"Macro-lensing of Black women from Haiti and New Orleans doing skillful work – braiding hair, crushing spices, threading fabric – is superimposed onto the work of soldier ants to visually manifest in four stanzas the mythology of their queen. Saintonge and Obi use repetition – braid, grind, sew, braid, grind sew – to move their audience beyond just a dismissive glance at the mundane. Amidst specks of light, the cameras (generally used to capture the macroscopic details of a flower, an ant) allow for an intense intimacy with these women. We are able to see what the eye normally cannot, the texture of a collective, concerted, coordinated grind. This new sight compels us not just to look, but to really feel the focus and the majestic will, way and work of a sacrifice complete."
- Roya Rastegar
AWARDS
Experimental Grit Award, Indie Grits Film Festival, 2019
Best Experimental Film, Blackstar Film Festival 2018
Favorite Experimental Film, BlackStar Film Festival 2018
Special Jury Mention, New Orleans Film Festival 2018
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Atlanta International Film Festival
BAMCinemaFest
BlackStar Film Festival
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Indie Grits Film Festival
Tacoma International Film Festival
Third Horizon Film Festival
Afrikana Independent Film Festival
Tacoma Film Festival
Denver Film Festival
Bushwick Film Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
Smithsonian African American Film Festival