Mariama Diallo, a Brooklyn-based writer-director. Her short film “Hair Wolf” premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where it won The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction. “Hair Wolf” was later released on HBO and the Criterion Channel. Most recently, Diallo co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in the short film “White Devil,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2018, she worked as writer and director on the Peabody Award-winning HBO series “Random Acts of Flyness,” and in 2020 returned for the Season 2 writers room. “Master” marks her debut film. It’s being released by Amazon Studios.
“Master” is screening at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, which is running online from January 20-30. More information can be found on the fest’s website.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
MD: “Master” follows three women struggling to make a place for themselves at an elite New England university almost as old as the country.
Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) has just been promoted to “Master,” essentially a dean of students, which suddenly complicates her friendship with professor Liv Beckman (Amber Gray). After first-year Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee) becomes the target of anonymous racist attacks – which Jasmine insists are actually hauntings from the school’s past – Gail must confront the true nature of the place she calls home.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
MD: The word “master” is so full and multifaceted – and so absolutely loaded. I spent a lot time thinking about the word, and the story began to develop.
I knew early on that I wanted to follow a black woman who had been given the academic title of “Master.” I wanted to watch how she responded to the expectation placed on her, and how her behavior and perspective changed as a result.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
MD: Can you live honestly in a fundamentally dishonest environment? How can a physical space cause behavior to be distorted? What does this mean to us the people?
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
MD: COVID-19. We began filming in February 2020. However, our shoot was halted due to the lockdowns in March 2020. Although we were able to resume production almost a year later in January 2021 due to the lockdowns of March 2020, it was in a different world and with very different rules. A few months prior to our return, I received a dense COVID protocol document. It was overwhelming.
My greatest creative concern was how the shooting environment would affect the film. This made it extremely difficult to get around. It also meant that some scenes had to be re-configured. An interior scene with many background characters was rewritten and made as an exterior.
Despite being stressful, the challenge led to some great outcomes. This was because I felt compelled by the challenge to come up with creative solutions stronger than the original.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Let us know how you got the film produced.
MD: I developed “Master” at Animal Kingdom with producers Andy Roa, Brad Becker Parton, and Joshua Astrachan. I had written a draft of my script before I went to them. We spent nearly a year working on it. After we felt that the screenplay was in a strong place, we reached out to several production companies and financiers. We were able to connect with our team at Amazon Original Movies who financed the film.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
MD: When it comes to my inspiration to become a filmmaker, it’s a little weird. When I was 14 years old, I had a vague idea that I would one day be a director. It might have been vanity. I had been acting in middle school and was always at the mercy my drama teacher. I had this idea that a director is in control. So for years I would say I wanted to be a director, and all it really meant for me was that I wanted to be in charge — which makes some sense, since so much of being a teenager is being out of control.
When I got to college, I took a screenwriting course, and that’s when everything fell into place. I’ve always loved storytelling. When I was very young, I used to write almost every day. But, as I grew older, I stopped writing. Screenwriting led me back to stories, and then suddenly, directing was a true purpose for me. I wanted the opportunity to start with an idea and be there at every stage of its creative development to protect it and push it forward.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
MD: The best advice is to run. This is funny, because this is my dad’s blanket advice for everything, so much so that we make fun of him for it. But he’s onto something. Running is not for everyone. But, it is important to have a daily practice that involves deliberate physical engagement. I remember feeling like a floating mind after graduating from college. My mind was the only thing that I could focus on. Only after I started running did my mind and body become integrated. My advice to you is to run. Push yourself, feel your body. Live in every part. Plant your feet. Use space.
Worst advice: This wasn’t said to me, but to another woman I know. On her first day on set, she was instructed to pick a fight and shout at crew members. This is supposed to establish dominance. Insanity.
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
MD: Don’t be intimidated by people who wield their technical knowledge like a weapon.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
MD: “Eve’s Bayou” by Kasi Lemmons. A haunting and poetic film. This film was first shown to me when I was nine years old. It was last seen at BAM a few years later. It will never go out of style. Jurnee is one of the most outstanding child performers of all time. The ensemble is amazing, and the photography stunning. Sam Jackson as the bon vivant dad doctor? Is that a mirror shot?! You can do it! The storytelling is personal, creative, and daring. It is a joy to read.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Is creativity something you do?
MD: I’m lucky to have kept incredibly busy during the pandemic. The biggest thing was completing the shoot for “Master,” editing the film, and getting it through post. That’s been the past year of my life.
In late 2020, I teamed up again with some dear friends and collaborators in the “Random Acts of Flyness” Season 2 (virtual) writers room. Working in the room challenged me creatively and emotionally to truly engage with the moment we’re living in. The virtual room was my only contact with the outside world for weeks. It was an incredible experience for me.
And finally, early in the pandemic I co-wrote, co-starred, and co-acted in a short film called “White Devil” that I made with my husband, Benjamin Dickinson. We shot that on 16mm and made it with an incredibly tiny “crew.” It’s a pandemic story that follows a grotesquely distorted version of ourselves in a horror-satire. “White Devil” premiered at TIFF 2021, and I’m so grateful to not only have been able to find creative outlets during the pandemic, but also emerge with a document of the time.
W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What steps do you believe are necessary to make the industry more inclusive?
MD: To me, it’s fairly simple: we just need to finance more projects by creators of color. There’s a lack of trust. While well meaning, the labyrinthine system of incubators, mentorships, and shadowing programs put creators of color in a position of proving themselves and obedience that I don’t see happening too often with white male directors. It is possible for a person of color to spend years in a program after another before finally being able to roll without any training wheels.
Source: Women And Hollywood
