What Euzhan Palcy means to (Afro)Caribbean people
Yé Moun La! Today’s episode is a tribute to Euzhan Palcy who received an honorary Oscar for her entire career on November 19th, 2022. Read the full translation below.
0:00 - 0:14: intro
0:15 - 1:14: how Karukerament is mentioned in the December 2022 issue of Sight & Sound magazine for my blogpost “#caribbeancinema: Trip down memory lane with Siméon”.
1:15 - 1:56: the paradox of the career of Euzhan Palcy who is celebrated by great directors such as Ava Duvernay, Julie Dash, and by Hollywood but she wasn’t celebrated in France.
1:57 - 2:27: presentation of the tribute: audio clips from my podcasts where Euzhan Palcy is mentioned.
2:27 - 3:29: Filmmakers Clarisse Albrecht and Ivan Herrera from the Dominican Republic whose film "Bantú Mama" is distributed by Array, Ava Duvernay's company, and is available on Netflix.
3:30 - 4:11: Jocelyne Béroard from Martinique, singer of the group Kassav' who played in the film “Siméon” by Euzhan Palcy.
4:12 - 5:22: Filmmaker Alain Bidard from Martinique who directed “Battledream Chronicle” et “Opal”.
5:23 - 6:04: Haitian-American filmmaker Nadhege Ptah who directed “Paris Blues in Harlem”.
6:05 - 8:12: Filmmakers Wally Fall from Martinique and Anyès Noël from Guadeloupe who created “Fouyé Zétwal”.
8:13 - 10:15: Filmmakers Gabri Christa from Curaçao who directed “One Day At A Time” and “Son”.
10:16 - 11:00 : outro
Transcription/ Translation
Yé Moun La! Yo'u’re listening to Karukerament, my podcast about the representation of the Caribbean in cinema and television. I’m Maëlla. Today, I'm offering you an episode in tribute to Euzhan Palcy who received an honorary Oscar for her entire career on November 19, 2022.
Storytime. A few weeks ago, a film journalist contacted me because he was writing a column about “Simeon” for the December issue of the British magazine Sight & Sound. It’s one of the oldest film magazines in the world. He wanted my permission to quote a few sentences from my blogpost about “Siméon”. He read the English version. Until the magazine was published, I was still dubious about being contacted for a post written in 2016 that was just about my childhood memories, about seeing a little Black girl on screen, but there was no deep analysis, or at least not like I do it in my podcast for example. The magazine came out at the beginning of November and Karukerament is mentioned indeed, so I'm really honored that my words could be used to celebrate Euzhan Palcy. I tell you this anecdote because it represents the paradox of her career. She is a Black Martinican director who has always been intentional about representing her people, and that is what has allowed her to shine internationally, but she receives recognition primarily from outside. Great Black American directors like Ava Duvernay and Julie Dash look up to her as an inspiration and that's great. Hollywood is honoring her, which is amazing. But like Maryse Condé, I think the best way to celebrate her work from our perspective is to simply talk about it, analyze it, criticize it, love it, and explain the impact it has had on our lives. So in this episode, you will get clips from my discussions with other Caribbean artists who talked about Euzhan Palcy. You will hear their smiles and the joy that her films have given them. Some clips are in French, others are in English. You will find a written translation on karukerament.com and tell me in the comments what Euzhan Palcy's work means to you. Have a good listening.
Clarisse Albrecht and Ivan Herrera from the Dominican Republic whose film "Bantú Mama" is distributed by Array, Ava Duvernay's company, and is available on Netflix. [Full episode]
CLARISSE : It reminds me of “Rue Cases-Nègres”. I don’t know the title in English.
MAËLLA : “Sugar Cane Alley” by Euzhan Palcy.
CLARISSE : well, it reminds me of that movie. I remember a character that goes “yé kriiii” and people were repeating “yé kraaa”. When I found out [about the podcast Yé Krik Yé Krak segment], I said “oh! I remember that”.
IVAN: And then she explained it to me because I didn’t have an idea and she was very surprised.
CLARISSE: Yeah because it was a film I saw when I was a kid.
Jocelyne Béroard from Martinique, singer of the group Kassav' who played in the film “Simeon” by Euzhan Palcy.
