Filmmaker Dees Rees Interviewed on The Treatment

I listened to the KCRW podcasts interview of Dee Rees that took place on May 20, 2015.  Dee Rees is a film director and a screenwriter as well.  She has won several awards for her work including the Iris Prize and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director.  She has also been nominated for the NAACP Image Award for  Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture.   One critically acclaimed film was Pariah which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Rees was on the show to talk about her new film based on the life of American Blues singer, Bessie Smith.  She talked about trying to understand the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith and her life in order to engage in the film.  What came to a surprise for me is the dedication that she put in to try to understand her and the time she was living to bring her character to life.  So much research goes into understanding a person's actions before doing a biopic on his/her life.

During the interview, instead of speaking of the production of the film, which is titled Bessie, after the title character, Rees talks about the exceptional woman she was at that point in history as well as her contributions to American Blues.  Rees talked about the struggle that Bessie Smith went through because she was frowned upon for being black and large.  However her talent for singing is still being recognized to this day. She build a brand for herself in the music industry and created a model for others to come. Rees wanted to honor this exceptional women through the film Bessi.  Rees used the music that Bessi Smith sang and used it to compose a period in her life that can be captured on film.  

Choosing the right actress to play Bessie Smith is critical.  Queen Latifah was chosen to play the lead character.  Pictured below is Bees Rees and Queen Latifah on set.

One that stood out from the interview is that Rees wanted to focus on who Bessi was as an individual and...

"A woman who can't love or be loved, except on stage"

This quote stood out to me because it shows the direction that Rees will take in order to understand the ulterior motives of Bessi.  Without seeing the film, I can assume that Bessi, while dealing with her own inner struggles she is accepted in a stage for her singing.  Being able to put that together on screen goes to show the hardships that Bessi Smith dealt with. 

Quote #2:  Why is bessi was the way she was..[in]..a time where people did not want black female entertainers

This is another important quote because Rees is describing culture of the time and the power that Bessi had in order to be one of the top grossing performers.  So not only did she have to deal with racism and sexism in society but also the expectations to be a performer even though she did not fit this mold that society demanded.
Quote #3"

The fragments of ones mother bit by bit  fragmented memory can't quite see it and try to get back on this summer day and idealized love a happy place,,.how to try to fill things between you and a void.

Rees during this quote talks about the direction that she took this film to.  She wanted to have two complete worlds in which one is her "happy place" and she can escape all realities and the second world, her stage and actual reality. The above quote Dees Rees describes how she came to merge both worlds together.

How does Dees Rees contribute to the world?

After seeing Rees's first film I fell in love with the way the story was captured.  I think Rees is a great filmmaker because of the consideration that she puts to try to peel the onions off characters in order to reach to the core of who they are and show that to film viewers.  Finding small details in Bessi Smith changed the way I look at directing- not only are they trying to show the character on the screen to us but they want to understand who they are in and then present it to us in a way that we can empathize or even relate.