Euzhan Palcy
1. Short Biography:
Euzhan Palcy was born in Martinique, France in 1957. She moved to Paris in 1975, and in 1983, won the Silver Lion award for her first film, Sugar Cane Alley. She is noted for being the first Black woman to direct a mainstream Hollywood film: A Dry White Season. She is best known for her films focusing on social change and cultural issues
2. Filmography:
1975 La messagère (The Messenger) (for TV)
*Her first piece, written at age 17 for French television.
1982 L'atelier du diable (The Devil's Workshop) (for TV)
*A comedy short
1983 Rue cases nègres (Sugar Cane Alley, Black Shack Ally)
*Her feature debut, shot for less than $1,000,000. It documents the love and sacrifice of a poor black family living on a sugar cane plantation in Martinique in the 1930's, as seen through the eyes of a gifted young boy.
1989 A Dry White Season
*Adapted from the novel by South African writer, Andre Brink, this film concentrates on the social movements of South Africa and the Soweto riots. On this film, she became the first black female director produced by a major Hollywood studio.
1992 Siméon
*Set in the Caribbean and Paris, this is musical fairy tale between the dead and the living in which the ghostly spirit of a revered musician, poet and ladies man is held captive by a young girl until he performs a good deed.
1994 Aimé Céaire: un voix pour l'histoire (Aimé Céaire: A Voice for History)
* A three part portrait of Aimé Césaire, famed Martinique poet, playwright and philosopher.
1998 Ruby Bridges (for TV)
*The true story of Ruby Bridges, an African-American girl who, in 1960 at age 6, helped to integrate the all-white schools of New Orleans.
2001 The Killing Yard
*A drama is based on the true events surrounding the 1971 Attica prison uprising which had an indelible impact on the American prison system and jury selection process.
3. Response to Work:
This is the only bit of her work I was able to get a hold of. In this trailer to Sugar Cane Alley I was most interested in the way the segments were shot to tell the story from the childs perspective. There was something youthful and playful about the cameras gaze that reinforced the nature of the protagonist. I was also moved by the landscape and color pallete. There was something beautiful yet raw about the location and the connection the characters have with it.
4. Where did I find her/Where does her work show:
I found Euzhan Palcy through the Index of Women Filmakers page. From there I researched her life and work and I found her official site, which proved very useful.
http://www.euzhanpalcy.com/ephome3.html
Most of her work appears in France and the United States. Many of her works are made for television and screened at film festivals. Some of her films have been produced by big Hollywood companies but even those do not seem to have a lot of publicity.
5. Where are the women?
It was easy to find Euzhan Palcy from the links provided on the blog, but that was the last step of this search that was easy. Other than her website, there is very little publicity surrounding her life and works. The trailer I posted was the only bit of her work I was able to view. I am surprised that even with Hollywood backing I was not able to locate trailers or clips for A Dry White Season.