Pan African Film Festival / Toronto Black Film Festival 2020 – Dolly
A white temp babysitter, late for a meeting, gets impatient whilst babysitting a young black girl, eventually, she discovers how the little girl sees the world.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Tosin Lepe
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made Dolly because I was primarily inspired by my niece, who at the time of inspiration, was 5 years old. One day, she returned home from school with a drawing she made of her and her friend and proudly showed it to my sister (her mum) and I. Whilst explaining her artwork to us, she described herself as "brown with black hair" and her friend as "pink with yellow hair". My sister and I laughed and responded in agreement with her, but, highlighted that she was a black girl, even though her skin is brown, and that her friend was white even though in real life it was a cream colour. My niece quickly disputed this and responded by saying, "No daddy is black, and I'm brown" (her father is a dark-skinned black man). My sister and I both looked at each other and laughed, we then continued to admire her artwork.
This became the premise of my film. My niece, Neria, plays the lead character 'Titi' in the film, which was inspired by her.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The film addresses a child’s exploration and understanding of race and how theirs differs to that of adults. The innocence and inability to fully understand the complexity of race and the results it can lead to.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The life of living in bliss and not having to worry about your skin colour is stripped from black children very early on. So rather than having a film where we're having to convince a child to be proud of being black. I wanted to explore a story where black parents have effectively instilled pride in their child and use that to delve into a lighthearted but important discussion of race from a little girls perspective and how the world has influenced it.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The story pretty much remained the same. Initially, the babysitter, Sandra, had much more of an input and more dialogue but as it developed I decided to reduce her character’s input and contribution so that it focused more on Titi's story and her world view. Sandra's character was there to help with driving the overall story and for juxtaposition.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
It's been overwhelmingly positive feedback for the most part and constructive feedback. People have come up to me after screenings to tell me about how they enjoyed the story and the unique take on the subject of race. They enjoyed the performances and always call Neria who plays 'Titi', "so cute and charming". They've also quoted some of their favourite lines from the film, often delivered by the character 'Titi'. Actors and other filmmakers have reached out to potentially collaborate in the future. I've even had someone DM telling me it's their daughter favourite film and she has it on repeat all the time. It's been encouraging.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Definitely. Before Dolly, I saw myself exclusively as a producer and didn't really think of pursuing writing and directing. Making this film and receiving feedback from it has helped build my confidence as a writer/director, especially every time I see that we've been accepted into another film festival and the caliber of festivals we've been getting into.
Not to spoil the film but there's a scene at the end of the film that I was very nervous about including. Even when we called picture lock and completed the film I prayed that the scene would not get me 'cancelled' before my career had even taken off because I let my creativity run wild. But to my surprise, I have not had a single complaint about that scene and if anything, from the feedback I received, people found it very funny and have said that their children have done the exact same thing to someone else or themselves. It helped me to learn to be convicted in my creative choices and not to doubt myself.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I think this interview will allow people to know more about my film. I haven't been able to attend some of the international film festivals that we've been accepted into, meaning that I haven't been able to do Q&A's to talk about the film. So having my film on this platform will allow those interested in the film to know more about it. They'll be able to read about the inspiration of the film and why I made it.
It will also widen my reach and help spread the word to those who don't know about it and hopefully it will pique their interest.
I hope reading this will persuade more people to go and watch the film at the festivals and share with me their constructive feedback.
I'd love to hear from other filmmakers who may want to collaborate in the future!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I need distributors, film festival directors and programmers to come on board. For me, with this film in particular, I just want it to get it to as many people as possible and film festivals is where short films thrive.
I think it's a story that anyone can enjoy and have a little laugh at whilst leaving the screening with a takeaway message. It entertains but also raises awareness.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I'm hoping to spark discussion. It's left to the audience what their takeaway is. There's several themes in this film, from race and appearance, to black children having to work to higher expectations.
I think children are a reflection of us and what we teach them, so after watching Dolly, I hope it will show people that even though you think "my child shouldn't have to worry about this at their age", the fact of the matter is that they do and it's imperative that we all take steps to ensure that the next generation are better and much kinder human beings.
Would you like to add anything else?
At what age/what moment did you realise that being black meant so much more than the colour of your skin.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now I'm directing a short documentary about a young black male artist who discusses his struggles with psychosis and alternate realities. He recounts his experience with delusions and tell us about his recovery journey.
I'm also currently producing a proof of concept short film for a pilot that my friend would like to pitch to be made into TV series.
Dolly composer, Rob Northcott, is the composer on an upcoming feature film TBA.
Dolly production designer, Katharine Davies Herbst is designing the set and costume on an exciting new show at VAULT Festival called Angels - “based on the writers own experiences, the play follows a night in the life of three strippers working in London in the near future, as clubs all over the world are closing and sex workers are being censored and pushed into more dangerous practices. The show aims to compassionately tell the stories of the infinitely diverse women working in strip clubs. https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/angels/
Other key creatives are freelancing and working on several other projects.
Interview: February 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Dolly
A white temp babysitter, late for a meeting, gets impatient whilst babysitting a young black girl, eventually, she discovers how the little girl sees the world.
Length: 5:47
Director: Tosin Lepe
Producer: Tosin Lepe
Writer: Tosin Lepe
About the writer, director and producer:
TOSIN LEPE is a Brit School, NFTS BFI Film Academy Alumni, and previous BAFTA mentee currently studying at Raindance Film School. Having produced five short films to date, her work as a short film producer has been screened at a variety of film festivals. Tosin is the founder and creative director of Leol Films, a production company that creates original thought-provoking stories. Dolly short film is Tosin's directorial debut and is currently on the international festival circuit.
Key cast: Neria Balogun (Titi), Foxey Hardman (Sandra), Sherrone Colavechi (Mrs Adebayo)
Looking for: distributors, film festival directors
Facebook: Leol Films
Twitter: @LeolFilms
Instagram: @leolfilms
Hashtags used: #dollyfilm #oluwasandra #pinklikedolly
Website: www.leolfilms.com/dolly
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Pan African Black Film Festival 2020/ The Cinemark Baldwin Hills 15 Theater - Monday 17th February & Saturday 22nd February 2020; Toronto Black Film Festival 2020/ Carlton Cinema - Monday 17th February 2020; Halifax Black Film Festival 2020/North Preston Community Center - Saturday 29th February 2020; Charlotte Black Film Festival/UNCC Center City Lecture Hall - Saturday 25th April 2020