Lia Johnson: "I'm Through with White Girls"

"I'm Through With White Girls!"

That is probably the moment when Filmmaker, Producer, Lead Actress Lia Johnson realized her journey and struggle had come full circle. She comments that "winning the audience award was more of a validation because it was voted on by the people and not a political machine. "

As an Indie Filmmaker, Lia Johnson understands a thing or two about going against the grain, telling non-traditional stories and staying true to ones message. Her journey has been a long one shared with those that have seen her vision and in some cases those that have not. So, when she won the 2007 Block Buster Audience Award (which came with about $20,000) at the American Black Film Festival, she could EXHALE (for a moment).....and take stock in her mission.

Lia says that she started doing short films about 8 years ago with her twin sister Phyllis. Their most recent film, "I'm Through With White Girls," was written by an African-American Male, Courtney Lilly, and seeks to explore the deeper meaning of what it truly is like to be Black or White in our American society. It is about transcending stereotypes and going beyond the "boxed - in" images we tend to have of one another. She says that;" One of the reasons I made this film and am so passionate about it is that I wanted to address this thing we have in America where people are supposed to conform to what they look like outside and this sort of homogeneous description of people. We need to let people be who they are, which is many layers."

The lead male character Jay Brooks (played by Anthony Montgomery) is a guy who is not entrenched in Hip- Hop or does not really relate to it. Based on mainstream ideas of Black Men and Hip-Hop, this guy would be considered a misfit because of his lack of connection to the Hip Hop thing. So with this background, his manhood , interests, love life and relationships are called into question and become a reflection of his own African-American existence in American Culture. Lia explains the premise for the film in this way; "We want to put a wildfire into people's consciousness and have them realize that even though mainstream media has chosen to present Hip-Hop culture as the only definition of African-Americans (and I enjoy Hip Hop) it is not the only representation of who we are as a people."

On the issue of how other nationalities receive the film, and I was particularly interested in Europe. Lia says that she's done film festivals in "London, Rotterdam and Amsterdam where people showed up in numbers and responded very well to it. We enjoyed sold out screenings and had to even add screenings. The people really responded and turned out for the film and the talk back sessions showed a great level of interest in this subject matter. Norway will be in the coming weeks."

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To the question of acquiring distribution deals, Lia responded; "We have had a few offers but distributors tend to be very specific. This film covers several different genres and is looked at as just a good story. They tend to have a hard time finding a category for it. It is not just horror, or love story and so, because it does not fit a particular demographic, they find it a challenge to sell it, and pick it up."

So, ironically, a film like "I'm Through With White Girls" which addresses "pigeon -holing" and stereotyping finds itself facing the same issues as its producers and investors attempt to move it to larger audiences and through the traditional "Hollywood machine."

Being a creative mind, I asked Lia to identify some "a-ha moments" in this entire process, and she explained that there have been many. However, some that have stood out recently include; "when the film won the Pan African Cannes Film Festival where they represented the US." Another was as the "Opening Night Film at the Roxbury Film Festival in Boston," which was held at The Boston Museum of Fine Arts. She says that, "As the closing credits rolled on the screen, all 400 people in the audience jumped to their feet and gave us a standing ovation. We also won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, that night which was very exciting. Lia says that , winning the Blockbuster Award was great as well, especially when as the winner was being revealed, the entire audience said it along with the announcer.

I then wanted to know how she keeps it going during times when, maybe no one gets what she is trying to do. To that question Lia says, "It is my belief in what I am doing...there is a deep need in American culture for multi-cultural understanding. I feel like this is the kind of film that invites this sort of discussion. In many ways we are having these conversations anyway, even if it is behind closed doors. So when a situation like Don Imus comes up and brings it to the surface, I feel like it is less about him being racist and more about the conversations he may be having with the people in his world where there may not be people around him to pull him aside and say... "Yo man that is not cool."

Lia Johnson describes her purpose: "So in a broad sense, it is about the message, but I am also and Actor who loves to play... and the roles in this film do not come along everyday....even though I know people like this. There has been work generated by a lot of the actors since doing White Girl which raises the value of our film. Lamman Rucker, who plays Drake Moor in our film for example can be seen in Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married....and to me that speaks volumes to the quality of our work and the credibility of what we are doing."

For more on Lia Johnson, and the incredible work she is doing through her company Turn Soul Films, visit online, join the mailing lists and of course, check out "I'm Through With White Girls;" to join the conversation.