I finished the rough cut for The Injured Body last night!!! A film about racism in America inspired by Claudia Rankine’s book, Citizen: An American Lyric, with her permission to use her words.
Interviews and convos with 17 women of color, each breathtakingly brilliant and beautiful. 10 gorgeous dancers, 3 choreographers and one photographer – all women.
Stunning cinematography by Rajesh Barnabas, inventive choreography and costume design by Mariko Yamada, and unique musical compositions by Tom Davis
We shot the first interview for this film in 2018. Much has changed in the country (and in the world) since then and much has remained the same. What the film has to share is as important as ever, perhaps critical now.
It took me a while to get here but as I began to stitch the story together on my computer, I realized how much work I had already done over the years – the many transcriptions, notes, timelines, organization and reorganization of material, the consistent editing (interview by interview) to highlight ideas and create video clips in countless sequences and much more.
We finished shooting in 2020 and for the last 5 years the film has been with me, close to me, a part of me. Emotions took over as I watched the entire rough cut – for the enormity of what we have all accomplished together but also for the love and solidarity I feel for all the women in this film. I love what I do – how profoundly it’s connected to other people, and what it allows me to think and feel. A little bit of beauty in the surreal horrors of this world.
The film will premiere on Friday November 14th at Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY. It will come to Rochester in 2026 inshallah!
[Photo taken by me of María José Rodríguez-Torrado in the opening dance sequence for the film]