00:00:00
Speaker 1: As a television director. It's so funny because, like if I wanted to just go out and do a movie, it's hard for me to convince people that I can do a movie. Like they're like, but you do TV.
00:00:10
Speaker 2: You do DV, which is so weird. Hey, it's a girl, Nancy Red. And this is season four of Mompreneurs, where we celebrate beautiful black entrepreneurs who are also amazing moms. Now every week I'm chatting with my guests about how they are killing it simultaneously as business mogul and as a mom, and we're listening to their inspiring journeys and incredible advice. Today's guest is a creative force behind some of television's most powerful storytelling. Crystal Vivi Dorsey is a powerhouse writer, director, and producer whose work has helped to shape some of the most culturally rich and beloved series on TV. She's the producing director behind Genius MLKX on That Geo, which is a series honored by the Television and Her credits also include The Gilded Age, b Enough, and so many more, including a short film that she just completed with her very own actor husband, Can't Wait to Talk To her about that she's navigating the fast paced world of television, marriage and motherhood with grace, purpose and power. So please welcome our guest Crystal today. Thank you so much for being here.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having me. That was such a beautiful introduction.
00:01:26
Speaker 2: Well, you're a beautiful person, and I'm married to an actor myself, so I love the hustle. I love the partnership and the fact that you are doing so well navigating everything. Congratulations.
00:01:38
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. As you know, it's a hustle, but it's one that we love, it's.
00:01:45
Speaker 2: One that you love it. When you were a little girl, could you have imagined that you are all people living in the big city of Los Angeles, California with your actor husband.
00:01:56
Speaker 1: I know no, I could not have imagined it. You know. I grew up in a small town and Making, Georgia and so like, coming up in the South, there weren't a lot of people that I could look up to that that did what I wanted to do. Like, I didn't know any other black women who I just grew up around who were directors, So I could not imagine it at all growing up.
00:02:23
Speaker 2: You're from Macon, Georgia, I'm from Martinsville, Virginia, and all we had access to were magazines and television, but there were no real life role models. There was no social media for us to see people who looked like us doing the things we wanted to do. And so when you were growing up, though, you were as adjacent to the industry as you could be because you had an initial hustle as a teenage photographer. Right.
00:02:50
Speaker 1: I love photography. I got a job in high school at a small camera shop, and I learned how to sell cameras, and the more I and since I had to learn how to sell cameras, I had to learn about it and I became fascinated with it, and I realized one day I was like converting some We used to convert people's home movies into vhs because like people would come in I'm dating myself now, okay, I'm old, but people would come in with like these little film reels with their home movies on them, and we would project those onto the wall and record them so that they could go on tape. And watching that I realize I was like, this is all we have to preserve our memories. Film and photography is all we have to like capture moments and be able to go back and look at them later. And so I just fell in love with the concept of it. And I've been in love with photography since I was a teenager.
00:03:58
Speaker 2: Which makes sense for your eye and how you look at media and how best to present the actors behind the scene. It makes sense that you're married to an actor because you're always looking at him in the best light. You're drafting him. So it's so sweet because not only are you a professional and wife, but now you are a mom. So before we get too far into the morepreneur side of things, let's give a little personal talk to us about who puts the mom in your mompreneur.
00:04:28
Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness, my baby jj Omar Johnny Junior. We also call him Jack Jack. He is almost a year and a half now, and he is just my sun shine, son shine. And yes, I always wanted to be a boy mom. Always always wanted to be a boy mom. And then when I got pregnant, I was like, let me just be good with either or like I'm fine. But when I knew, when I found doubt that he was a boy, I was like, I was so excited, So like, yes, I'm on cloud nine with my baby boy. I love him so much more than the world itself.
00:05:10
Speaker 2: I love that. How has motherhood changed or how has it deepened your perspective as a storyteller?
00:05:17
Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness, that's such a great question. You know, I thought that I understood, but I never knew love as unconditionally as I do now as a mom. And so I think that like the compassion for humanity and also the understanding and the patience of working with creatives and the process of it all. When you when you're directing, you know, you bring your mom skills into that. You bring the patients, you bring the compassion. You know, you bring that same kind of tenderness and nurturing into the process of creating and directing as well. And the cast and the crew they respond to it and they feel it and they really appreciate it. And I've gotten, you know, compliments on it on the way that I am on set, just because you know, it is a creative process. And sometimes actors can be kind of like children in a way, not in a bad way, but you know, not in a bad way, but in an innocent way and in a vulnerable way, and like they're in front of the camera, like exposing everything, and so they need a little bit of nurturing and support and mothering in a way sometimes. So it's really been amazing kind of subtly bringing those skills into what I do.
00:06:47
Speaker 2: And you bring up a great point, you are behind the camera talent, which you know until you know, you know, what was the spark that made you realize that not only I want to be the one shape stories from behind the camera, but even that that's a that's a that's a career.
