00:00The fact that Shatterbox and Refinery29 think that I might be a part of changing the world convinces me that
00:07I can.
00:11I remember not seeing myself represented in the media.
00:15And the thing is, like, there are so many people in this world, we only get to see, like, ten
00:19points of view, and they're, like, mostly white.
00:21It's like, what about those people that don't know that they exist because they cannot see themselves?
00:25That is why female directors are really important.
00:28You just miss out on the story of the world if you don't let those people share themselves.
00:36Look at my baby. I miss him.
00:38And he's a lover?
00:38I'm literally on the toilet in this photo.
00:41He cannot, like, he just can't let me be alone.
00:44Like, he's like, hi, I see that you wanted your privacy.
00:48Should I join you?
00:51As an actor, my job is to worry about my story.
00:54But as a director, I worry about every single character.
01:00Not only do I worry about the character, I worry about the color on the wall.
01:03Cigarette butts.
01:04You know, on the coffee table, I worry about everything.
01:07And it's been really, really beautiful to craft each world that all of my characters live in.
01:13And it's made being on the other side of the audition table much easier.
01:19You know, there's this thing I try to remember.
01:21To be kind to the people you pass in the street.
01:24Be kind to everyone because you don't know what they're struggling with behind closed doors.
01:29You have to pretend to be fine and a survivor and strong and independent and all those things.
01:33And all of that pretending you forget yourself.
01:37Most times when someone says that they're okay and that they're fine, that they probably are not.
01:44With Tale of Four, what we do is we take these four women and we go behind the doors of
01:50their smiles
01:51and all the things that black women are forced to pretend to be.
01:56It took me a while to believe that I can do this.
01:59It took a while for me to believe that my opinions were valid enough to tell other people what to
02:04do.
02:05I had to look at these smart, brilliant, talented, beautiful people
02:09and believe that if they believed in me, at the very least, I shouldn't prove them wrong.
02:15I would advise female filmmakers to just write what you know, direct what you know.
02:21Do not wait for others.
02:23Do not wait for others to tell you what you should do or what you can do.
02:27Don't even tell them what you can do.
02:29Just do it.
