Speak Up + Q&A with Kiyémis

About

‘Speak Up is my way of celebrating the history of black women resistance, who, since marooning, through creolity, pan-africanism, negritude and afro-feminism have always invented tools enabling them not to be silenced.’
 
– Amandine Gay
 
Director Amandine Gay’s Afro-feminist documentary intertwines the personal narratives of a group of French women of African descent, conversing about what it means to be a woman today and belong to the Afro community. Sharing experiences and aspirations for the future, this lucid political portrait reveals the problematic discriminations faced by Black women in France and Belgium.

Amandine Gay is a Montreal-based, Afro-feminist filmmaker, activist and journalist. She studied Politics and Dramatic Art and has performed in theatre and television. Gay has worked as a screenwriter and also contributes to Slate Magazine. Most recently, she authored the preface for the first French translation of bell hooks' seminal book Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism (1987/2015). Speak Up is Gay’s first feature length documentary.
 
Kiyémis is an Afro-feminist Parisian writer and blogger. She studied history and political science and founded the blog Les Bavardages de Kiyemis, addressing systemic racism, sexism and fatphobia. She recently published the poetry book A nos humanités révoltées (2018) and has also contributed to Slate Magazine, Atoubaa, Les Glorieuses, M Le magazine du Monde, Grazia and The Huffington Post.