Having agency over our image, visually controlling the narrative in a world soiled with racism where our images are manipulated on constant loop in the media, makes The Sound She Saw timely and urgent. These women challenge the status quo by collectively redefining our narrative, image by image.
Having agency over our image, visually controlling the narrative in a world soiled with racism where our images are manipulated on constant loop in the media, makes The Sound She Saw timely and urgent. These women challenge the status quo by collectively redefining our narrative, image by image.
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Story
Mission Statement
I'm a EMMY awarding winning producer, an activist where Black women & girls are at the center and the producer & deputy editor of MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora. This film features all Black women image makers in front of the camera and 90% behind it making this important film.About The Project
The Sound She Saw
What happens when a Black woman photographer has the agency and the controlto reverse the gaze and see the world through her unique lens?
The Sound She Saw is a documentary short film featuring Black women photographers INSPIRED by critically acclaimed photo books Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers and MFON: Woman Photographers of the African Diaspora. The Sound She Saw reveals the history of Black women photographers while showcasing and celebrating the current works of our contemporary photographers.
This film will exquisitely weave the stories and images of Black women photographers revealing and paying homage to the Black women pioneers of photography by painting a colorful palette of multi-genre imagery experienced through our specific lens. The Sound She Saw is a diverse representation of Black women who have and are continuing to create images globally.
In 1986 the photographer Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, featured in The Sound She Saw published the ground-breaking historical book, Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers that chronicled the work of Black women photographers dating back to 1866. Today in 2021, 35 years after Viewfinders, MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora exists, there are Black women creatives that serve as gatekeepers that have the power to curate and hand pick Black women photographers to accurately tell our stories, there's an emergence of new, dynamic and ground-breaking Black women picking up the camera and this film, The Sound She Saw picking up where Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe left off.
Why Now?
During this precarious time in our history the social relevance and context of this film is extremely important. Having agency over our image, visually controlling the narrative in a world soiled with extreme racism where a Black woman can lose her life just by sleeping in her own bed in her own home (Breonna Tayler) or where a Black woman can be killed by questioning and speaking up for herself when pulled over by police (Sandra Bland), where their images are manipulated to criminalize them via constant media loop, makes The Sound She Saw timely, critical and urgent.
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Black women historically have been abused, raped, fetishized (Sarah Baartman, the Hottentot Venus) or used as a scientific experiment (Henrietta Lacks) never able to control their image or their narrative. Having complete agency over one’s image is radical and revolutionary. Documentation through one’s own lens is an act of self-preservation by shifting the power of the gaze, it is the first critical step especially in this climate.
The photographers featured in The Sound She Saw challenge the status quo by collectively redefining our narrative, image by image in ultimate defiance in a world that continues to ignore our ancestral echo and struggle for our humanity, our recognition and representation.
The Sound She Saw is a layered visual experience with images, interviews, audio and music that trace the rhythm of Black women; how we see and move through the world, the strength of our collective heart beats that intimately weave a story that not only feeds the viewer visually but also ultimately feeds their soul.
The Sound She Saw will have an accompanying curriculum that will be available for instruction to elementary, high school and college level students educating the presence, significance and importance of Black women photographers.
A Note about Safety:
We are committed to having a COVID compliant set and post facility following the appropriate protocol is critical in making sure everyone is safe during the full production of The Sound She Saw.
Incentives
$20
Lauri Lyons
Black woman photographer, Lauri Lyon 'Pulls Focus' for $20.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this beautiful film to life.
You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram page.
$50
Shaniqwa Jarvis
Black woman photographer, Shaniqwa Jones 'Frames' her subjects just so for $50.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life.
You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram page and our Website.
$100
Nona Faustine
Black woman photographer, Nona Faustine 'Crops' her images for $100.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this critical film to life.
You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram page and our Website
as well as receive a 'thank you' in the film.
$250
Ayana V. Jackson
Black woman photographer, Ayana V. Jackson checks her 'Exposure' for $250.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life. You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram Page and Website, a 'thank you' in the film and you'll receive exclusive 'behind the scenes' images from set.
