Tiona.M
Make the invisible visible: that’s the mantra of multimedia artist Tiona.M, whose independent films and visual works illustrate the experiences of minorities within the larger society and culture. In 2008, her feature-length documentary, black./womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent, provided a platform for black lesbians to speak for themselves. The collection of nearly 50 searingly honest interviews earned honors from the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film festival and NewFest: New York LGBT Film Festival. She continues to develop and create films on progressive topics with the hope of directing a narrative feature-length project in the future. For now, she’s producing her next doc, The Untitled Black Lesbian Elder Project; a short narrative film Bumming Cigarettes, and an experimental short series called Be Alarmed: The Black Americana Epic, a magical realism interpretation of the black American experience. “I feel a great power in being a filmmaker, and the medium can make real change in the way we relate to one another within society,” Tiona.M says. “I think filmmaking has provided a way for me to put my activism in motion, as well as an outlet for me, as an out black lesbian, to provide a voice for my community.”
