The day I became Black: why is the movie"Speak up” more necessary than ever?

Inspirational speaker Intersectionnality Racial discrimination

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Amandine Gay

Amandine Gay is a committed French filmmaker and writer whose work explores issues of identity, gender and diversity.

☞ Our conferences

"I'm a black, pansexual woman who was born undercover and grew up in a white family in the heart of rural France. I became 'Black' when I changed schools in kindergarten: on my first day in my new playground, a little girl refused to line up with me, saying: 'I'm not giving you my hand, you're Black'".

This anecdote is key because it was the first question Amandine Gay asked the participants in her film "Ouvrir La Voix" (“Speak up”). Her personal experiences as an apprentice actress led her to realize this movie.

Her conference is built around these three extracts:

"She had no profession": The participants talk about their childhood dolls and the consequences of the lack of representation. What is the horizon of possibilities for little black girls who can't see themselves anywhere?
"Cham's curse": The participants discuss colourism (the phenomenon of ranking black people according to their skin tone) and its consequences, particularly in terms of self-esteem.
"Aïssa Maïga: In 2014-2015, when I asked black women to name 5 well-known black French actresses, the answers were not forthcoming... The aim of this conference is to raise employees' awareness of the intersection of gender and racial stereotypes and their impact on the health, self-esteem and employability of black women. To develop empathy for experiences that we are not familiar with.