Welcome to My Story, a weekly sequence devoted to creatives of color and their paths to success. Copyright © 2020 by Just Apply Yourself. I used to be in all probability 16 and didn’t know something in regards to the movie business in any respect. Missed our last My Story column? Those kinds of conversations give me hope. I wouldn’t say the film is a cautionary tale but it does make us think about governing and what it’s capable of in terms of limiting our access to the arts. fbq('track', 'PageView'); NNN is the world leader in online news and information and seeks to inform, engage, and empower the world. One of the projects I worked on with a friend, Liza Paul, was on Caribbean identity, femininity and sexuality. Photograph by Ariane Laezza. On one of the shows I work on, The Handmaid’s Tale, the lead started an email thread amongst the main cast and started the conversation about how things could be better on set and why our crew was lacking diversity. When June grabs her arm and reveals her real name to her, Brianna replies with her real name and introduces herself with it to Alma. Of late, you’re extra prone to spot her on display screen. Photos of bruises on Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell’s hands and mouth raised concerns... Workers sift cocoa beans in Soubre, Ivory Coast Reuters A new report commissioned by... Profitboss CEO Adam, left, with restaurant partner Jordan Klempner , right, at The Original... Mouton Rothschild 1989. One of my tasks, this play I wrote referred to as Shaniqua in Abstraction, began in response to being requested to audition for this character of ‘Shaniqua from the hood.’ That was the primary time I stated no to an audition and it actually fuelled my writing as a result of I felt that that was a approach that I may create characters and language that I may join with. t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; I think that there’s a lot of well meaning people who see Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour as fundamentally different kinds of humans or something. Who knows? Bahia Watson is an actress, musician and writer from Manitoba in Canada, who has numerous screen and stage credits to her name. Also, the role of music in the film was interesting to me. Once I got that adrenaline rush of being on the stage, I pursued it. My mom’s Black, my dad’s white, I grew up in Winnipeg in the Prairies… that’s a very specific experience, very different than if you’re Jamaican and grew up in downtown Toronto. But the story [about art being made illegal] is definitely not out of the realm of possibility. I remember in 2012 when music was banned in Mali. By championing these diverse stories and backgrounds, we hope that our cultural conversations will expand and that respect for our differences will flourish. On what needs to change in the entertainment industry… I was also inspired by some people and their willingness to step in for the first time in the arena of the racial issue in our society and, however imperfectly, start doing the job. Gender I’d grown up doing dance and choir singing in Winnipeg, and when they started shooting films there and began casting for extras, I just decided to go. Design by Kayleen Dicuangco.Welcome to My Story, a weekly series dedicated to creatives of colour and While Bahia is another actress who only recently started out, she does many other things. thank you for empowering and inspiring me: sarah afful @sarah_nat_afful ann akin #annakin, akosua amo-adem @akos2030, taylor bennett @tabennett34, tiffany cox @tiffany_y_cox virgilia griffith #virgiliagriffith, ashleigh la throp @ashleighlathrop, khadijah roberts-abdullah @djpaulydij, jasmin savoy brown @jasminsavoy, dominique tipper @misstipper, mouna traore @_mounatraore and our composer maiko munroe @maikomunroe (not pictured here). Bahia Watson. Last week, The Archivists—a short film she co-starred in with Noah Reid about a dystopian world in which art and music are illegal—premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; On her on-set experiences as someone with textured hair… 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); extraordinary production design by the homie @beccablackwood, and @tobybabybot, makeup by @megfraser, and more wonderful folks were involved including a horse! All the little ways in which we are diminished, altered or excluded. Missed our last My Story column? It made me take a step back and reexamine a lot of my relationships with power – the times when I let go of my power and left parts of myself behind, brushing aside certain things and not letting microaggressions bother me. It shows how important how all the [Black Lives Matter] protests are because they’re pushing things in all these little ways. Brianna On what needs to change in the entertainment industry… I wouldn’t say the film is a cautionary tale but it does make us think about governing and what it’s capable of in terms of limiting our access to the arts. On the issue with tokenism…Even on crews on set, all of these arenas are very white. We discussed what the barriers were and what kind of mentorship opportunities might facilitate a more equitable environment that looks like the world around us. Watson just began filming her fourth season playing Brianna on the Emmy-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale, and also recently appeared on several episodes of Star Trek: Discovery. It shows how important how all the [Black Lives Matter] protests are because they’re pushing things in all these little ways. We caught up with the actress to hear about her different onscreen roles, the need for more behind-the-scenes diversity in the entertainment industry, and more. 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