Smoke, Lilies and Jade
Oakland, California | Film Short
History, LGBTQ
"Smoke, Lilies and Jade" is a narrative short based on Richard Bruce Nugent's ground-breaking 1927 prose poem. One of the first positive depictions of same-sex desire in American letters, our visually rich adaptation of Nugent's story celebrates the untold history of the queer Harlem Renaissance.
Smoke, Lilies and Jade
Oakland, California | Film Short
History, LGBTQ
2 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $15,030 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
55 supporters | followers
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"Smoke, Lilies and Jade" is a narrative short based on Richard Bruce Nugent's ground-breaking 1927 prose poem. One of the first positive depictions of same-sex desire in American letters, our visually rich adaptation of Nugent's story celebrates the untold history of the queer Harlem Renaissance.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
In a 1926 arts magazine called Fire!!, a young Harlem Renaissance writer, Richard Bruce Nugent, published the first positive depiction of same-sex love in American letters, “Smoke, Lilies and Jade.”
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Reviled upon its publication, Nugent’s prose poem suffered decades of obscurity before being rediscovered in the 1980s. It has since been hailed not only for its ground-breaking subject matter but for the beauty of its writing. Our film adaptation, the first of its kind, will introduce this lyrical queer masterpiece to the widest possible audience.
For those of you familiar with "Congo Cabaret," shown in the pitch video, "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" will also be incorporated into a feature-length documentary about how queers shaped the Harlem Renaissance in profound and as-yet-not-widely-recognized ways. The vision here is large, but "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" will make history on its own merits.
This will be the second collaboration between the Black queer directing couple, Deondray and Quincy Gossfield, and Shoga Films. For the last decade, Shoga has been producing music videos and documentaries that highlight the queer Harlem Renaissance (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/queerbluesdivas). Recently the Gossfields joined the team to bring their narrative directorial skills to adaptations of literary texts from the period. Our first project, "Congo Cabaret," is currently on the festival circuit, has been accepted into a dozen different festivals, and has garnered several awards. The Gossfields secured top-rate talent, such as Parisa Fitz-Henley (Midnight, Texas) and Kevin Daniels (Modern Family).
The time is 1926. That means costumes, sets, locations in addition to the usual filmmaking apparatus of actors, hair and makeup, cameras, lighting, script supervision. There will also be a musical performance: a singer, a pianist, a studio recording to synch to the video.
Our team has already demonstrated that we can turn the literary products of the queer Harlem Renaissance into gorgeous film, a medium that has potentially far greater reach than the printed word. Nugent's prose is sensuous, wave-like, drawing his audience into the mind and feelings of a young artist coming to self-knowledge both sexually and psychologically. Because "Smoke . . ." is the best-known literary representation of the queer Harlem Renaissance, it has value both as a work of art and a testament of historic witness. We were there -- even then. And we were Black, literate, sophisticated, funny, complex, passionate. Our script will put that on the screen.
Gains made by Blacks and queers over the past decades are in jeopardy. Being Black AND queer has never been simple. The general public is not aware that the Harlem Renaissance was as gay as it was Black. "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" reminds us that queer expression stretches back for almost a century, that Blacks created queer content and culture, that queer visibility was not the sole provenance of white LGBT people.
We're excited about launching this project. We have new energy and collaborators involved in Shoga Films as we move forward with "Smoke, Lilies and Jade." We hope that you will be part of the process and contribute to this important project. Thank you for you support.
For those of you who are interested in such things, here's a pie chart of where the money's going. You might notice that what we're raising won't cover the expenses of the projected budget, but we'll make up the shortfall somehow. Indie filmmakers live on hope and largesse.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Producing Staff
Costs $2,000
Directors Deondray and Quincy Gossfield have agreed to work at far below their normal rate for this.
Camera package, sound equipment, lighting and grip
Costs $5,000
Rental of good camera package, sound and lighting equipment will insure high production values.
Rights, Music and Talent
Costs $3,350
Our talent consists not only of the actors but a singer performing a spiritual.
