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Arts & Entertainment Dante James: The Huey P. Newton Documentary D ante James is an Emmy Award-winning independ- ent filmmaker who has produced and directed critically- acclaimed documentary and dra- matic films. He is also the assistant director of the African Cultural Center at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Prior to joining the faculty at NCSU, he was an Artist in Resi- dence and Instructor at Duke Uni- versity. In 2006, he won a National Emmy for his work as series producer of the well- received PBS series, “Slavery and the Making of America.” James’ most recent offering, “Harlem in Montmartre: A Paris Jazz Story,” was awarded Best Documentary at the 2010 Pan African International Film Festival in Cannes, France. In 2008 he wrote, produced and directed “The Doll,” an adaptation of a classic short story by Charles W. Chesnutt. That picture received the Best Dramatic Short Film Award at that year’s Hollywood Black Film Festival. Earlier in his career, Dante exec- utive produced the PBS series, “This Far by Faith” for Blackside Films in Boston, Mass. He was also honored with the DuPont Columbia Silver Baton for his work at Blackside. Mr. James has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Grand Valley State University and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Duke Uni- versity. In 2008 he was awarded an honorary Ph.D., a Doctorate of Humane Letters by Grand Valley State University. During the summer of 2010 he C ELEBRITY I NTERVIEW by Kam Williams served as a guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. And he plans to return to Cape Town to make a film with a black South African resident of the Khayelitsha Township. A member of the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, Dante is currently developing an independent feature-length docu- mentary about Huey P. Newton Emmy-Winning Director Invites Investors in Black Panther Biopic and the Black Panther Party. See: http://www.kickstarter.com/pro- jects/1649581507/the-story-of- huey-p-newton-and-the-black-pan ther-p Kam Williams: Hi, Dante, thanks for the interview. How ya been, bro? Dante James: Hi Kam, thank you for your continued interest in my work. The last few months have been really busy. I’m enjoy- ing my responsibilities as assistant director of NCSU’s African- American Cultural Center and all of my film projects. The inde- pendent feature and, of course, the feature documentary on Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party are moving forward. KW: What interested you in doing a documentary about Huey Newton? DJ: As a young person, I was interested in the Black Panther Party and their efforts to serve the needs of the community while also having the courage to con- front oppressive exploitative forces in the community. That interest grew as I got older and, as you are aware, all of my films explore some aspect of the African American experience. So, a film on Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party is an opportu- nity to grow intellectually while also exploring an often misrepre- sented movement. KW: Do you think that the Pan- thers have been slighted by history because J. Edgar Hoover was so successful at destroying the Party? DJ: That is a very interesting question. I think the misrepresen- tations of the Black Panther Party are certainly connected to J. Edgar Hoover and his unrelenting efforts to destroy the Party. For about ten years, Hoover illegally used the power of the federal government along with black informants to create dissention within the Party and to present a negative image of the Party to the general public. Additionally, in concert with local police officials, Hoover used bru- tal force in his effort to destroy the Black Panther Party. The images and accounts of these efforts have misrepresented the Black Panther Party movement. Historically, and even today, external forces includ- ing the government, the main- stream corporate media and academics have defined the Black Panther Party. This film will be the first to tell the story of the Black Panthers from inside the Party. Black Panther Party members will define themselves and their move- ment. KW: How did you get David Hilliard to participate in the proj- ect? DJ: Actually David who was Huey P. Newton’s childhood friend, a founding member of the Party and its Chief of Staff, approached me. David also led the Party during the time that Huey and Bobby Seale were incarcerat- ed. David and I spent several months talking about the film in terms of a conceptual framework at the same time that I conducted my own research. During these conversations David would tell me these incredible stories about Huey’s vision for the party, the inner workings of the party, the mistakes they made, the success- ful maneuvers, and the pain and agony of the murder of Party members. One of the main mis- conceptions of the party is ground- ed in the concept of armed struggle. While there were fac- tions of the party who pushed an armed struggle agenda, that was not Huey’s vision. This was a leading source of tension within the Party. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com ONLINE mobile at theskannermobile.com desktop at www.theskanner.com •LOCAL NEWS •OPINIONS •JOBS, BIDS •SPORTS •ENTERTAINMENT •MUSIC REVIEWS •BULLETIN BOARD •RSS FEEDS July 11, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 5
