F 2017, D, SC Amandine Gay, C Enrico Bartolucci, E Enrico Bartolucci, Amandine Gay, P Enrico Bartolucci, Amandine Gay (Bras de Fer), Print colour, DCP, 122 min, French OV with German SUB, eksystent distribution

Speak Up comes from a necessity to reclaim the narrative as Black women who are too often silenced whether as women and/or Blacks. The film is also a celebration of our Afropean diversity: Black women born in France and Belgium or not, from French, Belgian or migrant parents, from all faiths or no faith, from any sexual orientation, etc. Speak Up is a political portrait of European francophone black women, bringing life to their complex and multiple identities and realities. The best way to make these differences apparent proved to be an intertwined discussion, based on my experience but nuanced with all of the participants’ points of view. Beyond personal anecdotes lie the political stakes linked to our need for emancipation. Art has always played a major part in our emancipation struggles, so for me, Speak Up is my way of celebrating our history, especially when it comes to Black women’s resistance: marronnage, Creole culture, Pan-Africanism and Afrofeminism. We will not be silenced, we will not be erased and we are in charge of our representation. (Amandine Gay, 2017)

This film is part of the FEMMES TOTALES Filmtour 2.