Friends We Lost
Remembering St. Claire Bourne: ...The Documentary Major And Spike Lee’s film Accomplice
BY FEMI ODUGBEMI
(As published in The Guardian Sunday, January 6. 2007)
St Claire Bourne at the Real Life Festival in Accra.. last year. (Please disregard date on foto. It was taken last year).
ONE of the saddest news to hit the global community of filmmakers recently must be the death of legendary American documentarist St.Clair Bourne. Mr. Bourne passed on a few weeks ago in a New York hospital after an operation to remove a brain tumor. He was 64.
I really got to spend time with St.Claire only once, but once was plenty because he left such a big impression on me and the shocking news of his transition has left me feeling a significant sense of loss.
In early June last year I was invited to participate at the 2 nd Real Life Pan-African Documentary film festival in Accra Ghana. My documentary Ibadan: Cradle of Literati was a festival selection. At the festival was an intimidating congregation of international filmmakers amongst whom were the likes of Jihan El Thari (France/Egypt), John Akomfrah(UK/Ghana), Kwaw Ansah (Ghana), Okpako Branwen (Germany/Nigeria), Manthia Diawara (Mali), Ed Guerero (USA) and this towering bear of a man named St.Clair Bourne from America. On opening night Mr. Bourne was honoured with the Real-Life Festival’s “Tribute to An African Filmmaker and a Filmmaker from the Diaspora.” Looking back, that moment of honour for him from African filmmakers would turn out a timely and fateful salute of significance.
Because of the unique nature of the Real-Life festival, its programming – which consisted of interactive seminars during the day and film screenings in dual locations at night, there was space for filmmakers to get to know each other, our works, our problems and solutions. That was a wonderful opportunity that was irresistible and one which a lot of us grabbed with glee. Attending also from Nigeria were Jahman Anikulapo, who is on the board of the festival and filmmaker Makin Soyinka. We quickly became a 3-man ‘action team’ passionately seeking out these titans of documentary filmmaking and soaking in their ideas and exploring the possibility of bringing them to Nigeria for a documentary festival.
Indeed we shared an evening of animated discussions with Mr. Bourne over drinks at our hotel lobby. He was such a strong intelligent presence accustomed to doing big things. You could not help but like him because as serious as he was, he had a wry self-deprecating sense of humour. He had a passion for telling stories. He also had the willingness to share and the encouragement to motivate us to create a larger community of serious filmmakers in Nigeria with a social conscience and a commitment to our cultural context reflected in the themes of our films. I remember that he insisted that in a developing nation with a vibrant cultural context like Nigeria, filmmaking must carry a responsibility to further social awareness and escalate leadership responsibility.
• St Claire Bourne...
...conducting a Master’s workshop with students of NAFTI in Accra... last year
We discussed the global information order and how the history and heroes of black and African communities were deliberately distorted to sustain an economic imbalance favouring western nations. He was clearly in familiar territory as his own personal life journey would reveal.
A biography on his website indicates that Bourne was born in Harlem on February 16 1943 . After a time in the peace corps, he studied filmmaking at Columbia University but was subsequently expelled for demonstrating on campus. Thereafter he produced public television’s first black public affairs program “Black Journal.” He later served as guest lecturer at the UCLA film department in the mid-70s, created documentaries for LA’s KCET and was on the selection committee of the Los Angeles film festival FILMEX. His blend of artistic vision and activism led him to create a string of acclaimed documentaries highlighting the African-American experience. Bourne’s many films included “Making Do the Right thing,” “Paul Robeson: Here I stand!,” “Let the church say amen,” “In motion: Amiri Baraka,” “The Black and the Green,” “Langton Hughes: the dream keeper,” “New Orleans Brass,” and “John Henrik Clark: A Great and Mighty Walk,” amongst others. He founded a production company named CHAMBA which he led until his death. At the time of his death, Bourne was working on a documentary about veteran Memphis-based civil rights photographer Ernest Withers. In addition he was also working on a film about the history of the Black Panthers.
