September 10, 2015
‘The Dinner Table Doc’ Takes a Look at Multidimensional Woman of Color
Tell me about the women in the doc and why you chose them?
The project is very personal to me, so while selecting the cast I chose to highlight a group of young women that I truly admire. What makes their stories unique is not only their career choices (like a Korean pop singer or a future HGTV star) but their ability to be completely transparent about their journey. If you follow any of the young women on social media you can scroll through their Twitter/Instagram timelines and track the story of their success. You see them start and complete projects, jump over hurdles, and find things that inspire them. It’s amazing, electric, and absolutely mesmerizing. Their action attitudes are so contagious! It makes you want to get up and be great. I feel blessed to call each and every one of them not just a cast mate, but a friend.
What were you hoping to accomplish with this project?
I’m hoping to help spread more diverse stories of women of color in media. I think that in the past few years we’ve been funneled down to one narrow narrative (by way of reality tv) and I want people to know that there’s more. Although this is some of our stories, this isn’t all of them.We are so much more than what you see and I hope that for our audience, it’s not only a learning lesson, but an inspiration. I want to use the documentary as a tool to inspire conversations about living at your fullest potential, media narratives, and mentorship. I also hope that in combination with our dinner party events, we will become a resource for young women that don’t have a chance to explore diverse career options or live out their dreams because of their location.
What do you want women to take away?
I want women to know that whatever they want to do, they can do it. Whatever dreams they have, they can achieve it. Nothing is impossible. It’s a matter of candidly telling people what you want to do and finding ways to make it happen. Resources are right in front of you and all you have to do sometimes is start the conversation. Make the jump, take the leap, sit at the dinner table and learn from one another. Don’t allow someone else’s perception of who you are stop you from being all that you can be.
[Below: Watch Video]
For more info check out www.thedinnertabledoc.com.