Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2017 discoveries”.
Vivian Bang: The Third Industrial Revolution – Office of Jeremy Rifkin
Naomi Klein’s : NO IS NOT ENOUGH / to resisting Trump’s Shock Politics
Alfonsina y el Mar: Song by Mercedes Sosa about an Argentine radical poet from 1920-1930’s who killed herself by the sea …
RADICAL WOMEN: LATIN AMERICAN ART 1960-1985 art show at the Hammer Museum. Blew my mind about the dense feminist heritage
Lavallee: On paper, Sophia appears to be an amalgamation of progressive discourses on how the artist can no longer be subjugated by cultural, identity and art community politics. Could you briefly describe her DNA, her drive, where does this fire from within come from?
Bang: I think Sophia has always had a bit of resistance to the dominant cultural paradigms and oversimplified narratives. She’s a bit of an anarchist but without the labels. She is a truth seeker, calling out marginalized history & asking uncomfortable questions. Only when we can call out our fears, & have dialogues, can it no longer have power over us. So she’s given this permission to herself to be unapologetic in her quest for answers. She’s a pure artist. Medium of sorts.
Lavallee: This is a fusion-like collaboration with Daryl. What were some eureka moments on his part in terms of the screenwriting process?
Bang: Wow, I feel like the whole journey of this film were eureka moments. From the moment of creating a performance piece called “CAN YOU HEAR ME?” and having Daryl Wein in the audience truly hear me and want to further collaborate on this film/ asking about the artist’s personal struggles was a great discovery. I told him how after my performance piece, I had some anti-blackness questions raised and how I would love to further that dialogue of inclusion. And Daryl had the idea.
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