00:01This is some love, Gina Prince-Bythewood.
00:05They had me put on some heels in the afternoon.
00:13For you, Gina.
00:18I was trying to think of what I would say about you as an artist and as a woman.
00:29And literally I thought of this little documentary I saw of this tribe in Africa and Madagascar.
00:45And the whole tribe goes into the jungle for weeks, months.
00:54And they take a younger member into the woods with them, teach them sort of how to become a man, boy to a man.
01:07And they look for the most magnificent tree they could see.
01:14But before they find this tree, they share stories of their ancestors.
01:21They found the tree and with their rudimentary tools, they figure out how to chop it down.
01:31And tell stories while they're chopping it down.
01:35And then once it's chopped down, they figure out how to cut even more of the wood.
01:42So they can slowly but surely and magnificently carve a bowl.
01:51And with the bowl that they carve, they have symbols of the tribe.
01:58And then they take that bowl, they wrap it, they put it on the shoulders of the young boy who is now a man.
02:08And he's got a journey for weeks and rain and inclement weather and wild animals for weeks to deliver it to a marketplace where it can be sold so it can feed the tribe.
02:33I want that bowl.
02:40The artistry is in the process.
02:45The artistry, Miss Prince Bythewood, is in your story.
02:53The process in which you create that elixir, that art that you put together, that you carve and you just go through the shit and piss, which is Hollywood, to deliver the product to us.
03:21And I often think that a lot of times that people feel that the artistry is in the result.
03:28And it's not.
03:30Art is supposed to move you.
03:35It's supposed to make you tremble.
03:38It's supposed to be that freaking knife that rips open your heart and you see within that artist and yourself the truth of what it means to live a life.
03:53And anyone who's seen Love and Basketball, where she subverted the narrative of what it means to even be a female lead that's desirable, what it means to be a woman.
04:10You had Sanaa Lathan as a basketball player who hated makeup.
04:17And you have the old guard.
04:22And you have the woman king.
04:29And let me tell you something.
04:32It's like a quote I just read of Michael Angelo who said, you know, I just saw an angel in the marble.
04:44And I just kept carving to set him free.
04:51It's hard to create.
04:57It's a weird alchemy of skill, of passion, and enormous bravery.
05:07And it's really hard to create when you're a black female.
05:12And let me tell you something.
05:15Not only is it hard because we understand the obstacles that people put in our path.
05:23A lot of times people don't think that movies driven by black female artists will sell.
05:30A lot of people don't want to give us a proper budget.
05:34A lot of people don't see our talent.
05:36And here's what I will say, too.
05:38In this climate, in this season, we had a lot of obstacles in our path with the woman king.
05:46And not just from our white counterparts.
05:48From us, too, y'all.
05:57And this woman here, Miss Gina, Prince Bythewood, sometimes you don't know what is in you until you have to fight.
06:14You don't know what's inside of you until someone comes in front of you and tries to take that thing that you live for.
06:24It has been the honor of my life to stand beside you, Gina, because I know that you understand that in order to be an artist, you have to be a warrior.
06:40That you have to understand, and I know that you do, that when you are born into a world where you do not fit in, you know that you're an artist.
06:53You're just a little bit outside of the norm.
06:58And you have something in you that you want to get out.
07:02And then you answer that call to adventure.
07:06And you get your allies, whoever they are, whether they black or white, y'all, I'm just trying to tell y'all that when we're on this journey, we want to go with you until we can't.
07:21And then you go on the journey. You slay dragons, right?
07:26And then there's always a time as a black artist, as any artist, but really a black artist, where you feel like this is it, okay?
07:35That they're taking everything away from you, whether they're not giving you the budget, whether they're giving you notes about your hair and your makeup.
07:45Whether the audience is saying, that's not an image that I want to see, Gina.
07:50I don't understand what you're doing. You're not making us look beautiful. We're not winning all the time.
07:55Let me, can I just say for, just really tiny, that art is about the mess, y'all.
08:08I'll tell you what the art is. The art is when y'all go home, and I know I take off my wig and my shoes, and what's underneath the hair is frightening, by the way.
08:18And then I have to take off these lashes, who I am when you are not seeing me here. That's the art.
08:28And Gina, that is the bravery that you have with your art, when you create it, and when you put it on your back in the inclement weather,
08:39and you walk for miles and miles to that marketplace to sell it to people to feed this.
08:51And when someone gets in our way, it's not about slaying dragons anymore.
09:03And it's not even about coming face to face with God.
09:10It's about coming face to face with yourself.
09:15And understanding that this obstacle that is in my path is there because it's teaching me how bad I want it.
09:28And I saw this this year with The Woman King, because let me make it very, very clear in this room.
09:37Five months in South Africa, shooting in the jungle.
09:45And whatever anyone will say about this movie, it is effective.
09:53Okay?
09:58And we caught a lot of hell because it's driven by black women.
10:05Let me say it again.
10:07We caught a lot of hell because it was driven by black women.
10:15And so what you need is a warrior spirit with black female driven narratives.
10:21You need someone with a skill set.
10:23You need someone with vision.
10:24You need someone with purpose.
10:26And you need someone who's going to pick up that proverbial sword and say,
10:34I know this is something you didn't think that you needed, but guess what?
10:44You know, sometimes you don't leave something for people.
10:51You leave something in people.
10:56And with every project that you do, you leave something in people.
11:01But when they are removed from it, they have shifted.
11:05They are moved.
11:07They're shaken.
11:08And they've sat with us.
11:11And your ability to do that makes you an artist.
11:14You are.
11:15Check this out.
11:16I know it's nice.
11:17You're welcome.
11:20Let's see a bit.
11:22we'll check it out.
11:31extra plasticamarine making you six guys.
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