The film weaves a heartfelt narrative that deals with navigating the complexity of past and present family trauma and taking the steps to heal and thrive.
Monarch had the pleasure of receiving a master class session that shed insight on the motivation behind the film, the characters, and the importance of forgiveness from director Titus Kaphar, producer Stephanie Allain, and two of the stars from the film: Andra Day and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
A CONVERSATION OF FORGIVENESS
By: Bianca Chardei
MONARCH: You are a purveyor of all things within the arts, but you have a love and a passion for painting.
TITUS KAPHAR: I started painting in junior college and sort of accidentally. I had a terrible experience in high school. I mean, my academic career was pretty pathetic. I’ve said this in a TED talk before, but it’s true: My worst GPA was 0.65. Yep, that’s right—decimal point first, six five. So what that meant was basically I was failing at pretty much everything in every class. When I got out of high school, the last thing in the world I was trying to do was go back to school. But I met this extraordinary woman, and I wanted to go out with her. But she wasn’t very interested.
MONARCH: It’s always a woman. I love it.
TITUS KAPHAR: Look, I’m just being honest. So we began having a conversation, and I wanted to go out. She was like, “You’re a really nice guy, but first of all, you’re four years younger than me and you’re really not thinking about your future right now. You’re trying to be a rock star or something.” So after that, I ran down to the junior college and registered for some random classes, literally just random classes. I came back, and I was like, “Hey, I’m thinking about my future. Now you want to date?” She laughed and we went out, and long story short, I realized if I was going to keep going out [with her], I was going to have to go to those classes on Monday morning.
One of those classes was art history, and although it was accidental, it was probably the most important decision I’ve made in my entire career. I didn’t know anything about art history, but when I got into that class, it was the first time that my visual intelligence was required of me. Art history required that I use image as a way to spark my memory. I ended up graduating from that junior college and transferred to San Jose City College. And then from there, my counselor told me that I could transfer over to the State school.
So I transferred to State school, and at the State school in my early twenties, this was the first time I had taken a painting class. It was amazing. I took an art class in high school, but as you can tell from my grades, I didn’t really show up very much.
MONARCH: It’s amazing how things are ordered. That art class shifted your visual paradigm, establishing your understanding that you are a visual person. I want to dive into talking about your current project, which is Exhibiting Forgiveness. Before the film, this began as an art exhibition, is that correct?
TITUS KAPHAR: Actually, it wasn’t before; it was sort of at the same time. I feel it’s important for people to understand, particularly if you’re parents and you’re struggling with your kids, your sons in particular, who are struggling academically, that when I was in high school, part of the problem was all the craziness that was going on in my life. But the other part of the problem was my learning disabilities. I was struggling with ADD; I was struggling with dyslexia, and although I had a mother who was very supportive and really loved me, she was frightened about an institution that was trying to put a label on her Black son. And although my mother was well meaning, I never actually had the opportunity to address those issues.
It wasn’t until I was in that art class that I was really beginning to think about how my brain works differently and that it’s not a disability but an ability. And if I figured out the right context to utilize it in, I could actually be successful. I say all of that to say when I sat down to write the script for this film, I had not written a script before, so I didn’t write it the way that normal people write scripts. I dictated my entire script because image and language are the things that really move me. When I hear language, I see images.
Now, what would happen is I would wake up in the morning and would work on the script, and then I would take my kids to school, drop them off, and then come to the studio. When I was in the studio, I have an app on my phone that allows me to listen to what I had written. As I was listening to it, I began to sketch and draw the images that were in my head or the images that the text inspired. So when you say one came before the other, no, in fact, they actually evolved at exactly the same time. By the time I was done, I had a body of paintings and I had text that became the script.
MONARCH: Wow. What made you turn this particular form of artwork into a film?
TITUS KAPHAR: A couple of things. First, when my kids were young, we would regularly go back to Michigan to visit my grandmother. And one time, my father, who I hadn’t seen in 15 years, was sitting on the doorstep and wanted to talk. Now, my wife and kids hadn’t seen him before, and the last time I saw him, it wasn’t a good situation. So I was like, “No, I don’t want to talk to you.” But to fast track this, through prayer and realizing this is not all about me, I chose to speak with my father and learn to forgive him.
So one, I did this project with the hope that providing this level of transparency and vulnerability will give others hope that this level of forgiveness is possible and, number two, understanding how much extending forgiveness can not only heal you but heals your children and your current relationships. It’s a love that is greater than us.
Listen Full Interview Now on Vanguard Nation Podcast
Award-winning producer STEPHANIE ALLAIN took a moment to speak with us about her latest project
Exhibiting Forgiveness.
MONARCH: When you decide to get on board with a project, what do you look for? What about the project, Exhibiting Forgiveness, made you want to get involved?
