"Gold": A Dance-Film Starring Black Women as Superheroes, Releases on Sept. 17
“Gold” releases on Sept. 17, 2020. (Picture by Eric McCambridge)
Breonna Taylor’s death angered many and inspired Jade Charon to create a world where Black women are superheroes. Charon took her mission to put Black women at the forefront and her love of dance into her upcoming film, “Gold”.
Gold is not just a dance film, but a visual for Black women to see themselves as powerful and strong.
“I had a dream that a Black girl from Milwaukee could become a superhero. I had a dream that my ancestors were embodied through my friends and they took me to my power,” Charon wrote in a post. “I had a dream that I could celebrate Black girls and their bodies.”
“I had a dream that a Black girl from Milwaukee could become a superhero. I had a dream that my ancestors were embodied through my friends and they took me to power,” Jade Charon wrote in a post. (Picture by Jazmine Holifield)
Although Charon is from Milwaukee, she’s spent the last few years in LA, where she typically shoots her films. Due to COVID, she’s been back home filming. And since she’s back home, she wanted to create something where her friends could participate in it too. Gold not only features Charon, but other Black women as superheroes as well.
It should be noted that every dancer in the film is from Milwaukee.
To pull this film off, Charon had to tap into her childhood mind.
“We need to have something where we’re victorious and something that can spark our imagination,” she said. “Women don’t always have the platform [and] I hope for a second they can tap into their imagination.”
It’s important for Jade Charon to keep Black women as central figures and main characters, while highlighting their voices in her stories. (Picture by Eric McCambridge)
Gold was filmed in a variety of places around Milwaukee, but the main two locations were Alice’s Garden and the Creative Corridor. Ray Nitti is one of the three men responsible for the development of the corridor. He met Charon through a colleague’s suggestion. Charon directed Nitti’s film, “Champion Style”. The film is yet to be released but the single can be found here.
According to Nitti, since Champion Style was shot in the British Virgin Islands, Charon took the time to understand the culture of BVI. He said it was a great experience working with her and is very supportive of her latest film, Gold.
“The impact I know the film will have is us finally seeing representation of ourselves on the big screen and for our homegrown talent to see what is possible in our own city,” Nitti said. “This was also important to me because people [are] able to get a glimpse of what's possible on Center Street at the Creative Corridor. It will bring new hope and foster new energy and ideas for our Black creative community.”
Gold the film is only the first step into creating a world full of Black women superheroes. Charon is currently raising $50,000 to turn Gold into a series based in Milwaukee. The money raised will be used to create a four to five series. Charon compares it to Issa Rae’s Insecure because she plans on highlighting different Milwaukee aspects throughout the series.
Milwaukee is full of talent and she’s going to tap into that for the series. She’s looking for writers, dancers, actresses and more. She’s open to writers and producers outside of Milwaukee, but wants Milwaukee to be the main location of the film.
Unlike the film, the series will have dialogue.
“You feel just from dance, so imagine what you would feel with dialogue,” Charon said.
Gold will release on Sept. 17, 2020 at www.jadecharon.com/gold. More details can be found here.
To donate to the Gold series, click here.