Ambassador Digital Magazine Editor-In-Chief Musa Jackson has an in-depth talk with international photographer, author & filmmaker Nigerian born Andrew Dosunmu. From Nigeria to Paris to Hollywood. From fashion design with the most iconic fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. As a photographer his work has appeared in Vibe, Fader, Face, Paper and Vogue Horne’s. He’s shot music videos for the likes of Maxwell, Wyclef Jean, Tracey Chapman, Angie Stone, Talib Kweli, Common and Isaac Hayes. From making his debut feature film Restless City starring Danai Gurira to directing Where Is Kyra with A-list talent like Michelle Pfeiffer and Keifer Sutherland. Winning prestigious awards on two continents Sundance award for cinematography for Mother of George and Best Director at African International Film Festival. He directed his latest film Beauty from script from Lena Waite starring Grace Marie Bradley, Niecy Nash, Giancarlo Esposito and Sharon Stone. Traveling the globe connecting the African diaspora through all visual mediums. A mission to bring all of his varied art forms together beautifully chronicled in his new book Dosunmu Monograph. Musa Jackson explores the keys to the success of this evolving brilliant African creative.
MUSA: What was life like for you in Nigeria?
ANDREW: Life for me as Black child in Nigeria…You live in a Black world. Your teacher is Black, your dentist is Black, your bad guy is Black (Laughs) It was really celebratory. Celebration of life. Spirituality was prominent in every form.
MUSA: You began your career in fashion as a design assistant at Yves St. Laurent, one of the most iconic and prestigious European ateliers. Give us your experience through a Black lens.
ANDREW:
Absolutely. I remember going for the job. I had my first meeting with a lady called Loulou de la Falaise. Which was the chief assistant to Yves Saint Laurent. Getting the job and working in the atelier I was the only person, young Black, male or female. So there was something intriguing about it to them. It was an amazing place to work. They were loving, and charming. For me when I think about that time. The only person who I could think of who was in those spaces was Patrick Kelly. He was older and doing his own thing and was very inspiring to me. Knowing that someone like that existed gave me the confidence to work all of this out. Having my portfolio and going to all of these houses in Paris. First of all my French wasn’t that great. I would walk through the door and there is always the initial shock. But that shock was on them. I had prepared myself for that. That experience was amazing for me because it led me into so many things. Working in Atelier Saint Laurent exposed me to the notion of research. The whole collection is about research. It led me into so many things. It was through that I discovered who I really wanted to be. Fashion was almost like a doorway to many things I wanted to do.
MUSA: You eventually moved onto filmmaking via videos working with some very impressive artists such as Maxwell, Tracy Chapman,Wyclef Jean, Aaron Neville and Isaac Hayes. What was it like working with these legendary artists?
ANDREW: It was amazing. My first break was Isaac Hayes. Fashion was my introduction into a visual world. Being a young person coming from Nigeria fashion was tangible. Images is what attracted me to fashion. There was Fashion and music magazines everywhere. It’s through the fashion magazines that I realized what I really wanted to do. I was self trained as a filmmaker and I started making short films. My short film played in a festival. Someone who saw the film got it to Isaac Hayes somehow. I was called to make a video. For me it was incredible. Working with Isaac Hayes was like working for your dad. Just go do your thing. That’s what I did. I was given an opportunity to work with my friends in NY, now with a little bit of money. The freedom and the trust I was given led to the other artists.
MUSA: In 2011 you made your feature debut with Restless City starring Danai Gurira. What was that like for you making that transition? Also tell us about your cinematic aesthetic.
ANDREW: I think I’ve always wanted to be a filmmaker. Music videos was a pathway to that. It gave me all the access and room to experiment. I wanted to make films but it’s so difficult. It takes money and it’s a collaborative effort. I wrote a few things that I tried to get made. I couldn’t get those projects made because of lack of finances. So the minute I decided I wanted to do Restless City it was a deliberate decision. I knew at that moment I needed to be making films and not talking about making films. By any means possible I’m going to make films. It was rounding up my friends, talking to people who collected my photos to invest. A friend of mine the legendary cinematographer Arthur Jaffa said to me; the energy and drive is actually more important than making the film itself. I was going to make the film by any means necessary. Going to the establishments, going to the institutions. I wanted to tell the story about what it is like for me someone of African descent that has lived on three or four continents. In the film, Djibril, is a Senegalese character that has moved from the Middle East, to France, to Harlem. What does that embody? What kind of knowledge does that person have? I’m very interested in how we as Black beings move through spaces that are reluctant to us but how we survive and thrive in those spaces. That was the genesis of Restless City. Because we are always in this restlessness. We are in cities where we are not embraced, not welcomed. We never get the head start. There’s not somebody there championing you. This life is about being championed. Having the rabbi. Everybody needs a rabbi. We don’t have people who are excited to see you when you walk in. That are going to give them a break. It’s a constant struggle.
MUSA: You won acclaim at Sundance with Mother of George as Best Cinematography with Bradford Young and then in 2014 Best Director at African International Film Festival. What was that like for you winning in America and also your homeland?
