Sister I'm Sorry
“Tonight is about a vision of us as men and women being able to live, work and play together so that we can raise our children in an environment where they don’t have to grow up ever mentioning the words dysfunctional family.” (Reverend Donald Bell, Sister I’m Sorry)
Sister I’m Sorry, directed by Frank Underwood, was one of the highlights of the bfm festival, when the screening was followed by a lively panel discussion. Intended as an atonement by African-American men towards their female counterparts, it features eight women who convey real-life accounts of rape, abuse, incest and abandonment. Their provocative and heart-felt stories are juxtaposed with dramatised apologies performed by well-known actors including Michael Beach (Soul food) and Tommy Ford (New York Undercover). Actress Margaret ‘Shug’ Avery (The Colour Purple) hosts the film which opens and closes with a congregation of men and women, led by the Reverend Donald Bell.
The main objective of Sister I’m Sorry is to fuel debate between men and women, in the hope that they may begin to heal past wounds and lay down deeper foundations for a better mutual understanding. To a degree this objective is fulfilled.
Featured on the Oprah Winfrey show and the Million Women March in October 1997, Sister I’m Sorry is receiving great acclaim and coverage. In America the cast and producers travel from state to state engaging communities in discussion and encouraging greater awareness of harrowing accounts. And, he prepared, the film is sure to strike a nerve. The issues addressed are universal although one suspects that the film’s overall delivery is a touch too sugary for UK viewers, accustomed as we are to a more gritty approach.
The most powerful and positive sequences show the ministering of Reverend Bell, as he directs men to take responsibility for the part they play in the breakdown between male and female relationships. An experienced therapist, he pinpoints various causes that lead to abusive behaviour and cites the problem as one that has hounded us for generations.
However various aspects of the film are problematic. For example, the glamorous way the dramatised sequences featuring male celebrities are presented. Stylised, dark, moody studio shots, underscored by melodious jazz music, offer charming scenarios which conflict with those of the real-life accounts. Beside the women’s naked and honest testimonies, the men’s heavily scripted sequences appear to trivialise the sisters’ accounts: their apologies lack potency. In contrast the women are filmed fixed-frame in front of a brick wall, as though they are in some way trapped. Arguably this choice of style reflects the embedded pain the women feel. Their testimonies are so strong and powerful, there is no need for further embellishment.
The decision to use celebrities as opposed to ‘real men’ was criticised in the bfm seminar. Executive Producer Alan Sorter addressed this criticism saying that the producers had appealed to both men and women on equal terms to come forward and share their experiences. However, owing to the lack of response from men, the decision was made to use male celebrities instead. He suggested there was still a chance for men to come forward and voice their version of accounts. Perhaps this is an indication that there will be a follow-up film in the future.
Sister I’m sorry is most certainly a starting point for more positive and rewarding discussions and will be useful as part of a workshop. Make sure you watch this video with family and friends. It will not instantly solve your problems, but it will definitely provoke thought. The rest is up to us.
VHS copies of Sister I’m Sorry can be purchased from bfm. To order please email bfm@lvc.valley.co.uk or phone +44 (0)181 527 9582
Editorial
So that was '99
Don
Letts
Producer
Lincia Daniel dances verbally with Don Letts
Blair
Witch
Project
weaves its magic
Thomas Allen Crossing the boundaries
(c)Black Filmmaker
Publications 1999:
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