In the history of black cinema there are few more respected icons. I imagine that if you take the likes of say Oscar Micheaux who was one of the leading black indie filmmakers on one end, and at the other extreme would be someone like Spike Lee who made it possible for indie filmmakers to find an audience in the commercial distribution markets. St Claire Bourne’s legacy lies in the centre somewhere. As an innovator, he was a bridge between the early giants and the titans of Hollywood. What they all had in common, however, was not only talent and craftmanship but a deep understanding of the social and political impact of visual imagery on cultural history. They were more than filmmakers, they were pioneers committed to using film to tell authentic stories and presenting true images to combat the maligned representation of their people.
In the dead of that night in Accra, Jahman and Makin and I, moved by the compelling presence and power of this man’s vision would decide to host a Nigerian edition of the Real-Life Documentary film festival if only to present the same opportunity for as many of our filmmakers as possible to experience how a filmmaker’s voice can be a powerful agent for social change. We invited Mr. Bourne to consider headlining such a festival and we assumed a date sometime in the second quarter of 2008. He instantly accepted. He also added all of us to his mailing list for his filmmakers’ journal – CHAMBA NOTES. In the months after the festival and until his death, Mr. Bourne regularly shared thoughts, tributes and information via this frequent email dispatches. Alas, that meeting in Accra would be my first and last opportunity to experience this icon of independent film.For us in the Nigerian filmmaking community, the death of St.Claire Bourne, while seemingly of remote importance carries a measure of significance as we build an industry that sustains and competes globally. The amazing and thought-provoking body of work of St.Claire Bourne appears almost carefully formed to provoke debate and challenge filmmakers in the continent to be more relevant and proactive in the context of the development and economic challenges enveloping our nations. With the huge audience that our industry has created across the country and continent, can we find filmmakers of intelligence, commitment and courage to offer themes in our films that define our political and development ambitions and defend our culture against the rampaging imperialism of the big world economies? Now wouldn’t that have been an engaging discussion with Mr. Bourne at the proposed Real-Life Festival in Lagos?
May his inspiring and wonderful soul rest in peace.
• Odugbemi, a film maker (ibadan: Cradle of Literati; Bar Beach Blues etc) is CEO of DVWorxs Studios, Lagos (www.dvworxstudios.com); and member of West African Documentary Film Forum (Nigerian Section) , WADFF
BY FEMI ODUGBEMI
(As published in The Guardian Sunday, January 6. 2007)
St Claire Bourne at the Real Life Festival in Accra.. last year. (Please disregard date on foto. It was taken last year).
ONE of the saddest news to hit the global community of filmmakers recently must be the death of legendary American documentarist St.Clair Bourne. Mr. Bourne passed on a few weeks ago in a New York hospital after an operation to remove a brain tumor. He was 64.
I really got to spend time with St.Claire only once, but once was plenty because he left such a big impression on me and the shocking news of his transition has left me feeling a significant sense of loss.
In early June last year I was invited to participate at the 2 nd Real Life Pan-African Documentary film festival in Accra Ghana. My documentary Ibadan: Cradle of Literati was a festival selection. At the festival was an intimidating congregation of international filmmakers amongst whom were the likes of Jihan El Thari (France/Egypt), John Akomfrah(UK/Ghana), Kwaw Ansah (Ghana), Okpako Branwen (Germany/Nigeria), Manthia Diawara (Mali), Ed Guerero (USA) and this towering bear of a man named St.Clair Bourne from America. On opening night Mr. Bourne was honoured with the Real-Life Festival’s “Tribute to An African Filmmaker and a Filmmaker from the Diaspora.” Looking back, that moment of honour for him from African filmmakers would turn out a timely and fateful salute of significance.
Because of the unique nature of the Real-Life festival, its programming – which consisted of interactive seminars during the day and film screenings in dual locations at night, there was space for filmmakers to get to know each other, our works, our problems and solutions. That was a wonderful opportunity that was irresistible and one which a lot of us grabbed with glee. Attending also from Nigeria were Jahman Anikulapo, who is on the board of the festival and filmmaker Makin Soyinka. We quickly became a 3-man ‘action team’ passionately seeking out these titans of documentary filmmaking and soaking in their ideas and exploring the possibility of bringing them to Nigeria for a documentary festival.
