“This video is not the normal kind of social commentary that I would normally do,” said Filmmaker and Videographer Clement Cann. “It’s really more of a promotion of the Black Rep.” A screening of Cann’s film The Black Rep: 25 Years and the Best is Yet to Come which was shot in 2001, will be taking place on Monday, May 7th at 7 p.m. at the Schlafly branch Library.
“I was taping the Vincent Terrell memorial and Linda Smith asked Marsha if I had any documentaries that she thought I would be interested in screening,” Cann said. “We talked and the answer was yes and that’s how this evolved.”
Marsha, who is Cann’s wife, was one of the original company members of the Black Rep and is featured in the documentary.
The film coincided with the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Black Rep taking place on the campus of Washington University.
“A lot of the taping that I did for this project occurred during the celebration,” Cann said. “There were several artists with national standing who were here and it made for an opportune moment to talk with people who don’t live in St. Louis and who had some history with the Black Rep.”
With more than 30 years of experience in the filmmaking and video industry, Cann is optimistic about the technological advancements that he predicts will create more opportunities within the industry.
“There are a lot of venues and the venues are constantly expanding for showing media. From the Web, to Playstations to Podcasts – its just blowing up,” Cann said. “Its going to create a demand for more media and it’s going to open up the art form,” said Cann.
Cann believes that the new advances will also diminish what he believes to be one of the biggest obstacles in the filmmaking business – distribution.
“It will allow people who don’t negotiate millions to create media and to make a living and to share their work with people worldwide.”
Cann admits that as a filmmaker he as always been against the grain as far as what I want people to get another perspective on the creation of motion pictures.
“It’s vast and it’s not one thing and its not one approach,” Said Cann, who entered the film industry as a vehicle for social activism. “Most people have the misconception that film is about trying to recreate some type of reality to try to convince people of something. That’s a very narrow approach to filmmaking that I never bought into.”
Cann says that you don’t have to go to Hollywood and be a star and manage a lot of money in order to realize whatever your dreams are in terms of media.
He is currently in the process of completing a documentary about singer Fontella Bass.
“The Fontella piece will tie together a lot of what I’ve been trying to do over the years,” Cann said. “Although Fonny is the focus of it, the idea is the voices of St. Louis. Look at one black family here in St. Louis and look at the music and the art that comes out of them.”
“There are black people making documentary films and people need to be aware of that fact,” said Cann. “ Not all of them look the same and not all of them end up at some of the venues that you would normally be exposed to.”
The Screening of The Black Rep: 25 Years and the Best is Yet to Come will take place this Monday, May 7th at 7 p.m. at the Schlafly Branch Library. For more information call (314) 367-4120.
