video and Film Award for and was Third Place in Non- Fiction at the SONY Visions of U.S. video competition. In 1994, she was the recipient of a Fellowship Award from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Recently, she was the recipient for the Urban Artist Initiative/NYC.

Currently, she is in the Research & Development phase for a groundbreaking documentary on AIDS in the African American community, AIDS, Sexual Politics and the Untold War against Black Woman.

Cyrille Phipps on the Power of Film

I feel documentary film is important specifically in these current times because it provides the stories of people, addresses issues and documents incidents andevents that mainstream media and the news industry ignores. It also often gives a voice to the voiceless, the poor and working class, people of color and the disabled. In addition, documentary films have challenged the stylistic approach of most commercial films, documentary as well as narrative.

Many of the films listed below, among several others, have touched me in a personal way in terms of providing a perspective or informing me of an issue that I was not aware of. Documentary films have the purpose of educating and informing the public and hopefully inspiring the community at large to act. Professionally, I’ve witnessed the how documentaries have evolved in the last ten years, in terms of creative and stylistic approach and social and political context. No longer are documentaries just basic talking heads with some b-roll. Documentary filmmakers are taking different and inspiring approaches to telling stories and its attracting new audiences and challenging old audiences. I am excited about this new era of documentary filmmaking and looking forward to what it will bring in the remaining years of this decade.

Cyrille Phipps’ Picks

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006): When the Levees Broke is Spike Lee’s third feature-length collaboration with HBO. The film looks at a community that has been through hell and back, surviving death, devastation and disease at every turn. Yet, somehow, amidst the ruins, the people of New Orleans are finding new hope and strength.

4 Little Girls (1997): This film recounts the people and events leading up to the one of the most despicable hate-crimes during the height of the civil-rights movement, the bombing of the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s the story of racism in America and the strength and courage of community facing the loss of innocence.

Autumn’s Eyes (2006): This compelling documentary is about a 3-year-old girl who tries to navigate through the harsh reality of severe poverty, her teenage mother’s incarceration and looming foster care. Charming, obedient, and unable to fully comprehend the severity of her environment, Autumn is shielded from her own reality.

Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (1990): Listen Up is the first feature-length documentary to employ the jazzy, stream- of-consciousness technique pioneered on the MTV program Buzz. The style involves the use of jump-cuts, rhythmic repetition, and interviews that are fragmented and woven together into intricate sound-bite collages.

Half Past Autumn (2000): An intimate look at the life and career of Gordon Parks, a true Renaissance man who has excelled as a photographer, novelist, journalist, poet, musician and filmmaker. He was one of the most influential photojournalists of his time. Along with many other projects he continued his work about civil rights in the United States.

Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People Temple (2006): This documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch. An award-winning filmmaker, Stanley Nelson is a producer, director, and writer of incredible documentary films such as The Murder of Emmett Till, Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind,Two Dollars and a Dream: The Story of Madame C.J. Walker, Mandela, the story of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, and The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords.

Life and Debt (2001) and H2 Worker (1990) by Stephanie Black: Life and Debt look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture and H2 Worker is an expose on the exploitation of workers in the Florida sugar cane industry. Ms. Black examines the Third World amid the process of globalism, the tentacles of multinational corporations reaching across borders and violating workers and human rights around the world.

Chisholm ‘72: Unbought & Unbossed (2005): In 1968, Shirley Chisholm becomes the first black woman elected to Congress. In 1972, she becomes the first black woman to run for president. Shunned by the political establishment, she’s supported by a motley crew of blacks, feminists, and young voters. Their campaign-trail adventures are frenzied, fierce, and fundamentally right on!

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes (2006): Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes provides a riveting examination of manhood, sexism, and homophobia in hip-hop culture. Director Byron Hurt, former star college quarterback, longtime hip-hop fan, and gender violence prevention educator, conceived the documentary as a “loving critique” of a number of disturbing trends in the world of rap music.

Various films by Blackside Productions: Founded in 1968 by Henry Hampton, Blackside went on to become one of the nation’s most acclaimed documentary film companies. Blackside is renowned for shaping the human stories behind the history into compelling films that inspire dialogue on the social and political issues at the core of American life. Blackside has also brought many other award-winning productions to public television, including Eyes on the Prize I and II The Great Depression, Malcolm X: Make It Plain, America’s War on Poverty, This Far by Faith, and I’ll Make Me A World.

James Baldwin: The Price of a Ticket: During the last ten years of his life, Baldwin produced a number of important works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and turned to teaching as a new way of connecting with the young. By his death in 1987, James Baldwin had become one of the most important and vocal advocates for equality.

This article is available for noncommercial use under a Creative Commons license. It was originally published on MediaRights.org, a project of Arts Engine, Inc. This notice must accompany the article at all times.

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