Mother of Color
A single mother of two begins receiving messages from her ancestors as she sets out to make it to a life-changing job interview with a local commissioner.
Interview with Writer/Director Dawn Jones Redstone and Producer Ashley Song
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
DAWN: I had worked with Ana del Rocío on a previous short film and we talked about wanting to work together again. Knowing about her life as a single mom working in the political realm intrigued me because I could see how difficult it was to manage after she was elected to a local school board. I pitched the idea of writing something about a character inspired by her life. Through a series of interviews, I pieced together a screenplay right as the pandemic and protests against the murder of George Floyd were taking place nightly in Portland where I live. I wanted to find a way to tie together this single mother's journey to get to a job interview with our country's attempt to reckon with our colonial past. The film ultimately asks us all to consider how we can acknowledge our wounds and heal in order to see the world more clearly and become the people we need to be in order to usher in a better future. I couldn’t have made it without the support of my two producers, Ashley Song and Tara Johnson-Medinger.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
ASHLEY: It’s a story that centers on two oft-ignored representatives of our community - the immigrant parent and the working single mom. The film offers an opportunity to see into the life of someone who isn’t typically afforded visibility.
DAWN: Mother of Color speaks to people who might be overwhelmed by what is happening in our world and who are looking for ways to take care of themselves and heal as we strive for justice.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
DAWN: The story is about a single mom, but I think that anyone who is seeking to reconcile what you deserve with the way the world actually operates, will relate.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
DAWN: Originally the script was a more straightforward social drama, but by adding in the more thrilling sights and sounds of the ancestors' attempts to communicate, it becomes something much more intriguing, something I had never seen before.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
DAWN: There's a lot for folks to latch onto. Mothers of color see themselves represented and point to the revealed realities around a lack of social supports, like childcare. Others identify with the science-backed phenomena of intergenerational trauma. It's been incredible to hear folks say that they relate to the story and find satisfaction in seeing how it plays out in a hopeful way. Plus, we sold out a 384-person theater in Portland which I took as an incredible endorsement of the film.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
DAWN: You never know what people will see in a film and I find that many times, someone sees something that perhaps I had not consciously created, but that once spoken aloud, I realize it's undeniably there. As a filmmaker, I understand that there is a layer of meaning that audiences might only feel and not necessarily intellectually understand. That is true for me as the creator as well.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
DAWN: This has been an incredible project that I have worked on for a very long time to bring out into the world with many collaborators. From our incredibly diverse crew (we published the data around the mostly women/non-binary, people of color we hired), to the soundtrack (including strings performed by an orchestra in Budapest) to the incredible performances of Ana, the boys, Luz Elena Mendoza (of Y La Bamba) and real-life Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, I am so very proud of what we made and I'll take any chance I get to talk about the project. We Are Moving Stories is a valuable resource for filmmakers and audiences alike and I'm thrilled to be here.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
DAWN: We are currently looking for distribution and possibly a sales agent.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
DAWN: I want caregivers to be made more visible. I want our star Ana del Rocío who is running for office to have a platform. And I want us all to be able to turn inward in tough times to find the connection to self that gives us the resolve to carry on.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
ASHLEY: What are the ways in which we create (or don’t create) opportunities for marginalized voices? There are so many ways in which our society and the systems we’re reliant on inadequately provide for our populations that are most in need of support.
Would you like to add anything else?
ASHLEY: The crew for Mother of Color was made up almost entirely of women of color. The impact of creating a set in which the folks behind the camera were emblematic of the story and its characters cannot be overstated. We created a culture that was inclusive, empathetic, and invested in the work that we were committed to making. It has always been important to Dawn that women of color in particular are lifted up in the arts and filmmaking, and our set was deeply reflective of that philosophy.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
DAWN: I'm developing two new feature scripts. Unlike Mother of Color, both are comedies. One of them I'm working on with my writing partner Annie Tonsiengsom. Stay tuned!
Interview: March 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
Mother of Color
A single mother of two begins receiving messages from her ancestors as she sets out to make it to a life-changing job interview with a local commissioner.
Length: 1:27:00
Director: Dawn Jones Redstone
Producer: Tara Johnson-Medinger, Ashley Song
Writer: Dawn Jones Redstone
About the writer, director and producer:
DAWN JONES REDSTONE is an award-winning queer, Mexican American writer/director whose short films have screened around the globe, including the acclaimed Sista in the Brotherhood. Her work often features women of color (cast and crew) and explores themes of resistance, feminism and the internal machinations that help us transform into the people we want to become. She believes in using her hiring decisions to help create an inclusive filmmaking community that brings needed perspective to the world we live in. In 2017, she was selected to shadow Debra Granik on the set of Leave No Trace. She was named a Woman of Vision by the Daily Journal of Commerce and is the recipient of OMPA's Inspiration and Service Award for her work helping to bring equity to the state film incentives in the form of HB 3010. She resides with her wife and daughter in Portland, Oregon.
TARA JOHNSON-MEDINGER is a film director, producer, parent and champion of gender equality in the entertainment industry. A member of the Producers Guild of America, and with over 25 years in the television and film industries, her producing credits include Mother of Color, The Winding Stream, City Baby, Rock N Roll Mamas and several short films. Her feature film directorial debut, My Summer as a Goth was released in 2020, and she is currently in development with her latest feature, US - YOU = ME. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and kids.
As an artist and filmmaker, ASHLEY SONG (she/her) is committed to re-imagining traditional narratives and including underrepresented voices without centering exclusively on their identities and trauma. She is an award-winning half-Korean writer and producer who co-founded Desert Island Studios to increase accessibility to film resources. Recent producing credits include: See Me (premiered at 2021 Portland International Film Festival); Borrufa (premiered at 2020 Portland International Film Festival); L’Ortolan ; and Private Chat. Song is also a working actor and has starred in numerous films and stage productions.
Key cast: Ana del Rocío, Patricia Alvitez, Kasey Tinoco, Julian Hernandez with special appearances by Luz Elena Mendoza of Y La Bamba and Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty
Looking for: sales agents, distributors and journalists
Facebook: Mother of Color
Twitter: @motherofcolor
Instagram: @motherofcolorfilm
Hashtags used: #childcare #singlemom #motherhood #runningforoffice #ancestralhealing #ancestors #portland
Website: www.motherofcolorfilm.com
Made in association with: We Have Our Ways, LLC
Funders: Kickstarter, private donors, grants
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
New Filmmakers Los Angeles -- March 18
Northwest Film Forum, Seattle -- March 23
Valkyrie International Film Festival, Buffalo, NY -- March 24 - 28