One of the key figures attending the Durban
FilmMart this year, Tilane Jones is the executive director of ARRAY, the film
distribution collaborative founded by Oscar-winner Ava DuVernay which is focused
on women filmmakers and filmmakers of colour. Since 2011, Array has acquired
key titles, including Ava DuVernay’s Middle
of Nowhere, Andrew Dosunmu’s Restless
City and Haile Gerima’s Ashes and
Embers. In the process, Jones has shifted the position of films made by
women and people of colour, bringing an audience to films that would otherwise
struggle to find screens. As well as her position at Array, Jones is also a
production manager with several high-profile titles to her name, including a
range of fashion and beauty films and television productions.
Talking about her first visit to South
Africa and her engagement with the local film market, Jones says that she hopes
to inspire and encourage women to overcome the challenges they face on the
continent as women filmmakers. “I want to let women filmmakers know that there
is an audience that is hungry for stories told from their perspective. ARRAY
has worked hard to cultivate that audience and we are eagerly awaiting them and
their films.”
Tilane will also be meeting with local
women filmmakers to find out what their needs are and what hurdles they need to
overcome, in order to better inform herself on how she might be able to inspire
and encourage them in the important work that they are doing. “I am very excited
about my first visit to South Africa and the Durban FilmMart”, she said, “and I
look forward to meeting with emerging filmmakers from the continent, with the
aim of acquiring more African titles to be distributed in the United States”.
Asked about whether there was a defining
moment when she had cut through the barriers that traditionally held women back
from being major players in the global film industry, Jones takes a somewhat
pragmatic approach. “There always have been and always will be barriers to
break through as a woman and person of colour. But the task of breaking those
barriers will never end, so instead I focus on trying to acquire films by women
filmmakers and filmmakers of colour that, one by one, break a barrier just by
existing and being seen by audiences. There are many audiences that would not
have been able to experience this art form if it weren’t for ARRAY and our
partners. I focus my efforts on the work more than on breaking barriers.”
Talking about women in the industry who
have inspired her, Jones says that she is motivated to continue her work by
every woman filmmaker and producer who creates complex, dynamic images. Of
those women, ARRAY founder, Ava DuVernay is a key inspiration to her– “Due to
her amazing storytelling ability, for loving herself as a black woman and a
black woman filmmaker who tells stories from her own unique perspective, for
being passionate about her culture, and for being passionate about film. Ava is
always pushing past the ‘no’ and finding her own ‘yes’ and that inspires me
more than anything.”
Finally, does she have any advice for young
female film-makers just starting out as to how they can cut through the clutter
in an industry that is still male-dominated? “I always tell
filmmakers to tell their own stories and to tell them well. Being a woman
filmmaker and telling stories from a women’s perspective is all that needs to
be done to cut through the clutter. Don’t focus on the noise – it is there to
distract you. Focus on the story and telling it to the best of your capability.
“
Jones will appear in the DFM programme,
session entitled ‘Women-led Film: In Conversation with Tilane Jones’ on July 14
at 14h00 to 16h00.
The 8th Durban FilmMart takes place in
Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from July 14 to 17, 2017, during the 38th
edition of the Durban International Film Festival (July 13 to 23, 2017).
For more information on the Durban FilmMart
visit www.durbanfilmmart.com.
Registration can now only be done at Elangeni Hotel from 09h00 on July 13.
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