Crew and Personnel
Costs $4,350
Cinematographer, sound recorder, art director, gaffer, makeup artist, grip will work for rock-bottom
Craft Services
Costs $300
Our two-day shoot requires feeding cast and crew 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and snacks.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
DIRECTORS
DEONDRAY AND QUINCY GOSSFIELD
Artists and activists Deondray and Quincy LeNear Gossfield are the creators of the award-winning film anthology series, The DL Chronicles, The Chadwick Journals, and The DL Chronicles RETURNS; recipient of the 2008 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Television Anthology. Noted in 2013 by BET as one of the leading Black gay power couples, the creative team has also developed and produced TV series such as Bring Your Own Talent (Lifetime), Kocktails with Khloé (FYI), The Zane Chronicles (HBO/Cinemax), Face Off (Syfy), Family Dance Off (ABC), Randy Jackson’s America’s Best Dance Crew (MTV), The Sing Off (NBC), Make Your Mark Shake It Up Dance Off (The Disney Channel), and The Laugh Factor (CW). They made history when they were married at 56th Annual Grammy Awards during Macklemore’s performance of “Same Love,” featuring Madonna and Mary Lambert and officiated by Queen Latifah.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - SHOGA FILMS
ROBERT PHILIPSON
Robert Philipson has produced and directed an impressive body of work in the last 14 years. His first film festival entry,“Ma Rainey’s Lesbian Licks” (2005), played in 20 different festivals. His subsequent videos have screened in over 100 film festivals around the country and abroad. Four of them, including “T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness,” (2011), “The Lives of LaMott Atkins” (2014), the feature-length Body and Soul: An American Bridge (2016), and the narrative short “Congo Cabaret” (2016) which he co-wrote and produced, have won festival awards.
CONSULTING PRODUCER
MARC SMOLOWITZ
Marc is a multi-award winning director, producer, and executive producer with more than 20 years of experience across all aspects of the entertainment and media business. His career focus has been powerful social-issue filmmaking across all genres. His long list of credits include films that have screened at top-tier festivals including Sundance, Berlinale, AFI Docs, IDFA Tokyo, and Melbourne, among others. Amongst his better-known features are The Watermelon Woman, The Weather Underground, and most recently Paternal Rites.
LINE PRODUCER
MARY CELENZA
Mary has worked as a supervising producer for television since 2009. She is best known for 19 episodes of Face-Off but has also worked on The Sing-Off and America's Best Dance Crew.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
In a 1926 arts magazine called Fire!!, a young Harlem Renaissance writer, Richard Bruce Nugent, published the first positive depiction of same-sex love in American letters, “Smoke, Lilies and Jade.”
Reviled upon its publication, Nugent’s prose poem suffered decades of obscurity before being rediscovered in the 1980s. It has since been hailed not only for its ground-breaking subject matter but for the beauty of its writing. Our film adaptation, the first of its kind, will introduce this lyrical queer masterpiece to the widest possible audience.
For those of you familiar with "Congo Cabaret," shown in the pitch video, "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" will also be incorporated into a feature-length documentary about how queers shaped the Harlem Renaissance in profound and as-yet-not-widely-recognized ways. The vision here is large, but "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" will make history on its own merits.
This will be the second collaboration between the Black queer directing couple, Deondray and Quincy Gossfield, and Shoga Films. For the last decade, Shoga has been producing music videos and documentaries that highlight the queer Harlem Renaissance (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/queerbluesdivas). Recently the Gossfields joined the team to bring their narrative directorial skills to adaptations of literary texts from the period. Our first project, "Congo Cabaret," is currently on the festival circuit, has been accepted into a dozen different festivals, and has garnered several awards. The Gossfields secured top-rate talent, such as Parisa Fitz-Henley (Midnight, Texas) and Kevin Daniels (Modern Family).
The time is 1926. That means costumes, sets, locations in addition to the usual filmmaking apparatus of actors, hair and makeup, cameras, lighting, script supervision. There will also be a musical performance: a singer, a pianist, a studio recording to synch to the video.
