FILMMAKERS TO KNOW: CRYSTAL KAYIZA
CRYSTAL KAYIZA
Crystal Kayiza is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Her film, Edgecombe, which received the 2018 Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival, takes a closer look into the way trauma repeats and reinvents itself in rural black communities. Her most recent film, See You Next Time, captures the intimate moments shared between a Chinese nail artist and her Black client in Brooklyn and was an official selection of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
SHEER: Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you're from.
CRYSTAL KAYIZA: I’m a filmmaker who grew up in Oklahoma but is now based in Brooklyn. I realized recently that I’m the same age as my Mom when she first came to the states and made a life in New York. I’m interested in intergenerational stories and stories that focus on the African diaspora, specifically in the US. Stories set in the suburbs and rural landscapes.
SHEER: In what ways do you believe your culture and upbringing influence your work?
CK: It seems impossible to untie the work, whatever that is, from who you are. It’s not always obvious and what people hear and see is never the entire story. It shows up in the granular details of how you move through space, who you collaborate with, the creative choices you make. My family, the fact that I’m a middle child, that I’m first generation, that I grew up in the ambiguity between the midwest and south, where I live now. All of those things are essential and informative.
SHEER: How do you approach picking the subjects and themes of your work?
CK: Every project is different. For See You Next Time, my producer Cady Lang really did the heavy lifting on research and finding folks. I have consistent rules for myself across projects — how to build trust, how to navigate and take up space. No one really expects their lives to be seen and heard by a filmmaker or an audience. So first and foremost it’s about respecting that generosity.
SHEER: Chinese-owned nail salons have been a staple in predominantly black Brooklyn neighborhoods for many years. What made you want to capture this experience in your film "See You Next Time"?
CK: In See You Next Time, I was interested in how two communities of color share space. Nails became the entry point. The art was a beautiful stage to explore the subtleties. There is also a lot of tension, miscommunication and hurt between our communities. The expression of those things wasn’t at the center. The focus is collaboration and care as a means for a broader dialogue.
SHEER: What was your biggest challenge in filming "See You Next Time"?
CK: A lot of the themes of this film are in subtext. So making those connections, between the characters and the image, took time. There’s a lot to explore in the nail salon space. Constantly returning to the intention through all stages of production was important. This art is a form of self care and expression. But it’s also labor for the nail technician. It was about creating something opulent without obscuring that one person’s care is connected to someone else’s labor.
SHEER: Who or what inspired your film "Edgecombe"?
CK: I was working at a non-profit after college and spent time working on the issue of debtors prisons and criminal debt. It’s become one of the many ways the legal system criminalizes folks. And in the timeline of this county, felt like a reinvention of a long lineage of systems that criminalize Black communities in particular. So it led me to think about this in the context of a landscape and in an intergenerational way. That was the initial question that started the project but my time in Edgecombe Country really expanded what that meant.
SHEER: What have been your greatest challenges navigating the film industry as a black creative?
CK: Finding stability is always a challenge. When dollar amounts or affirmation are arbitrarily assigned to how much you produce as a freelancer, or in any profession, it messes with how you value your time. I’ve been trying to work on recognizing the importance of protecting my mind and my peace.
SHEER: What advice would you give fellow creatives of color aspiring to tell the stories that matter most to them and their communities?
CK: Find your people. Friends, family, collaborators. Build a community around your vision and be generous with supporting folks that show up for you. Hold onto those people and hold them up.