Below the Line | Below the Line: When producer Lisa Cortes contemplated a theater in her own neighborhood, one that has been an institution since 1913, she knew that a film about the significance of the location was inevitable. “We have this incredible legacy,” she realized about The Apollo theater. “Let’s find some filmmakers to help tell this story. That began six, seven years ago. A few years later, Roger Ross Williams came in as the director. I saw Roger at Sundance and he said, ‘I am just starting; you are in the music business and are in Harlem.’ We had been looking to do a project together.”
1 comment:
It's good to see media going out that has a focus on not only validating African American art but also showing that it as well as all theatre and art are relevant, changing, and evolving. Cortes' adamant need to make history feel like a reference for the present versus a fact of the past is so instrumental in getting across that these issues are still persisting in many ways and need to be considered relevant to our industry today. Her own ties to The Apollo only strengthen the core of the film as it shows a story that she shares with those displayed. Their reference to The Apollo as a "church" is the most evident way to understand the deep sanctity of the space and the almost religious feelings that having a space to display their talents without the confines of being an atypical performer evoke. Seeing this space as as sacred as that of a church also gives the audience perspective on the depth to which creation and art has helped the African American community, as Cortes said, "lift ourselves [themselves] out of oppression."
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