February is Black History Month. Margaret Young, who teaches writing at BYU, has been heavily involved in writing LDS black history. She has helped write the play, I Am Jane, a story about early black Mormon Jane Manning James, and has produced 2 films about black Mormons. Her first film came out in 2008 and was called Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons. It is an awesome film that I highly recommend. I’ve already referenced it in several previous posts:
Margaret is completing a second film, Heart of Africa. Here is a preview of the film.
I thought it would be interesting to have a Q&A for this new film. Margaret will stop by to answer any questions you have, but here are a few of my questions that I had for her.
Why are you making this film in the Congo?
That was not the plan until I went to the DR-C last August. We had planned on filming in Zambia because the Congo has such a reputation as a dangerous place. When I got there, however, I saw that it is only as dangerous as any other third world country. If you know where to go and if you are with natives, you are quite protected. We got all of the needed permissions to film, but didn’t have to show any paperwirk over several days. We were instructed on what NOT to film (anything military or governmental), so we were cautious about when we brought out the camera. More importantly, once we were in the Congo, I realized that there is no viable film industry there. I knew several remarkable young Congolese men–I had written to them during their missions–and saw their yearning for their country to rise to its appropriate place. It is possibly the wealthiest nation on earth in natural resources but because the distribution of wealth is strongly affected by political corruption, poverty is rampant. I have been in communication with several filmmakers in the Congo who are eager for support. We will use one of the Congolese production teams. If you look up film in the Congo, you will find Viva Riva by Djo Munga, and if you’re lucky, you’ll find the short film Mbopte by Tsopher Kabambi. Otherwise, you will find short documentaries. That’s the extent of it. To train our Congolese interns so that the Congo can tell its own stories rather than letting others continue to depict it as a savage place with man-eating gorillas has become a hugely important task for me.
By accident. Deseret Book had filmed a commercial for the books Darius Gray and I wrote together. The film was never completed. So, I was given the footage and cobbled it together into a documentary called Jane James: Your Sister in the Gospel. Later, Darius and I made Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons, which was a fair hit. We sold DVDs around the world and won a big award on the Documentary Channel. After those documentaries and one other, I started thinking about the stories I had been given from a large group of missionaries to whom I had written. From their true stories, I developed the script for a feature film: Heart of Africa.
- Margaret, I see you are in the preview. Is this your acting debut as well? (I believe that is your husband as well, right?)
- Is that Danor Gerald as well? (Danor has acted in LDS films, Saints and Soldiers: The Void, Forever Strong, and Believe, as well.)
- Is Darius Gray involved in this new film?
Wheat & Tares 
The premise of this movie made me laugh, because my husband is an Idaho boy who served in a french-speaking West African nation. Most of his companions were from various African countries (one was from Europe). He noticed consistent differences in the companions depending on the culture they were coming from. Do you also explore the different perspectives that African missionaries have in the film? Can I also ask about how many missionaries were interviewed for the film, and had they all served in the DR Congo-Kinshasa mission?
Hi Mary! Now I want to get to know you and your husband.
Yes, there are cultural differences among Africans as well as between Anglos and Africans. We do explore different African cultures in the movie, and tribalism a bit, though we keep the focus on the two protagonists. I didn’t really interview the missionaries so much as I went through their missions with them–around twenty. If you check out the video here, you’ll get a sense of it. My husband and I were in a French-speaking MTC branch, and I adopted the young men who went to the DR-Congo. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/868807300/heart-of-africa
Margaret, I see you are in the preview. Is this your acting debut as well? (I believe that is your husband as well, right?)
Is that Danor Gerald as well? (Danor has acted in LDS films, Saints and Soldiers: The Void, Forever Strong, and Believe, as well.)
Is Darius Gray involved in this new film?
Definitely not my acting debut. My undergrad degree was largely theater. (The actual degree was in University Studies.) It IS my husband’s acting debut. Yes, that’s Danor. I don’t know in what ways, of any, he’ll be involved in the film. He accompanied me to Africa to shoot b-roll and do location scouting, and he did amazing firesides there. Yes, Darius is involved, but only from the sidelines. He is too ill for the rigors this project involves. I am in frequent contact with him, however, and he is up on everything we’re doing.
This looks like a fascinating film concept. I’d love to see the finished product. Do you plan to treat the question about whether the priesthood ban was “inspired prophetic revelation” in the film? Personally, I find the very suggestion that it was “inspired” deeply horrifying and ugly, but I know there are some in the church who still defend this concept, and claim that we “cannot know why God wanted it that way.” I would be interested to know how direct the film will be in confronting topics like this.
So sorry to hear that Darius is still ill. He is a great man, and I hope he recovers!
By the way, I’ve heard that film-writing is much different than other forms of creative writing (which I believe is your specialty.) What advice can you give to people who would like to write a film? Is it different than writing for a documentary?
Lorian, we do address the restriction and past folklore, but it is not the film’s focus. It magnifies the conflict, so it serves its literary purpose. Everyone in the Church needs to be familiar with the “Race and Priesthood” essay, https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng . That essay, fully endorsed by the LDS Church hierarchy, sets the restriction within its cultural context and disavows past teachings.
MH, this is my first feature film. Much different than a documentary. A documentary is like arranging puzzle pieces so that the narrative flows well. A screenplay is SOMETHING like writing a novel, but with huge differences. I love that I can call in music in a screenplay, knowing what a difference it will make in the film. I am very fond of bringing in a group of collaborators to make something visually, aurally, intellectually, and spiritually compelling.
Considering that activity rates in West African nations (Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Nigeria) are HIGHER than the Church average (and certainly the USA), and the remarkable growth not only in membership but the sprouting up of temples (I’ll predict that once the current moratorium on temple announcements is lifted that temples are announced for the Cape Verde islands, Cote d’Ivoire (Abidjan), and Nairobi, Kenya) on the so-called “Dark Continent”. Yet another example of how Heavenly Father can send the ‘meek and humble’ to confound the ‘wise’.
Douglas–I believe you are right. I have heard rumors that construction on the already-announced Kinshasa, DR-C temple will begin soon. I hope to help in that temple. I was at the Ghana Temple when a whole stake from the Ivory Coast came–after driving for three days in three buses. Oh yes, I hope they get a temple there soon! As Darius Gray says, “The field is black and ready to harvest!