STEPHANIE ALLAIN: I am at this point in my life that I’m blessed enough that I don’t have to do anything unless it really calls me. I had the luck of having the same agency as Titus, and I have a reputation for being the producer to work with first-time directors, going all the way back to John Singleton. So the agency reached out to my agent and explained that there’s this amazing artist who wants to make his first movie. I’m like, “Okay, send me his stuff, and let me look at it.” So they sent me the script; his TED talk, which is amazing; and a short film that he had made, which ended up being shortlisted for the Oscars last year, called Shut Up and Paint. We got on the phone, and I just fell in love with his energy. I just fell in love with his joy, with his positivity, with his artistic eyes on the world. It didn’t take long. It was like an hour conversation. It was his mom’s birthday; she was there. And then I got a call from my agent saying, “He loves you. Let’s do it.” So I joined Derek Cianfrance and Jamie Patricof, who were already on the project.
MONARCH: As a producer, I would imagine each film is special and loved for its own unique reasons. When thinking of Exhibiting Forgiveness, what are some things that make this movie distinctive from other projects you’ve been involved with?
STEPHANIE ALLAIN: So many. It was just being in the presence of masters. First of all, the cast is immaculate. I mean, André Holland is just a joy to watch. Aunjanue Ellis—forget about it—she’s a master. Andra Day brought her whole self to it. And of course the music that she created in the film—the song “Bricks” is just so beautiful.
Beyond the cast, the department heads, our DP Lachlan, our costume designer, our production designer, they all were in awe of Titus. So what that meant was, they really wanted to knock themselves out to present the best versions of everything that they were creating for the film. All were performing in the spirit of “how do we protect this man who is being so vulnerable?” And I’m talking about two men: André and Titus. When we shot the scene where he has the conversation with his father up in the loft of the art gallery, Titus was in tears. He had to leave the set for half an hour to collect himself.
MONARCH: Exhibiting Forgiveness tackles topics such as generational trauma, healing, and forgiveness. Do you think the film will challenge audiences to take a close look at themselves?
STEPHANIE ALLAIN: Oh my God, I think everybody who sees the film is moved, and that’s pretty much 99 percent. The audience reflects on how they’ve changed or how the spark of change was ignited within them. So many people were like, “I’m going to call my mom, I’m going to call my brother.” You know, we got that. And so the power of representation, the power of sentiment, storytelling, affects us. This is the reason storytelling came to be. It’s a a way to process our own lives in a way that is less frightening.
Listen Full Interview Now on Vanguard Nation Podcast
Singer, songwriter and actor ANDRA DAY shares her experience portraying the character Aisha Tarell’s wife, and her perspective on forgiveness.
MONARCH: In the film, you play the character Aisha. How would you describe her as a partner to Tarrell?
ANDRA DAY: I loved Aisha’s character because I thought she was a revolution- ary. They’re both very creative people; obviously she’s a very loving partner, and she’s very supportive. But what I really loved about Aisha is that she loved and supported her husband and her son by first loving and supporting herself. As Black women, we are constantly taught to support, support, support, but we’re often not taught to strengthen and prioritize ourselves so that we can actual- ly be supportive. Several times in the film, Aisha and Tarrell express moments that they need to focus on themselves, and I simply loved that. And I believe it’s this style of connection that enables her to love her family and Tarrell’s mother like her own, which Terrell knows and depends on. And it’s Aisha constantly re- minding him that we must keep our promises to each other, and if we don’t, then there’s no way we can build a healthy family life. That’s an important pillar that she’s able to stand on because she first sets boundaries and loves and supports herself, knowing how important that is. I think love starts from within. I think the best love that you can even give someone is to love yourself, because how do you even recognize it if it doesn’t come from within.
Listen Full Interview Now on Vanguard Nation Podcast
Actress AUNJANUE ELLIS-TAYLOR discusses her portrayal of Titus Kaphar’s mother “Joyce” in the film, Exhibiting forgiveness.
MONARCH: You portray the character Joyce, who is Titus’s moth- er. First of all, how challenging this must have been to play the director’s mother. How did you balance bringing to life what you envisioned or felt yet ensuring that you were sensitive to Titus’s feelings?
AUNJANUE ELLIS-TAYLOR: Usually if we’re doing a movie that is based on someone’s life, it is more of a biography. The events are set in the past, and everyone has moved on. It’s something that’s history. But this is something very different. I would call this a moving memoir because all of the parts are still in motion. This is not something in the past; this is something that is very present for him. Sometimes I would do scenes that would trigger things for him. And understanding that, I felt really responsible, and I did not take that lightly. Actually, that was very scary for me because I began to understand that Titus was using his art to therapize, and I was playing a major role within it.
MONARCH: This question can be a bit challenging because the lady you are portraying is Titus’s mother, and she is still alive. If you were to provide a critique of the mother based solely on the role, what would that be, meaning if she could have done some- thing better to help her son heal?
AUNJANUE ELLIS-TAYLOR: I don’t want to critique. I wouldn’t want to do that. I think the audience can do that and come away with their point of view. I mean, it’s really just about how does the experience of this family affect you? Because the reality is that all of us go through this in some sort of iteration with our fam- ilies. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a drug-addicted father or a mother whose love is trying to force her son to do something that is actually harming him. It doesn’t have to be those things, but if you have a parent, a loved one, every day isn’t sunshine. And we’re always having to negotiate and renegotiate our familial relationships.
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