An Interview with Cult/Independent Movie Director Jamaa Fanaka

Talking with the Guerilla Filmmaker Who Always Goes the Extra Mile

Whether you're a famous cult/independent movie enthusiast like Quentin Tarantino or an unknown cult/independent movie enthusiast like me, owning all of director Jamaa Fanaka's films is an absolute priority. From the gritty 70's classics Welcome Home Brother Charles and Emma Mae, to the highly-popular 80's Penitentiary trilogy, to the down-and-dirty early 90's action drama Street Wars, this talented gentleman always delivers a vision that's realistically intense, utterly unique, and completely unforgettable. So needless to say, I was delighted when Mr. Fanaka recently took time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about films, hope, Mr. T, and much more...

SUZANNE: Welcome, Jamaa. Let's begin at the beginning and talk a bit about your childhood. Where did you grow up? Did you enjoy school (or not)? And what were your main interests/hobbies?

JAMAA: I was born in the bedroom of my parents' home at 2636 Prosperity Street in Jackson, Mississippi on September 6, 1942 and raised in that city until my father was granted a transfer on his job to the Los Angeles, California branch of Graybar Electric Company. My mother turned 83 on May 6th and my father turns 91 on July 16th. They are the greatest parents that ever populated the planet. I enjoyed school and was a very good student until the high school hormones kicked in. I always loved to write and thought I would one day become a writer.

SUZANNE: When did you first decide you wanted to make movies, and what prompted that decision?

JAMAA: I became interested in the making of movies at an early age when I received an 8mm camera on my 11th birthday. I took films of the rites of passage of my family members and memorialized them in a DVD movie gift to my mother on the occasion of her 80th birthday. My favorite director was William Wyler and I started thinking that I wanted to do something in film when I saw Ben-Hur. But my dreams did not seem as if they were possible until I was accepted at the UCLA Film School in 1973.

SUZANNE: How much of filmmaking do you think can be taught, and how much is dependent upon creative instinct/preference?