Indeed we shared an evening of animated discussions with Mr. Bourne over drinks at our hotel lobby. He was such a strong intelligent presence accustomed to doing big things. You could not help but like him because as serious as he was, he had a wry self-deprecating sense of humour. He had a passion for telling stories. He also had the willingness to share and the encouragement to motivate us to create a larger community of serious filmmakers in Nigeria with a social conscience and a commitment to our cultural context reflected in the themes of our films. I remember that he insisted that in a developing nation with a vibrant cultural context like Nigeria, filmmaking must carry a responsibility to further social awareness and escalate leadership responsibility.
• St Claire Bourne...
...conducting a Master’s workshop with students of NAFTI in Accra... last year
We discussed the global information order and how the history and heroes of black and African communities were deliberately distorted to sustain an economic imbalance favouring western nations. He was clearly in familiar territory as his own personal life journey would reveal.
A biography on his website indicates that Bourne was born in Harlem on February 16 1943 . After a time in the peace corps, he studied filmmaking at Columbia University but was subsequently expelled for demonstrating on campus. Thereafter he produced public television’s first black public affairs program “Black Journal.” He later served as guest lecturer at the UCLA film department in the mid-70s, created documentaries for LA’s KCET and was on the selection committee of the Los Angeles film festival FILMEX. His blend of artistic vision and activism led him to create a string of acclaimed documentaries highlighting the African-American experience. Bourne’s many films included “Making Do the Right thing,” “Paul Robeson: Here I stand!,” “Let the church say amen,” “In motion: Amiri Baraka,” “The Black and the Green,” “Langton Hughes: the dream keeper,” “New Orleans Brass,” and “John Henrik Clark: A Great and Mighty Walk,” amongst others. He founded a production company named CHAMBA which he led until his death. At the time of his death, Bourne was working on a documentary about veteran Memphis-based civil rights photographer Ernest Withers. In addition he was also working on a film about the history of the Black Panthers.
In the history of black cinema there are few more respected icons. I imagine that if you take the likes of say Oscar Micheaux who was one of the leading black indie filmmakers on one end, and at the other extreme would be someone like Spike Lee who made it possible for indie filmmakers to find an audience in the commercial distribution markets. St Claire Bourne’s legacy lies in the centre somewhere. As an innovator, he was a bridge between the early giants and the titans of Hollywood. What they all had in common, however, was not only talent and craftmanship but a deep understanding of the social and political impact of visual imagery on cultural history. They were more than filmmakers, they were pioneers committed to using film to tell authentic stories and presenting true images to combat the maligned representation of their people.
In the dead of that night in Accra, Jahman and Makin and I, moved by the compelling presence and power of this man’s vision would decide to host a Nigerian edition of the Real-Life Documentary film festival if only to present the same opportunity for as many of our filmmakers as possible to experience how a filmmaker’s voice can be a powerful agent for social change. We invited Mr. Bourne to consider headlining such a festival and we assumed a date sometime in the second quarter of 2008. He instantly accepted. He also added all of us to his mailing list for his filmmakers’ journal – CHAMBA NOTES. In the months after the festival and until his death, Mr. Bourne regularly shared thoughts, tributes and information via this frequent email dispatches. Alas, that meeting in Accra would be my first and last opportunity to experience this icon of independent film.For us in the Nigerian filmmaking community, the death of St.Claire Bourne, while seemingly of remote importance carries a measure of significance as we build an industry that sustains and competes globally. The amazing and thought-provoking body of work of St.Claire Bourne appears almost carefully formed to provoke debate and challenge filmmakers in the continent to be more relevant and proactive in the context of the development and economic challenges enveloping our nations. With the huge audience that our industry has created across the country and continent, can we find filmmakers of intelligence, commitment and courage to offer themes in our films that define our political and development ambitions and defend our culture against the rampaging imperialism of the big world economies? Now wouldn’t that have been an engaging discussion with Mr. Bourne at the proposed Real-Life Festival in Lagos?
May his inspiring and wonderful soul rest in peace.
• Odugbemi, a film maker (ibadan: Cradle of Literati; Bar Beach Blues etc) is CEO of DVWorxs Studios, Lagos (www.dvworxstudios.com); and member of West African Documentary Film Forum (Nigerian Section) , WADFF
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