The True Story of How Moikgantsi Kgama Became a Reel Sister

Moikgantsi Kgama’s parents moved from the Bronx to upstate New York when she was one years old, trading their gritty metropolis life for the more bucolic, suburban existence of Syracuse.

Although not uncommon for New York City families at the time, such a move for the young Kgama was highly consequential. Her family was one of but a handful of black families in her new neighborhood.

Kgama's mother is African-American and her father is from Johannesburg, South Africa, and Kgama recalls how, as a child, watching the entire “Roots” saga made such an enormous impact on her life.

She was curious and creative and she connected with the arts. But she felt so little of what she was exposed to as a child ever seemed to reflect who she was. But the movie “Roots” was her first memory of seeing herself depicted in such an epic way on-screen.

“We watched it as a family back then, and it told the story that I wasn’t getting at school or at church,” said Kgama. “And it’s a shame that it’s not being shown anymore, because at that time, you really weren’t getting that story anywhere else.”

“After that, I was always searching for more outlets that reflected who I was that just weren’t there,” said Kgama.  “I was into artistic expression, so my friends and I got together and formed our own African dance troupe.”

Dance, journalism, plays and stage productions, through high school and college, her love for the creative arts grew, serving always as a backdrop for a discussion around identity.

“People define themselves through the media, because the way the world reflects upon them is through media and propaganda,” said Kgama.

“I wanted to use media is as a source of empowerment, education, a tool for helping shape black people’s view of themselves. But how do you do that on a broad scale?

“You do it through cinema,” she said.

And so, in 1997, Kgama founded ImageNation Cinema Foundation, a Harlem-based non-profit media arts organization that fosters media equity through the establishment of art-house cinemas and venues dedicated to progressive media by and about people of color.

Over the last 15 years, ImageNation has built a body of successful cinema programming events a mile long. ImageNation officially premiered Charles Stone’s True (the basis for the Budweiser Whassup! Commercials), Caran Hartsfield’s Kiss it Up to God, which in the same year went on to win at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival. It also featured Morningside Prep by Malcolm D. Lee, Snapped by actress and director Joie Lee, The Murder of Emmett Till by Stanley Nelson and Lumumba by Raoul Peck.

“Our goal at ImageNation is to develop black audiences, help them deconstruct what they’ve seen and then integrate it into their lives,” Kgama said. “But I wouldn’t say that not everyone can benefit from attending our events, because negative stereotypes affect the world community at large. So the films are for anyone interested in the human experience.”

Every February since 2005, ImageNation has produced film and music events at Lincoln Center in celebration of Black History Month. And from May through November, at the National Black Theater, ImageNation holds a monthly micro-cinema that screens independent short and feature length cinematic works

And in spring 2013, ImageNation will open its flagship Sol Cinema at Mart 125—Harlem’s first and the nation’s only minority-run, art-house movie theater dedicated to presenting Blacks and Latinos in films and music.

“As far as progress in this industry, I think we’ve taken a lot of steps forward and some steps back,” said Kgama. “Some point to Tyler Perry and say, ‘See, we’re making money and he puts a lot of actors to work.’ And I agree; that’s one type of progress.

“But for me, progress is when we can create work that can build positive images of who we are. It’s a double-edged sword, because there’s always the pressure of that bottom line of ‘Will it sell?’

“When you’re a non-profit, your mission comes first. And our mission is to help progressive filmmakers actually build a livelihood off their craft by making sure there’s an audiences there to meet them and support their work.”

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Moikgantsi Kgama will be presented with the Trailblazer Award on Saturday, October 15, at the Reel Sisters Film Festival and Lecture Series, a two-day film festival beginning October 15 -16 at the Kumble Theater on LIU’s Brooklyn campus. Kgama will be honored for her trailblazing role broadening public access to movies directed by people of color that explore history, social issues and highlight marginalized communities.

Also honored will be who will be presented with the Pioneer Award. For more information on for the Reel Sisters Film Festival, call 718-488-1624 or 347-534-3304. For tickets, visit www.reelsisters.org or www.kumbletheater.org.