$500
Renee Cox
Black woman photographer Renee Cox, plays with 'Depth of Field' for $500.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life.
You'll receive an invitation to our Digital Viewing Party + all previous incentives.
$1,000
Lorna Simpson
Black photographer Lorna Simpson plays with 'Shutter Speeds' for $1,000.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life.
You'll receive a special 'Acknowlegment' in the film + all previous incentives.
$1,500
Carrie Mae Weems
Black woman photographer Carrie Mae Weems checks her 'Aspect Ratio' for $1,500.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life. For your generous contribution you will receive an Associate Producer credit + all previous incentives.
$2,000
Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
Black woman photographer, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe looks through her 'Viewfinder' for $2000.
Thank you for supporting and helping to bring this gorgeous film to life. For your very generous contribution you will receive an Producer credit and a IMDB credit + all previous incentives.
$3,500
Mmekutmfon 'Mfon' Essien
The late Black woman photographer, Mmekutmfon 'Mfon' Essien always 'Found her Light' for #3,500.
Thank you for supporting and helping to bring this gorgeous film to life. For your very generous contribution you will receive an Executive Producer credit and a IMDB credit, a signed print from The Sound She Saw + all previous incentives.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$20
Lauri Lyons
Black woman photographer, Lauri Lyon 'Pulls Focus' for $20.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this beautiful film to life.
You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram page.
$50
Shaniqwa Jarvis
Black woman photographer, Shaniqwa Jones 'Frames' her subjects just so for $50.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life.
You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram page and our Website.
$100
Nona Faustine
Black woman photographer, Nona Faustine 'Crops' her images for $100.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this critical film to life.
You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram page and our Website
as well as receive a 'thank you' in the film.
$250
Ayana V. Jackson
Black woman photographer, Ayana V. Jackson checks her 'Exposure' for $250.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life. You'll receive a very special Social Shoutout on our Instagram Page and Website, a 'thank you' in the film and you'll receive exclusive 'behind the scenes' images from set.
$500
Renee Cox
Black woman photographer Renee Cox, plays with 'Depth of Field' for $500.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life.
You'll receive an invitation to our Digital Viewing Party + all previous incentives.
$1,000
Lorna Simpson
Black photographer Lorna Simpson plays with 'Shutter Speeds' for $1,000.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life.
You'll receive a special 'Acknowlegment' in the film + all previous incentives.
$1,500
Carrie Mae Weems
Black woman photographer Carrie Mae Weems checks her 'Aspect Ratio' for $1,500.
Thank you for supporting the team in bringing this gorgeous film to life. For your generous contribution you will receive an Associate Producer credit + all previous incentives.
$2,000
Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
Black woman photographer, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe looks through her 'Viewfinder' for $2000.
Thank you for supporting and helping to bring this gorgeous film to life. For your very generous contribution you will receive an Producer credit and a IMDB credit + all previous incentives.
$3,500
Mmekutmfon 'Mfon' Essien
The late Black woman photographer, Mmekutmfon 'Mfon' Essien always 'Found her Light' for #3,500.
Thank you for supporting and helping to bring this gorgeous film to life. For your very generous contribution you will receive an Executive Producer credit and a IMDB credit, a signed print from The Sound She Saw + all previous incentives.
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Crystal Whaley
Writer, Director and Executive Producer
Crystal Whaley is a multiple EMMY Award winning creative producer and development executive in film/TV/digital offering a unique combination of cross-functional skills with over 20 years of experience with a specialized expertise in content development and acquisition, strategic brand initiatives and creative direction. Crystal is responsible for the overall financial sustainability and creative integrity of multiple shows/projects, including the oversight of all logistics necessary to meet creative mandates, broadcast standards and brand recognition. She’s developed, produced, directed & supervised award winning series TV, commercials, music videos and nationally syndicated and Peabody nominated documentaries for PBS and The Learning Channel (TLC).Owner and Creative Director of Plan C Media Group, she’s also former VP of Development and Production of Pixel Media LLC / Lionsgate as well as a former senior producer for Sesame Workshop, former Director of Video Production for Arista Records and former Executive Producer of Free Spirit Films Inc. She’s produced a myriad of innovative commercials and music videos for award-wining artists.
