Like many other indie filmmakers from the late 20th Century,Thcentury, Ayoka Chenzira is not as well-known as she should be, nor has she made as many films as her talent warrants. But the ones she’s made remain impactful.
Her shorts “Hair Piece: A Film for Nappyheaded People”This was a groundbreaking achievement for Black women animators. Its focus on Black hair is still relevant. It’s now “Alma’s Rainbow,”Her 1994 feature film debut was about Black womanhood. She returns to the US in a new restoration of 4K.
Written, directed and produced by Chenzira — who has gone on to guide a new generation of filmmakers and new-media creators at Spelman for more than 20 years — “Alma’s Rainbow” captures the dynamic between mother and daughter during a pivotal turning point in the younger woman’s life. Like Leslie Harris’s debut feature, 1992’ “Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.,” “Alma’s Rainbow”This is one of the few aspects of the era that focuses on young Black women.
In “Alma’s Rainbow,”Chenzira is a diverse representation of Black womanhood. Alma (Kim Weston-Moran) owns a beauty salon — the ultimate sanctuary for Black women — and strives to provide stability and respectability for her teenage daughter Rainbow (Victoria Gabrielle Platt). That is disrupted when Alma’s sister Ruby (Mizan Nunes Kirby) returns to their Brooklyn home after years of living in Paris.
Alma worked hard to become an independent, strong woman. Ruby, however, believes there is nothing wrong in using her feminine charms to achieve the best of both worlds. But Ruby is not totally dependent on men — she is also an artist who, unlike Alma, never abandoned her gifts regardless of how hard it got. Rainbow, a dancer, finds herself drawn to Ruby’s: It’s the artistic side of Ruby to which Rainbow, who is a dancer, is so strongly drawn. That’s also the side that worries her mother the most.
Alma suffers from PTSD, and unlike Ruby, this is a result of her struggle to become an artist. This puts Alms at odds with Alma as she wants a completely different life for her little girl. Chenzira’s three characters present a complex portrait about Black womanhood, which was unusual for that era.
Chenzira makes Rainbow the only girl in her hip hop dance trio and strongly illustrates the precarious stage between girlhood, womanhood, and girlhood. The writer-director also highlights Rainbow’s artistic ability, offering glimpses of the energy and rawness of early 1990s hip-hop in the process. As her body matures, Rainbow is understandably confused by those changes — so much so that she initially rejects them through her numerous attempts to mask her body’s transformation until nature forces her to accept them.
A bundle of emotions herself, Alma is both hyper-aware and in denial about Rainbow’s impending physical maturity. Her desire to protect Rainbow from the world’s cruelty to young Black women — as well as from heartbreak and early pregnancy, a point she makes very clear to Rainbow’s would-be suitor Miles (Isaiah Washington in a brief early performance that’s nonetheless impressive) — creates a slight rift between them. Ruby, on the other hand, seduces Rainbow with her beautiful clothes and feminine manners until they find a new way to dance together.
By referencing Josephine Baker, “Alma’s Rainbow”A claim to a cultural heritage that is distinctly male. (Coincidentally: Platt would play Baker in the 1998 HBO movie “Winchell.”) Dance in its various forms, not just hip-hop, is also important. Chenzira with Ronald K. Gray, cinematographer (who also shot essential). “Losing Ground”The camera can be used to show the many emotions and moods that Black women express, individually and collectively, such as joy, attraction, and confidence.
Platt is captivating, capturing both Rainbow’s adolescent innocence and her confusion. Weston-Moran’s Alma softens as she slowly realizes that vulnerability is not a weakness, which allows her to open herself to love with a new suitor while also accepting that her daughter is becoming her own woman with her own dreams.
Today “Alma’s Rainbow”This serves as a reminder of the fact that Black women filmmakers are always busy creating a language, and space, for Black women to film. Like her dear friend Julie Dash — director of the standout “Daughters of the Dust” and presenter of this restoration — Chenzira’s intentionality in furthering that mission continues to shine through. It’s been nearly 30 years since the restoration. “Alma’s Rainbow”It is clearer than ever that films can and should reflect the realities and lives of Black women.
“Alma’s Rainbow”Openings in NYC, July 29, and LA, August 7.