This film is a definitive history of Black dolls, told through the charismatic protagonist, Beullah Mae Mitchell, the filmmaker’s aunt, who helped introduce the first Black Barbie. The film charts what it felt like to grow up with no representation and why it was so important to have a Black Barbie counterpart. In 1980, upon the release of Black Barbie, the film explores what that meant and the impact it had on Generation X. As a litmus test, the film will reimagine the doll test of the 1940s to see how increased representation could impact future generations. This all started with a simple question, ”Why not make a Barbie that looks like me?”
Works-in-Progress Lab / Cucalorus 2019
Bio
Lagueria Davis graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2007 with a BFA in Media Art. Since graduating, Davis has established herself as an award-winning filmmaker. MAID OF DISHONOR a feature she co-wrote was a 2016 Nicholls Fellowship Quarter-Finalist and was a quarter finalist in the 2015 WeScreenplay Competitions. In addition, in 2013 THIS IS NOT A LOVE STORY, a feature script and in 2016 LIGHT IN DARK PLACES a short script placed in the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. In 2018, she shot the LIGHT IN DARK PLACES, which is currently on the film festival circuit, having won best short film at 2019 ClexaCon Film Festival. In most recent news, Davis was selected as 2019 BAVC Media Maker Fellow with her current project in production, BLACK BARBIE: A DOCUMENTARY. Currently, Davis resides in LA where she’s on the board of the Alliance of Women Directors.