Our team has already demonstrated that we can turn the literary products of the queer Harlem Renaissance into gorgeous film, a medium that has potentially far greater reach than the printed word. Nugent's prose is sensuous, wave-like, drawing his audience into the mind and feelings of a young artist coming to self-knowledge both sexually and psychologically. Because "Smoke . . ." is the best-known literary representation of the queer Harlem Renaissance, it has value both as a work of art and a testament of historic witness. We were there -- even then. And we were Black, literate, sophisticated, funny, complex, passionate. Our script will put that on the screen.
Gains made by Blacks and queers over the past decades are in jeopardy. Being Black AND queer has never been simple. The general public is not aware that the Harlem Renaissance was as gay as it was Black. "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" reminds us that queer expression stretches back for almost a century, that Blacks created queer content and culture, that queer visibility was not the sole provenance of white LGBT people.
We're excited about launching this project. We have new energy and collaborators involved in Shoga Films as we move forward with "Smoke, Lilies and Jade." We hope that you will be part of the process and contribute to this important project. Thank you for you support.
For those of you who are interested in such things, here's a pie chart of where the money's going. You might notice that what we're raising won't cover the expenses of the projected budget, but we'll make up the shortfall somehow. Indie filmmakers live on hope and largesse.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Producing Staff
Costs $2,000
Directors Deondray and Quincy Gossfield have agreed to work at far below their normal rate for this.
Camera package, sound equipment, lighting and grip
Costs $5,000
Rental of good camera package, sound and lighting equipment will insure high production values.
Rights, Music and Talent
Costs $3,350
Our talent consists not only of the actors but a singer performing a spiritual.
Crew and Personnel
Costs $4,350
Cinematographer, sound recorder, art director, gaffer, makeup artist, grip will work for rock-bottom
Craft Services
Costs $300
Our two-day shoot requires feeding cast and crew 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and snacks.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
DIRECTORS
DEONDRAY AND QUINCY GOSSFIELD
Artists and activists Deondray and Quincy LeNear Gossfield are the creators of the award-winning film anthology series, The DL Chronicles, The Chadwick Journals, and The DL Chronicles RETURNS; recipient of the 2008 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Television Anthology. Noted in 2013 by BET as one of the leading Black gay power couples, the creative team has also developed and produced TV series such as Bring Your Own Talent (Lifetime), Kocktails with Khloé (FYI), The Zane Chronicles (HBO/Cinemax), Face Off (Syfy), Family Dance Off (ABC), Randy Jackson’s America’s Best Dance Crew (MTV), The Sing Off (NBC), Make Your Mark Shake It Up Dance Off (The Disney Channel), and The Laugh Factor (CW). They made history when they were married at 56th Annual Grammy Awards during Macklemore’s performance of “Same Love,” featuring Madonna and Mary Lambert and officiated by Queen Latifah.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - SHOGA FILMS
ROBERT PHILIPSON
Robert Philipson has produced and directed an impressive body of work in the last 14 years. His first film festival entry,“Ma Rainey’s Lesbian Licks” (2005), played in 20 different festivals. His subsequent videos have screened in over 100 film festivals around the country and abroad. Four of them, including “T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness,” (2011), “The Lives of LaMott Atkins” (2014), the feature-length Body and Soul: An American Bridge (2016), and the narrative short “Congo Cabaret” (2016) which he co-wrote and produced, have won festival awards.
CONSULTING PRODUCER
MARC SMOLOWITZ
Marc is a multi-award winning director, producer, and executive producer with more than 20 years of experience across all aspects of the entertainment and media business. His career focus has been powerful social-issue filmmaking across all genres. His long list of credits include films that have screened at top-tier festivals including Sundance, Berlinale, AFI Docs, IDFA Tokyo, and Melbourne, among others. Amongst his better-known features are The Watermelon Woman, The Weather Underground, and most recently Paternal Rites.
LINE PRODUCER
MARY CELENZA
Mary has worked as a supervising producer for television since 2009. She is best known for 19 episodes of Face-Off but has also worked on The Sing-Off and America's Best Dance Crew.