[Trailer] “(In)Visible Portraits”: Documentary Tackles Painful Myths About Black Women

Producer-turned-filmmaker Oge Egbuonu’s feature documentary “(In)Visible Portraits” is here and amplifies the history of Black women in America.

Egbuonu’s remarkable directorial debut, “(In)Visible Portraits,” was always going to debut during a fraught time in history. Three years in the making, the “Loving” and “Eye in the Sky” producer’s first documentary has been entirely crafted in the wake of numerous recent traumas inflicted on the Black community, from the continued killings of Black men by police to the deep pessimism and fear surrounding the current presidential administration, and that was before the historic protests of the last few weeks. Now, the documentary seems wildly prescient and urgent, providing a lucid look at both the past and the present that seems as if it could only be made during such pressing times.

The trick, of course, is that “(In)Visible Portraits” could have been made at nearly any time in recent history, as Egbuonu and her many subjects unpack a litany of harmful labels, conspiracy theories, and even their enduring hopes for the future over the course of just 92 minutes. Centered around the experience of Black women — particularly ones living in America since its inception — “(In)Visible Portraits” functions as both a necessary corrective to American history and intimate exploration of what it means to be a Black woman.

Released to coincide with Juneteenth, “(In)Visible Portraits” complies several interviews from Black American female scholars, who share their stories of survival, struggle and triumph and reclaim their narratives. The documentary focuses on history’s egregious erasure and otherizing of Black American women.

The film’s deep reserve of talking head talent includes Joy Degruy (author of “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” and “America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing”), Dr. Patricia Hill Collins (Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland), Dr. Melina Abdullah (professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University Los Angeles and Co-Founder of BLMLA), and Dr. Ruha Benjamin (Associate Professor of African Studies at Princeton University and author of “Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code”).

Segments are linked together through poetry readings by writer Jazimine Williams and visual accompaniments by artist Victoria Cassinova, not all of which work in the context of the narrative Egbuonu is weaving, though they add texture and speak to the filmmaker’s desire to shine a light on important women.

While each interviewee has the education and experience to illuminate various topics in a historical sense — the documentary is mostly concerned with both understanding and dismantling the many harmful labels and archetypes that have been assigned to Black women over the years, including “the mammy,” “the Jezebel,” and “the welfare queen” — the film adds a further layer of intimacy because each is also speaking as a Black woman.

Watch the official trailer for “(In)Visible Portraits” below.