A lover of the arts, Crystal is a published photographer and an accomplished curator of the annual “For Us, By Us” at The Long Gallery Harlem in February 2017- 20, ALTAR: Prayer, Ritual, Offering at Photoville NYC in Sept. 2018 & Photoville Los Angeles April 2019 as well as curator for the HBCU’s Art Talk/Date: Kerry James Marshall at the MET Breuer.
She’s the producer & deputy editor of critically acclaimed photo books; MFON: Woman Photographers of the African Diaspora in 2017 and Black Joy and Resistance in 2018 as well as the founder of the forthcoming curatorial project, ‘The M’Dear Project’ debuting at the Museum of Contemporary African Art (MoCADA), Fall 2021.
Crystal is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, this Los Angeles native & honorary New Yorker holds a Journalism degree from Howard University and a Film Production Certificate from New York University.
Activist / Advocate / Mentor
Oya’s Elements Inc. - *Crystal Whaley is the founder and executive director of Oya’s Elements Inc., founded 1994. Oya’s Elements Inc. is a community– based organization that empowers, nurtures and challenges women of color to be their best and most authentic selves. As a collective, Oya’s Elements (OE) creates, promotes and supports progressive social justice, entrepreneurship and innovative educational familial initiatives. OE provides women throughout the NYC area with an educational, social and political platform. Oya’s goal is to empower women, young and old with knowledge, resources, access, opportunity and a voice. Through Oya’s Elements programs, women develop a deeper investment in their lives, communities, and culture as they begin to envision themselves as conduits for change.
Moon Day Rites of Passage Program - *Crystal Whaley is the founder and executive director of Moon Day a mini-rites of passage program for girls of color ages 11-14 that help to foster self-esteem and self- empowerment founded in 2007.
New African Women’s Caucus (NAMC)- *Crystal Whaley is co-founder of New African Women’s Caucus founded in 1997 which works to challenge all forms of oppression that limits girls and women from becoming self- determining individuals and reaching their full potential. Recognizing that cultural, economic, political and social institutions, practices and beliefs limit the human worth of women & girls, NAMC is committed to deconstruction practices, methods and images that perpetuate sexist and homophobic oppression while battling racism.
Ifetayo Cultural Arts - *Crystal Whaley is a former mentor & volunteer for the pre-rites of passage program for girls at Ifetayo Cultural Arts Center Inc. Ifetayo is an arts and cultural organization dedicated to supporting creative, educational and vocational development of youth and families of African descent.
Slate - *Crystal Whaley is the founder of SLATE Inc. an organization of women of color in film and television dedicated to the recruitment and development of young women in film and TV, through mentorship opportunities and scholarship.
Howard University Alumni Association - *Crystal Whaley is the immediate past Vice President of the Howard University Alumni Club of Greater New York.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. - *Crystal Whaley is also a 25 year + proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Caralene Robinson
Producer
Caralene Robinson is Founder and Executive Director of 220th Street Productions. She is a filmmaker and marketer committed to telling meaningful stories. Her career began at companies such as Coca Cola and Sprint. Most recently she ran marketing at VH1 and Logo, launching all series, original movies and documentaries. Several years ago, Caralene expanded beyond award-winning brand and series campaigns by producing documentary ‘Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution’. V73 is currently being adapted into a feature. Next, she served as writer/director of scripted short ‘The Bill.’ The comedy screened at more than dozen festivals, garnered five awards, and can be seen on several platforms including Amazon Prime and kweli.tv.Caralene’s recent projects include producing digital series "Sauce" and Emmy nominated "King Ester", and directing dystopian short ‘Lifeline’ as well as completing her latest writer/director effort, ‘DisordHer.’
"King Ester" screened at fifteen festivals and recently premiered on Issa Rae Presents YouTube Channel. "DisordHer" launched on Amazon Prime and "Lifeline" is in the festival submission phase, while "Sauce"
premiered on BRIC TV in March 2020. Caralene also works with brands having produced, written and directed spots for Dove, AARP and Corcoran. Caralene graduated from Howard University and New York University’s Stern School of Business. -
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