Since this is an extensive interview (over 45 minutes of conversation), I will be breaking the entire interview into several parts. I will be posting each part over the next couple of days, with a summary listing the links after it is all posted.
The delay in posting this interview is mine. My transcription skills are hardly the best and I apologize for the delay. But I invite you enjoy this interview, to see my review of A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy, and to check out the B-sides (the continuation of the stories in the movie).
Michael Vass : You’ve got quite a film. The film was incredible and powerful. The first thing I have to ask is where did you get that idea for this film?
Dennis Dortch : Real life you know what I mean. The title itself is from Black Is Beautiful. You know just trying to make it a little more modern, that idea that concept. So I just really wanted to see certain images of ourselves up on the screen. And that was my first you know, little part of the concept. Then the other parts just came naturally for me, the particular things and issues that I’m interested in and the little tells and anecdotal type stories that don’t really warrant an entire movie, but they are little moments. You know that’s kind of the concept that formed on that and I wanted to do something a little different.
That was my point I wanted to break the mold a little bit. Especially for black film and for film in general, so I think those three things combined is kind of what made Black and Sexy come about.
Michael Vass : I can see that you definitely broke a lot of things. I don’t know if people said it before but I would imagine, well for myself and from what I’ve heard from a couple of people I know who have seen it, it definitively throws you off at least initially in that your almost kind of uncomfortable because its so what you’ve not seen, so different. But powerful - not in a bad way, its not bad its just …new. You know what I mean?
It shocks the system to go and say, "wow its so different and that‘s still beautiful and good." So I think that’s quite an accomplishment You did well in the way that you styled it for that.
Dennis Dortch : Thank you.
Michael Vass : No problem. Let me ask you something, one of the things I like to know about people and I’ve found is very important is the education. The most successful people almost always have great educations of some type. What was your education like?
Dennis Dortch : I was going to school for the recording arts, I was going to produce music. My education was kind of all over the place from elementary school on to high school because I was a military brat too. So I went to middle school in Germany on a military base and my experiences - well I was a pretty good student but my experiences being overseas helped me out with a lot of things too. I’ve always been a book worm and I’ve always been a writer. I’m not sure if I’m really answering your question., but I think I’ve always been the sort of guy to be sitting at home who would rather read than go out.
Michael Vass : It wasn’t a specific type of knowledge but more experience of the world and the accumulation of general knowledge that kind of led you foward. That’s been your background. Would say is that accurate?
Dennis Dortch : You know I’m not really sure. It’s kind of hard to analyze myself. I think for the most part I’ve always been into being honest in looking for the truth of things.
I think it’s [the truth of things] probably going to be my entire career and in everything that I chose to be apart of or read or be into. It’s something that gets at sort of a greater truth or something more honest and raw.
So I had a few choice teachers. I think everyone has had a few teachers that have changed your life or shaped you. When you’re coming up as adults they look at you as a kid and they are able to identify what your about and help shape that a little bit by saying a few things. You know there are a couple of key words that a life holds up.
I think I remember in junior college I had a far east Indian teacher who I literally had for one semester for philosophy and I had a tendency to apply real life situations to this class. I could not study the actual period, I had to apply them to real life. It was apart of our curriculum anyway.
I would come up with these scenarios that are very similar to the stories that I am writing now that are in Black and Sexy that are mainly based in philosophy. I think that one particular teacher for that one semester told me that it was ok. You know other people got mad at me saying things that felt so hurtful to them or so honest and so on. I guess it was raw so they didn’t want to talk about it in class. They felt offended like I’m saying these things, 'how could you say this. It’s not kosher.' But he actually told me it was ok Because it’s the truth.
Michael Vass : The truth is truth.
...Continued in part 2
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