Black Magic
A diversity hire in a writer's room contends with the expectations of her boss at the cost of her identity.
Interview with Writer/Director Cristin Stephens
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I was inspired by the host of Black “friend” characters I repeatedly saw on screen as I binge-watched movies and TV shows early in the pandemic. Spike Lee popularized the term “magical negro” for these characters in 2001 and I was frankly surprised to see so many of them in 2021. In fiction and tv/film, the trope of the magical negro is defined as a Black character who comes to the aid of the white protagonist with little backstory or agency of their own. They are theorized as fictions of the white imaginary space, and so I attempted to translate that imaginary space into the real-world space of a writers’ room. From there, I drew from my own workplace experience and the experiences of POC friends in writers’ rooms to create the world and circumstances of this story.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you like traumedies, this is for you! In both subtle and pretty overt ways, it’s meant to make you “laugh to keep from crying.” On a smaller scale, this film will resonate with POC writers who feel pigeonholed by perceptions of their identities, as well as POC who occupy space in any workplace where they are expected to both represent their race and keep the peace.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Thematically, this film deals with the dangers of representation. The magical negro not only perpetuates myths of Blackness but adheres to the idea that Black folks are a monolith. This film explores the parallels between real perceptions and consequential misrepresentations of Black people and more specifically, Black women. It attempts to illustrate the dangers of this popular depiction as well as draw a connection to the real world writers who – consciously or not – replicate it.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This was my thesis film during my MFA in Film Production at UT Austin, so I was encouraged to contain the world of this film, which was initially more abstract and consisted of way too many locations. I stripped away some of the more surreal elements and the script became more grounded when I decided to keep most of the film in the writers’ room.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I was met with positive feedback at the premiere of Black Magic at the BronzeLens Film Festival this past August. This film particularly resonated with a few Black women in the audience who shared that they had a pretty similar lived experience as my main character.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I haven’t been met with surprising feedback just yet, but I’m looking forward to it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope to find an audience interested in seeing this film on our festival journey or whenever it finds its way online.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I’m primarily interested in finding distribution for this film and would love to make this film accessible to a wider audience on an online platform.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I simply hope this resonates with someone, challenges someone, makes someone laugh and finds a home somewhere.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I (Cristin) am working on a short doc about teens reconnecting with themselves and each other on a camping trip, and my producer Dana Reilly is working on a feature doc about women at various stages in their bodybuilding careers who are all vying for the elite title of Ms. Olympia in November 2023. I'm also in the process of finishing a feature script inspired by my grandmother's time in Japan.
Interview: November 2023
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
Black Magic
A diversity hire in a writer's room contends with the expectations of her boss at the cost of her identity.
Length: 13:39
Director: Cristin Stephens
Producer: Dana Reilly
Writer: Cristin Stephens
About the writer, director and producer:
CRISTIN STEPHENS is a writer/director whose fiction and nonfiction films center on possibility within Black stories. Her work has screened at SFFILM Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Shorts Mexico, where she received a special jury mention for her short film Men Who Talk. She is currently working on her first film out of film school and her first work based in her hometown of Philadelphia.
DANA REILLY is a director/producer. Her films are intimate and collaborative, exploring how work, love, and family shape women's sense of self. Her most recent film, Favorite Daughter, screened globally at festivals including Telluride and DOC NYC, was picked up by MTV Documentary Films, and is currently streaming on Paramount+.
Key cast: Cortney Gift, Lea'h Sampson, Robert Fuller, Avery Merrifield
Looking for: film festival directors, journalists, distributors
Instagram: @blackmagicthefilm
Website: www.cristinstephens.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Seed and Spark
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Indie Memphis Film Festival - Memphis, TN - Oct. 28
Austin Film Festival - Austin, TX - Oct. 27 and Oct. 31