- #KIRK FRANKLIN AND THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS RAR MOVIE#
- #KIRK FRANKLIN AND THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS RAR FULL#
the feeling of Blackness to come out, the way we interact with one another.” “I don’t want to feel like I’m taking a story and I’m just casting Black actors. “I want it to feel like Black people,” she said. Sutherlin said that while she doesn’t believe that movies must fit neatly into the race of the characters they’re about, each of our cultures brings something to the story. There are books by Black authors, and one of the actors wears a Spelman College T-shirt, bringing in a Historically Black Colleges and Universities element. There are Easter eggs in the movie, like original artwork from Sutherlin’s niece, Michaela Angelena. Very intentional about reverence and respect.” Very intentional about the love of the Black church and what we hold dear. “She was very intentional about how it looked, how it sounded,” Byrd said. She complimented the way Sutherlin listened to the actors when it came to blocking and had a clear vision for the film. She was a bit intimidated to approve Franklin’s music and give him notes, but told herself, “You are the director, you have to do this.”īyrd helped her efficiently get the shots for the 5 ½-week project, with just 15 days to shoot the film. She considers herself the shepherd of the vision. She said that while she came in with a set of rules, she had to get the team to trust her as a director. Sutherlin said Byrd made her feel safe and heard while on set. “It really helped us bond as an executive producer and a director so that I knew what she wanted,” Byrd said. Sutherlin noted that the team of Byrd, Richard and herself are all Black women and said that the film is the first time they have worked for Lifetime.īyrd and Sutherlin lived together in an apartment in Atlanta during filming. And in the story of the Black family, period.” We don’t see enough of that in Black women stories. It’s about strength and overcoming obstacles and strength and overcoming adversity and strength. “We go through situation after situation.
“You don’t see Black women have feelings,” Byrd said. It was also important to them for the Black female lead to not be a stereotype. Kourtney Richard wrote the script, which Sutherlin and Byrd redesigned to give more heart, according to Byrd, who spoke to the Times by phone.
She was accepted into the prestigious film school and, using her retirement money, moved to Los Angeles.īyrd is an executive producer on the film, as is Kirk Franklin, who makes a cameo. In 2016, Sutherlin had what she calls a “wonderful little midlife crisis” and applied for graduate school at the University of Southern California’s school of cinematic arts. She taught acting, directing and an introduction to film class at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School for about nine years. Sutherlin, 41, made a name for herself acting and directing in local theater, including a turn as Lady MacBeth in the production of Voodoo MacBeth. No spoilers, but the finale is a triumphant moment of joy.
#KIRK FRANKLIN AND THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS RAR FULL#
It’s full of spirituality, powerful music and humor. The Tampa Bay Times got a screener of the movie. “You have to find a happy medium where the network still wants to stretch and do something different, but at the same time, they still need to feel comfortable,” she said.
But the scenes outside of the church are more typical of a traditional Christmas movie. She called it a “Jesus Christmas movie” because of the focus on the church and gospel music.
#KIRK FRANKLIN AND THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS RAR MOVIE#
Sutherlin noted that it’s a different type of Christmas movie for the network when we talked to her by phone recently. Demetria McKinney and Chaz Lamar Shepherd star in "Kirk Franklin's A Gospel Christmas," which debuts on Lifetime on Dec.