Yoruba Richen is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has been featured on PBS, New York Times Op Doc, Frontline Digital, New York Magazine’s The Cut, The Atlantic, and Field of Vision. Her last film, “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom,” was broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel for record audiences and was awarded the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking. Richen’s other credits include “The New Black” and “Promised Land.” Richen is a Fulbright fellow, a Guggenheim fellow, and a 2016 recipient of the Chicken & Egg Breakthrough Filmmaker Award.
“The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show” was scheduled to screen at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival. A digital version of the fest has been organized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hot Docs Festival Online will launch May 28. “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show” will not be screening in the digital fest.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
YR: “The Sit-In” is a documentary that looks at the week in 1968 that Harry Belafonte took over as host of “The Tonight Show.” It was a historic moment in television because he was the first African American to host a late night television show for an entire week.
The film tells the story of that week and all of the amazing guests he had on — actors, activists, and politicians — including one of Robert Kennedy’s last interviews and Martin Luther King Jr.’s last televised interview.
“The Sit-In” examines who Harry was at that time in terms of how he saw the world of media, entertainment, and activism in a very, very divided political time. Ultimately, the film is about how he created this world on television that reflected his own worldview and his political activism on “The Tonight Show.”
W&H: What drew you to this story?
YR: When the producers came to me about directing it, I was immediately intrigued because I hadn’t heard of this moment in history. I knew of Harry Belafonte and “The Tonight Show,” and I’m fairly familiar with entertainment milestones, especially for African Americans, but I hadn’t heard of this week.
I was immediately drawn to it because of who Harry is, and was at the time, as well as the amazing amount of guests that he had on the show. It was such an amazing lineup. This definitely seemed like a story to be told also because of the volatile time that this happened in. I wanted to explore what this week meant and the significance of it.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
YR: I want people to think about Harry’s significance. When I started the film, I knew about his political activism, but I didn’t know the depth of his role both as a truly multifaceted entertainer and in the Civil Rights movement. He was such a connector of so many people in politics and entertainment, which actually gave visibility and helped propel the Civil Rights movement.
I also want people to think about how — especially in these times, when we are in a crisis both politically and with the pandemic — what it means to persevere and keep going with a belief in justice and a belief that societies can change. I think we can take inspiration from Harry and his work and who he is.
Then there’s also how the entertainment landscape has and hasn’t changed. There have been some changes in terms of diversity, but I ask myself, what is the work we still need to do? Late night television has increasingly become a place where people get their news and really understand and digest what is happening in society, so we really need to have racial and gender diversity representation in that landscape.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
YR: The first biggest challenge was that we went into the making of this film knowing that most of the tapes were erased. So the only surviving tapes of that week are the half hours with Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Of course those are golden, but the fact that the rest of the week was not saved was a challenge. We quickly had to figure out how to make the film without the missing footage, and we knew that because these guests were so iconic and so active that we had to tell the story of the week through footage of the guests outside of being on “The Tonight Show.”
We wanted to get the best footage of the iconic guests like Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, and Lena Horne. It was a real excavation to find that footage so that we could still bring the week to life.
In terms of COVID-19, luckily we had pretty much locked the picture by the time everything had to stop. We found out we had been accepted into Tribeca so we were on that timetable of getting the film color corrected, and the music, and all of that. We were still able to get the film online to the colorist and the sound mixer and they were able to work on it as much as possible.
We did get to a point where we couldn’t go further because we need to be in a setting where I’m really looking at the film as it’s going to look on a screen, hearing it, and giving sound notes on the mix. We had to just stop until everyone figured out what the next move was going to be.
That’s been challenging and also sad because, like so many other films, we obviously didn’t have our Tribeca premiere, or Hot Docs, or the other festivals we were planning to take the film. The challenge now is figuring out as we all adjust to this new world how we will get the film out there to be seen, because we are really excited for audiences to experience this piece of history.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
YR: I came on as the director after we received our first grant. The Ford Foundation gave an early grant and that was how the film was able to get started. Our partners at Big Beach are the executive producers so they were able to support the rest of the project.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
YR: I come from a theater background. I grew up in New York in the theater and my mom was a playwright, so storytelling for me has always been a part of who I am. I did a lot of acting and then some directing.
When I was graduating college and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I had always loved documentaries and watched them growing up — and when I was able to get an opportunity to make my first video for a class, it just clicked. The creative part of documentary filmmaking, the research part, figuring out the story, it just all came together for me and I just kind of never looked back.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
YR: The best advice has always been from my late mother, who was and still is so crucial to my becoming an artist and understanding of what it means to be an artist. Her best advice was to not let fear hinder what you do, and that’s everything from the kind of subjects to take on as a documentary filmmaker, to even committing to be a documentary filmmaker. In the beginning it was scary because of the financial considerations. How do I support myself? Do I have what it takes?
As women, especially, we can second guess our abilities. But wading through all that fare and pushing it aside is what has allowed me to continue.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
YR: I say this to my students that I teach. One of the things you have to figure out if you want to do this work is how you’re going to support yourself. That, to me, is always bottom line. Are you going to be able to make money to live? Again, documentary filmmaking can be a long slog and the money may not come in the beginning, so how do you support yourself?
I also think mentorship has been really important. I’m lucky to say even from when I started in the business, there are many more organizations and foundations hat are giving mentorships to women filmmakers. I would say hook up with one of those if you can because that’s how you learn, grow, and meet people.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
YR: This is a hard one as there are many. But a film that still sticks with me as a great debut is “Appropriate Behavior” by Desiree Akhavan. Totally unique story about the misadventures of a Persian, bisexual young woman living in Brooklyn who is breaking up with her girlfriend. When have we ever heard that story? And it’s funny as hell
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?
YR: I am adjusting like all of us are adjusting. Seeing all the devastation around me here in New York and all the inequality is hard to see. I feel lucky that I have a home and I’m safe, so I thank my blessings everyday.
Luckily I am keeping creative. I have a project — my next film I’m working on — and we are working on it remotely so I’m able to dive into it. It’s called “How it Feels to Be Free” and it’s about trailblazing African American female entertainers, kind of a similar vein to Harry, and how they reshaped representation for black women in their time period. It’s an “American Masters” film, so I’m really happy that we’re getting back into production on that.
