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Q&A with Felicia D Henderson

How did you find the girls on which this project is based?
About four years ago, a friend saw a Twitter post honoring the anniversary of the girls from Americus being released from illegal captivity at the Leesburg Stockade. She sent it to me and suggested it was a story worth my investigation. I read it and became obsessed. I sent my entire office on the hunt to find the survivors. We were able to track down four of the seven women who are still with us. I visited Americus (in Southern Georgia) and knew I had to tell this story. I connected with Lulu Westbrook Griffin and Carol Barner Seay on a deep, spiritual level, and they agreed to allow me to license their life rights.

Tell me about the actresses you cast and why you decided to cast them.
I spent an inordinate amount of time in casting. With the exception of Gussie Lee, the character who believes she will be an R&B star, I wanted the actresses to look like ordinary girls. I also wanted them to be every hue of Blackness, girls who don’t usually get the close-up. I didn’t want polished, perfect “influencer” types. The best way to have an audience feel as if they’re part of the story is by presenting characters who they feel they just might know. Of course, they also had to be talented. I wanted every actress to be exceptional and look like she could be in my family, to remind us that ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things. This cast does not disappoint. Each actress is incredibly talented and as soon as I saw the right actor, I knew. In some cases, an actress auditioned for one role and when she left the room, I’d turn to Leah Daniels-Butler, my casting director, and say, that actress is actually this other character.

Did you film at any of the locations of the historical events?
No. But I really wanted to. I went to the theater they attempted to integrate. I sat in that stockade. I wanted to shoot in Americus, but my cinematographer talked me out of it. I was so dependent on the kindness of friends and colleagues, most of whom live in L.A., so we decided we were more likely to get a great crew if they didn’t have to travel to Georgia. We shot in L.A. in four different cities, including the orange orchards on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, CA; Maranatha High School in Pasadena, CA; and the Los Angeles Theater in downtown L.A., a spectacular 1920s movie palace.

Tell me about the use of black and white in your storytelling.
With the exception of the credits sequence, in which I used historical footage, I chose not to use black and white as part of the storytelling. Doing so would have immediately signified a look back at history. I wanted to transport the audience to 1963 in a way that felt contemporary.

Why was it so important for you to make this?
I’ve gotten to a point in my career where I only want to tell stories that elevate women in some way. I gravitate to period pieces, which is why this story resonated with me. Rarely has a story moved me so. It’s Black girls as superheroes – powerful and unapologetic. Once I met the survivors, I became obsessed with telling their story, because what they did then is why I’m here now. It may sound crazy, but I was in constant communication with the spirits of all the girls. I printed out a big copy of a photo of them behind those bars and taped it on the wall over my desk. I would talk to them, ask if they were happy with what I was writing. The bottom line is these girls/women trusted me. I will do everything I can to be worthy of the total trust they put in me.

Why is it so important to tell this story at this moment in time?
Because film and television has virtually ignored the contribution of the children that helped save the Movement. This story is for my teenage nieces and girls of every race and ethnicity, who need to see strong girls on screen and recognize their own strength. Very few issues are more important for young girls at this time. There is much research that demonstrates that girls start losing self-confidence by age ten, and I want to remind them that they can do ANYTHING! I also want to lean into the family drama in each girl’s home, and issues of class within the Black community to demonstrate that we aren’t a monolithic people. These are issues very close to my heart.

Did you discover anything about the day of the march to the theater that you didn’t know prior?
I learn something new every time I encounter this story on any level. While in post-production, for instance, I took a trip to Memphis and Nashville to take one of my nieces to college. We went to the Lorraine Motel, where MLK was assassinated. It’s an amazing museum now. We were going through the exhibits and I was surprised to see the girls of Americus represented. I spent time with them, saying how grateful I was to be telling their story.

Tell me about your journey with this project in terms of financing.
I was looking for a meaningful producing partner when the WGA voted for a work stoppage. I had so much Rebel Girls energy and was ready to go. I woke up at 3: 00 a.m. one morning and decided I had to go ahead with the project. I decided to write, direct, and produce a short film because it was burning in my soul. I knew it might be a challenge to convince a studio that I was more than capable of directing it, so the strike gave me an opportunity I wouldn’t have had otherwise, to show not tell, that I’m a good director! I always say that I’m not fancy, but I have a lot of fancy friends. Liesl Wilke is one such friend and was the first to offer to invest. Yes, offer. She didn’t let me present my whole spiel. She said she’d watched me live this story for the past few years and wanted to support me. After that, my friend Caroline Williams asked what I needed. I told her and she said yes. Ed Bernero told me to call anytime, so I did. Marjorie Tingle, who’d been trying to get this made for 12 years, collected an investment from her family. She said they all had seen her passion for so many years and wanted to help. And then, I went to my business manager to explain that I was going to spend money while having no idea when money would come in again. Fun.

Tell me about the music.
The original music was composed by Kurt Farquhar, with whom I’ve had a 20+ year relationship. I speak in emotions and he translates them into music. Since the story is set in 1963, I wanted a bit of Motown to set the place and time. I also knew we couldn’t really afford that music. I called Ashley Neumeister, Music Supervisor extraordinaire, and asked her to help clear the songs. And suddenly, I had 2 Motown jams. I grew up in a multigenerational home where music was always on. Consequently, I love everything from Sinatra and James Brown to Fleetwood Mac and Run DMC. I’ve always loved Gussie Lee’s opening song, “Try a Little Tenderness.” It was in my head before I wrote a word of the script, and how I could use it ironically throughout the film. I listened to multiple interpretations and shared my thoughts with Kurt. He started working on an arrangement, while I went back to casting to find Gussie Lee. We heard Asia Holiday sing during auditions and we were blown away. After we cast her, she went into the studio with Kurt to record the song. It was a lovefest. One of my favorite days! The escape theme song, “Freedom” was produced by two really cool producers whom I happen to be friends with, Jon Decuir and Kevin Randolph. I told them what I needed and they delivered in spades. It’s good to have such genius-level, talented friends!

What hurdles did you encounter during the making of this and how did you overcome them?
This question made me laugh because I’m still a little tired from shooting and we wrapped principal photography so many months ago! There was a monkey wrench thrown at us every day from the first day of preproduction, and then we started shooting. We were running out of money with two shoot days left. Kyanna (Bertha) got very sick but finished strong. My script supervisor left to work on a film after one day of shooting. It was cold the night the girls had to run through the orange orchard. I felt so bad for them. But they were soldiers.

What are you hopes for the series and for audiences?
Ms. Lulu told me she hoped she could see their story told before she leaves this earth. I want that for her. I want girls to feel strong when they see it. I want families to feel stronger. I want the world to see what I see. I want the audience to want for the girls what they want for themselves. I want the audience to take a little of the girls’ strength home with them and know they can do anything they put their minds to.