[on being invited to join AMPAS, after her original application, 25 years ago, was ignored] I'm hopeful. There are still a lot of people waiting at the gate, but things are moving forward. [Oct. 2016]
[why she couldn't make another feature film after Daughters of the Dust (1991)] I'd written many, many additional screenplays and pitched ideas and optioned screenplays - all of those wonderful things that one does after making a film that clearly had a wide audience. It didn't happen for me. There's no reason given, but of course it's race and gender. Gender plays a huge part in all of this. I did not fit into the mould. [Oct. 2016]
[on Hollywood's takeover of independent cinema and Black Cinema in the 90s] It became a commodity that could be co-opted by the larger industry. We broke through, and once the curators of culture recognised that we were actively making films in our own way, it suddenly just slowed down to a halt. Funding ran out for pretty much everyone. [Oct. 2016]