ANDREW: I was honored but it’s never been about that for me. It’s been about the humanity we all have in common. We all have blood running through our veins. Mother of George, yes it’s specific but it’s also universal. Obviously being a Black person it’s easier for us to appreciate things. Because we are so embedded in world culture. The books we read, the literature we read are not written by people who look like us. We come into this knowing another set of people exist so it’s easier for us see things for what they are.
Winning is great but it’s always about what I’m trying to say. I’m celebrating my people. I’m celebrating Black visual culture. And who we are. I became a filmmaker because I really wanted to represent the people I knew. My uncles, my aunts. The elegance of my aunts was so majestic. Or my uncles the way dressed was so impeccable. The humor, the humanity, the love. Thats what I wanted to create in cinema. That’s what I never saw. I learned French watching cinema and that introduced me to world cinema. They never depicted us right. The black cinema you saw came out of Hollywood. That never did us a favor. We were always crooks or gangsters or dope dealers. Most people I knew who looked like me weren’t that.
MUSA: Your last film was with A-list talent like Michelle Pfeiffer and Keifer Sutherland. Does that change how you go about making the film and were there more restrictions placed on you because of this talent?
ANDREW: It doesn’t change the way I make films but it does create a challenge. Which again has institutional restrictions. You’re dealing with actors of a different caliber that comes with a different kind of drama. And their drama often comes from the people around them.Too many people in the way. I try to communicate directly with the artist. I’m not interested in working with an actor, I’m interested in working with an artist. So that’s my objective to collaborate, to create. Having worked with people who have done a lot more, they are embedded in it. It’s about longing to learn with people who have more experience. That’s really the joy of working with a big actor. It’s not because they are big it’s what can I learn from them.
MUSA: Tell us about the state of African films making such an impact in America? Why are they important to an American audience?
ANDREW: I think as people of African descent, the globalness of us is where our strengths is. Until we embrace that globalness we will always be in this dilemma. Most black people in the United States don’t know that there are more people of African descent in Cuba. More people of African descent in Latin America. The world is not ours it’s just centered here. It’s about that global conversation. One thing African films have done with less financial sensibilities is that they’ve shown the world the diversity of who we are. I remember being in Columbia. Someone asked me where I was from. I said I was Nigerian. They got so excited because they watched all those Nollywood films in hair salons. What they loved about it was it depicted the way they have never seen themselves. We were everything. Those films have been able to show the eclecticness, and the diversity of us. Rather than simply the way Hollywood has portrayed us. We are either over achievers or under achievers. We have to be mega successful and be the A-list actor or under successful. Those films were able to give us the middle range.
MUSA: What advice would you give to an African creative whether it be fashion, photography, or film?
ANDREW: My advice and what I practice. Constantly study. Constantly learning for when that big break comes. Constantly preparing. I’m very big on that. Nobody knows what you want to talk about better than you. You have that over anyone else. It’s all subjective. If you truly believe in youtself and what you want talk about that’s the golden key.
MUSA: You are now an author. Your book
Is called Dosunmu Monograph. Tell us about your book?
ANDREW: The book is a collection of my photographic work. My film work. Styling work. From styling to filmmaking. It’s really for me how as a visual artist there’s no boundary between them. They are all one. It’s how I see things visually. To me it’s like a diary of how my mind functions. The interconnections. Because It’s shot across the diaspora and our common humanity.
-Musa Jackson
This interview & cover feature pre-dates WGA/ SAG/ AFTRA strike.
Talent: ANDREW DOSUNMU @shot_by_andrew_dosunmu
Photographer/ Creative Director:
MARC BAPTISTE @marcbaptistephoto
Stylist: IBRAHIM OMISORE Ibrahim Omisore
Grooming: ANGIE PARKER @angieparkerbeauty
Production: JENNY BAPTISTE
Interviewer: MUSA JACKSON
Look 1:
Hat: Andrew’s own
Jacket: Umit Benan B+
Pants: Umit Benan B+
Shoes: Andrew’s own
Sunglasses: Moscot
Look 2:
Hat: Worth & Worth
Jacket: Ralph Lauren
Sweater: Ralph Lauren
Pants: Ralph Lauren
Shoes: Gucci
Look 3:
Hat: Worth & Worth
Shirt: Oshin Studios
Pants: Ralph Lauren
Shoes: Gucci
Sunglasses: Moscot
Look 4:
Hat: Andrew’s own
Polo Sweater: Stoffa
Pants: Stoffa
Shoes: Andrew’s own
Sunglasses: Moscot
Necklace: Andrew’s own
Look 5:
Hat: Andrew’s own
Jacket: Stoffa
Jumpsuit: Studio 189
Shoes: Gucci
Sunglasses: Andrew’s own
Look 6:
Hat: Andrew’s own
Jacket: Stoffa
Sweater: Stoffa
Pants: Nicholas Dahley
Shoes: Gucci
NY TEAM:
Founder & Editor In Chief:
Musa Jackson @iammusajackson
Art Director: Paul Morejon
Paul Morejón