JOCELYNE BEROARD: My first memory of a Caribbean film is "Sugar Cane Alley". Yes, I’m talking about Euzhan again, but she's almost unavoidable. First of all, she's a woman, which makes me quite proud. I think it's the film that touched me the most. There have been other films before. There are films of Christian Lara I think, but I didn't have the chance to see them because at the time, when they were released in Paris, I wasn't supposed to be there or I certainly had something that prevented me from seeing those films. But Euzhan’s, “Sugar Cane Alley”, it really really really touched me. It really did. With Gary Cadenat, the little boy. And then Mrs. Légitimus, the grandmother, it was a joy. Eugène Mona, well all the people in it, Joby Bernabé and company.
Alain Bidard from Martinique who directed “Battledream Chronicle” et “Opal”. [Full episode]
ALAIN BIDARD: My first memory of a Caribbean film is “Sugar Cane Alley” from Euzhan Palcy. I believe it was in 1981. I was four years-old and my very first experience of cinema was Caribbean. It was a premiere. I wasn’t aware. I think it was my parents who wanted to see it. They wanted to support Euzhan Palcy because it was the first time that a Martinican person was doing this kind of thing. That was big. The Olympia was full, completely full. It was a very very very terrific experience. It was my first memory of a Caribbean film and my first memory of cinema.
Nadhege Ptah, Haitian-American who directed “Paris Blues in Harlem”. [Full episode]
NADHEGE PTAH: I want to pronounce her name. Euzhan Palcy. From Martinique, French West indies. And that film, just the character of the little boy that you’re following in the Caribbean resonated so much. That was my first memory of a Caribbean film ever that I’ve seen. Especially because I was born in the United States. And my family are from Haiti. So I am a descent of a family from the Caribbean.
Wally Fall from Martinique and Anyès Noël from Guadeloupe who created “Fouyé Zétwal”. [Full episode]
WALLY: The first, oldest memory I have of a Caribbean film is “Sugar Cane Alley” by Euzhan Palcy. It’s a film that I saw in Martinique when I was 6/7 years old. I don't remember if I went with my mother or my father, but the film left a deep impression on me. Especially the night scenes between José and Médouze which impacted me, which frightened me a little at the time. And at the same time.... Perhaps frightened is a strong word. In any case, they had a very strong atmosphere. I can't say that it's a film that I liked right away. I think I was too young to capture all the nuances of it, but it was a film that really impressed me at the time.
MAËLLA: I would like to point out that Wally and Anyes did not consult each other for the answer.
ANYES: The first Caribbean film that comes to mind is “Siméon”. “Siméon” by Euzhan Palcy. (laughs) I was very young. I don't remember how old I was, but it had a big impact on me. This young girl who was probably about my age, who sees a spirit, who sees a ghost, if you can say it like that. The dimension of transmission, in the intergenerational, the transgenerational way since his character dies. This cultural baggage in need to be transmitted too. Yes, that had marked me a lot. It had a big impact on me. That's what remains with me today.
MAËLLA : And I would like to reiterate that Anyes and I did not consult each other on the answer either. I had already talked about “Siméon” in an article on myinsaeng.com at the time. I republished it on karukerament.com. Anyès enjoyed the movie for the same reasons I did. Personally, I haven't seen “Siméon” at the movie theater. But I can imagine the joy I would have had to discover this film on the big screen.
We finish with Gabri Christa of Curaçao who directed One Day At A Time and Son. I explain to her the obstacles that Euzhan Palcy faced in France. [Full episode]
GABRI : I need to know that story of her being blacklisted. I didn’t know about that. I wonder why we didn’t hear more from her.
MAËLLA: She did “Sugar Cane Alley” in the early 80’s. Everybody was like “wow she’s amazing. She’s a Black woman”. So I think they kind of tried to make her the token Black filmmaker. In the early 90’s, she did a film called “Siméon”. And it was based on the history of Kassav’. Greatest group of the… Voilà. But it was released, I think, on the same day as “The Bodyguard”. And you know, “The Bodyguard” did great at the boxoffice. So, everything about “Siméon” got pushed back into the shadows. Also Kassav’ was doing great at that time, but since, again, France wanted to make them the token Black artists, they never wanted to be that. So I think because of her film Siméon didn’t do well at the box office, so it was a reason not to give her funding for her next projects. She did a few films in France after that, but it was mostly TV films, I think, or documentaries. She never did another film like a feature to be screened in movie theaters. She went to Hollywood and then she had the big career in Hollywood, but not in France. At least, that’s how I understand the story.
GABRI : Okay, now see we have too much to talk about because I follow up so much on all the other Caribbean islands. That came first with Maryse Condé and now I’m gonna have to look at that. For me, it was very important to look at her [Euzhan Palcy] at that time.