Every black girl knew the sentiment growing up. You sat between your momma’s legs as she worked the gels and creams throughout your tresses. She’d sort through your thick hair with her weapon of choice; A rattail comb, a paddle brush, or maybe even her hands. She’d finish you off with a finishing spray, maybe a bit of oil sheen, or even your favorite pair of barettes. Getting your hair done wasn’t just a requirement, it almost felt like therapy, taking you back to a simpler time that taught you that you really could have a love story with your hair. That was, in essence, a black girl’s church.
Well, that’s exactly what Audrey Williams and Marissa Pina set out to do for their premiere documentary, Black Girl Church. It wasn’t just a labor of love for the two — it was an intentional declaration of our love for our hair and the place that has always felt like a save haven for it, the beauty supply store. Even now, I get excited going into the supply store, where everything one could imagine for their hair abounds.
Ahead of their Brooklyn premiere, TheBlondeMisfit chatted with Williams and Pina on the story behind the documentary and what they hope to leave behind.
What was the thought ideation behind Black Girl Church? Tell us a bit about the name and what the project is seeking to explore.
AUDREY: “I just randomly strolled into a beauty supply one day, with no real purpose, and it was a day that I’d been feeling anxious. For as hectic and crowded and hole-in-the-wall as beauty supply stores can be, I can really just zone out there, all on my own, looking at everything, thinking about who I am, how I want to look, how I want to be, and then get whatever I need to express that. To some degree, I feel like it can be meditative. And what’s crazier is that [that feeling is] almost universal. Most black women I’ve met, and in making this, I’ve realized have that same moment while there. And that’s what I wanted to explore. We’re connected by this one place, this shared experience, which is almost religious and church-like to me.“
Marissa: “Audrey first approached me back in August or September with an idea she had for a documentary, and when I first heard her pitch, I immediately knew that this was a project we needed to work on together and put out into the world. She had this original concept about the ingenuity of black women and where the source of that ingenuity came from, the beauty supply store, and we sat together with it for a few hours and fleshed the entire idea out. We planned out our team, which consists of Audrey, myself, and Joe Schaefer, our Director of Photography, and set out to tell a story that felt very much like a love letter to the beauty supply store and black women at first, but it evolved from there.”
The visuals are PHENOMENAL. Tell us more about the visual aspect of the documentary.
A: “Because so much of this is anchored in the creativity of black women, our beauty, and our whole energy, it had to be beautiful. How can you talk about black women, and have it not be beautiful? It’s just not possible. We reached out to people we knew worked in the beauty industry and were beauty influencers, but because the beauty supply store is a universal black girl experience, we also have some women in here who aren’t necessarily a part of the beauty industry.”
M: “Technically speaking, our DP, Joe Schaefer, and I had a rough idea of what we wanted, but didn’t have a set direction on what the vibe should be. We wanted to ensure that the shots were all very earthy, bright, vibrant, and lived in the same universe in terms of vibe. We shot everyone in their own environments and luckily all the women in the piece had consistent vibes in their homes, which I think really drove home the aesthetic of the shots. In terms of casting, Audrey took the lead on contacting and finding our subjects. We reached out to women who were inspiring to us, knowledgable about beauty, but also just relatable because all black women can speak to this topic. I was also extremely mindful of ensuring that the women we featured represented all the various beautiful features of black women. From Kelly Augustine to Sesali Bowen to Marjon Carlos to Avielle Amor, we wanted to have women on screen that could represent and reflect the various women who we wanted to watch this film.”
JOE: “Going into this project I didn’t have a set direction of how I wanted it to look and feel. I wanted to feel and understand the vibes of each shoot and base my camera shots on it from there. I knew the cinematic theme of this documentary needed to be a reflection of who these subjects were and what their message was. The women in this film are powerful, but also talk about the vulnerabilities of being a black woman and dealing with today’s beauty standards. I wanted to be able to capture the nostalgia from the beauty supply store memories, the purity of putting on their make up and doing their hair, and their overall confidence of who they are, and reflect that directly on screen.”
Black girls have a love relationship with our hair. Can you tell me a bit about the importance of telling our stories and exploring our relationship with our hair?
A: “I think one of the messages that comes across in the film is the independence styling our hair gives us, even when we’re little girls. There’s so much the world tells little blacks girls that we can’t be, but when it comes to our hair and our image, we get to experiment and be creative, and I think that sticks with us. It’s truly ours.”
M: “Also, I think its important to tell these stories and own them because we know these stories and these struggles better than anyone. Why not tell them? Why not make a piece about our hair and our beauty and our relationship with the Beauty Supply Store? These are so inherent to US, we deserve to tell them. I also want to note that it’s incredibly important to put a piece out into the world that reflects all the different variations of hair black women can have and all the different styles they can have, particularly for young women. I grew up flipping through magazines, watching tv shows and looking at images of people who did not look like me, who did not have hair like me, and in turn I didn’t appreciate and love my hair until I was an adult, and that’s a shame. So for me, being able to highlight women that I know other little girls can identify in and feel their confidence and learn, that was the most important part of making this film.”
What is the main takeaway you hope people have when they see Black Girl Church? What message do you want this to send to Black communities but also non-POC?
A: “You know, I want people to take just what they need from this. There are so many messages, you know. But if I had to choose one, it’d be to support black business. So much of the beauty industry is supported by black women, black people, and we own so little of it.”
M: “For all three of us, Audrey, Joe and myself, this is our first real film release that any of us have worked on independently. I want to just acknowledge that while I hope the audience walks away with so much and so many poignant thoughts after watching the film, I am just so proud to have created something so important and indicative of black women. And so I hope that others, at the very least, will be able to walk away with just even more appreciation for the ingenuity and creativity of black women, why these hair routines and rituals feel sacred to us and why it matters today. BECAUSE WE REALLY KNOW HOW TO FUCK SHIT UP 🙂 I also think it’s important that people walk away with the motivation and encouragement to support black business in every way that they can.”
To learn more about BGC or if you’re interested in booking a screening, panel, or q+a with us you can contact Audrey and Marissa at blackgirlchurch@gmail.com.
