Thursday, March 28, 2024

DeMane Davis: Meet the Director of Netflix’s Inspirational Madam C.J. Walker Story ‘Self Made’

*Madam C.J. Walker is one of the most beloved African American entrepreneurs of all time. And now you can see how this first self-made female millionaire garnered her haircare fortune by watching “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” from March 20, 2020 on Netflix.

The limited four-part series stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer as the title character, Blair Underwood as her husband, Tiffany Haddish as her daughter, Carmen Ejogo as her business rival, Kevin Carroll as her longtime lawyer, and Bill Bellamy as her lawyer’s cousin.

EUR’s Lee Bailey caught up with DeMane Davis, a producer on the project and a director of the last two of four episodes, in a recent phone interview with EURs Lee Bailey.

DeMane told Bailey she had quite the time working on the highly anticipated limited series.

“For me, I’m thrilled that her story gets to be out there,” DeMane said. “I hope it encourages people to read the book it’s based on (‘On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker,’ by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles). It’s a powerful testament to her legacy. You get all of the history.”

DeMane Davis (right) directed the last two episodes of “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” airing on March 20, 2020, on Netflix. (Photo: courtesy of DeMane Davis)

Davis hopes the series inspires everyone to do better.

“You’re talking about a daughter of slaves, married at 14, widowed at 19, and a single mom going door to door in states where black people were still being lynched,” DeMane said. “She went out there and did it – sold products, washed hair and washed clothes, and took in boarders. She hustled and achieved her dreams. If she could do that, then anyone can do anything that they need to do.”

Davis continued, “I hope that it encourages more female entrepreneurs or more entrepreneurship in general. I would love for there to be stats where you can find out how many women are in business just before the show airs and then find out how many women are in business or going into business right after it airs. I think it’s going to encourage a lot of women to pursue their dreams, branch out and become philanthropists like Madam was and to invest in women, which she did before May Kay (from Mary Kay cosmetics).”

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The real Madam C.J.Walker (Photo credit: @MadamCJWalkerOfficialBiography)

Not only is the show about an African American woman, black women working in TV and beyond, ran the show behind the scenes to bring Madam C.J. Walker’s story to life. Some of the black women include Elle Johnson (executive producer), Janine Sherman Barrois (executive producer) and Kira Kelly (cinematographer) – just to name a few.

Additionally, well-known film director Kasi Lemmons also served as an executive producer and directed the first two episodes. DeMane says she had a great rapport with the women.

“They all came up to me individually at different times on the set and said, ‘When I heard that this was going to be a series, I had to be a part of it. I wanted to tell Madam’s story. I heard about her, read about her, and wanted to make sure she got her due.’”

DeMane continued “We shot in Mississauga, Canada and with the amount of production up here, the women and the other crew could have shot on shows with 8 and 10 episodes. But they wanted to do Madam right, to tell her story, and to make sure people know about her legacy.”

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DeMane Davis has directed episodes of “Queen Sugar,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “You,” “Station 19,” and “For The People.” She also directed the 2001 film “Lift,” starring Kerry Washington. (Photo: @kidnoble)

Born and raised in the Roxbury area of Boston, Massachusetts, DeMane Davis was working in advertising as a creative director when she started directing independent films. Her 2001 “Lift” film, which starred Kerry Washington as a professional shoplifter, was selected for the prestigious Sundance Director’s and Screenwriter’s Labs. It was also honored with two Spirit Award nominations. While continuing to work in entertainment and in advertising directing several commercials, another phenomenal black woman – Ava DuVernay – came a calling three years ago with the offer of more work.

ava duvernay
Ava DuVernay contacted DeMane Davis personally to work on “Queen Sugar,” created by DuVernay.

“She slipped into my DMs on Twitter,” DeMane said. “I was freelancing, and she sent me an email on Twitter that said, ‘Hey sis’ – and I was like, ‘OMG! Sis!’ She was like, ‘You’re a real renaissance woman’ and at this point an art director sitting across from me said. ‘You’re blushing! What’s happening?’”

What was happening was that DuVernay was trying to find writers for the then-upcoming “Queen Sugar” show that she created, and she wanted Davis to submit scripts for consideration. Although Davis wasn’t chosen initially. After a year of researching and determination, Davis began working on “Queen Sugar.” She directed two episodes of season 2 and for season 3, she pulled double duty as a director and producer.

“I call myself a proud product of the ‘Ava effect,’” Davis said. “Because if she did not give me that opportunity I would not be here. I’m really grateful to be on this ride and to work on these incredible shows with these amazing craftspeople and actors.”

Other shows DeMane Davis directed include “How to Get Away With Murder,” “You,” “Station 19,” and “For The People.” “Lift,” starring Kerry Washington, is currently streaming on Amazon. For more info on DeMane, go here.

Meanwhile, do not forget to watch “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” starting March 20 on Netflix.

 

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