00:07:04
Speaker 1: You know, coming in as a photographer and then just falling in love with film, I didn't know that I wanted to be a director specifically. What happened was I went to graduate school at Savannah College of Art and Design, and in my film classes, they would they were like, you only need five people to make a movie, right, You need, you know, an actor, you need a director, you need a producer, you need an editor, and I think you need a sound person. And so we would take turns in all those different roles, and when I got to the directing role, it just came so naturally, and I was I was really always like the best in my class, not being cocky or anything. But I was just always kind of like an extra step ahead of everyone in that in that area when I would direct, and then and then when I got out of school and I started doing short films, I had mentors and I had people who would encourage me and say, you know, you're a great director. You should think about this seriously as a career. But I didn't really know immediately that I was a director. I just knew that I loved film and I loved filmmaking, and that I had some I was going to be involved in it in some capacity for sure.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: Now, you and your peers at college saw these talents. But was this something that you really thought I can go and be a creative, be an artist, moved to New York or California and go after this or was there a pull from your family to pursue a more traditional career.
00:08:47
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, and yes, you know, I'm the first person in my family to pursue a career in film and television, so you know, and again, like growing up in Middle Georgia, like my my mother, they don't my mother, my father, they didn't know or understand what that looks like to work in film and television and what does that mean. My mama was like, are you gonna have health insurance because you.
00:09:19
Speaker 2: Need That's a fair question. That's a fair question.
00:09:22
Speaker 1: And I was like, no, actually, but later I will. So she was just kind of like, I think you need to go with something a little more safe and where you're gonna have, you know, she cares for me. She's like, you need to clock in and clock out and have like a steady paycheck and insurance and things like that. But when my mother saw how I was excelling and progressing and she started to see my films and the short films that I would do, she realized that it was something that I really really loved. And then she was like, oh, this is something that you're really serious about. And she began to support me from a young age, and that meant the world to me. But yes, there was definitely initially that like whoa, what are you doing for my family? But I just had to I just had to show them, you know, exactly what it looked like, because because none of us really knew what it looked like well.
00:10:22
Speaker 2: Right, And one thing that I've learned in my twenty years out here is that there's so much canolical knowledge that you literally just have to learn through osmosis. You learn by doing, you learn b being around it, which is why you see so many families doing well in this clime. And my husband actually refers to those of us like yourself and like us who we do not have family connections as entertainment immigrants, right yeah, because we're coming here winging in a prayer, no health insurance, no connections, just trying to hustle for the mess up.
00:10:55
Speaker 1: You know.
00:10:56
Speaker 2: So when you're figuring this out in the early years, what were some of the challenges that sh your voice and drive, Like how did you get a foothold as to who Crystal the artist really was and what your voice needed to be.
00:11:10
Speaker 1: Each of us has have our own view on the world, right and mine specifically was something that I was like, huh, I don't know if everybody views this from the angle that I view it from. And so it was about there was a process of not only discovering that but realizing the value in it. And it's something that I always love to tell aspiring directors or artists in any arena is like the way that you see the world is unlike anyone else, and once you realize that and realize the value in it. You can really kind of like appreciate it and embrace it and push it into your work. And so, you know, we see the world the way we see the world every day, so we don't really think it's anything special. It's like, whatever, that's just how I see it. But putting your vision in front of someone else, they're like, oh, I never thought about it that way, or oh I didn't see it that way. So that's why we do what we do. And so you know, for me, it was just about honoring the way I see the world, realizing it was special, and figuring out how to take that and infuse it into my films the best way that I could.
00:12:37
Speaker 2: And I think that comes across like your your nuance is a through line throughout all of your work, Like it's exactly who you are. You're committed to telling stories through your lens, you know, which is a girl from Georgia. You know, like, and that's fantastic. What would you say was the first time that you felt that that who you were and how great you are was requited? Like what was your big break where someone got you and gave you an opportunity to really showcase just how special your vision is.
00:13:08
Speaker 1: My first big break was I was working as an assistant. You know, from getting into the film industry, I had always worked as like a production assistant, a secretary and assistant to the producer and assistant to the director. I wanted to be as close to the magic as I could be, so you know, I would take those positions, and so I had assistant directors for years. It probably was like going on ten years I had been I had been doing that after, you know, after my work as a production assistant. So I had been in the industry for like almost fifteen years before I started professionally directing. So I was working on a show called Greenleaf, and Greenleaf I was assisting the produce director and by then I had already directed many short films over the years, and I told him, you know, when I was interviewing in the position, I said, I'm an aspiring director who is looking for her first big opportunity and I love learning from great directors like yourself. And so I got the job. And then after like a couple of seasons on green Leaf, an opportunity arose for me to direct the show, and I really went after it. Very aggressively, and I know I like got on people's nerves because I was like annoyingly aggressive about it. I was like, I can shoot this show my you know, I grew up, But you have to do it.
00:14:46
Speaker 2: You have to you have to shoot your shot again and again.
00:14:50
Speaker 1: Listen, You've got to be your biggest to your leader, like nobody's gonna believe in you the way that more than you believe in yourself, like period.
00:14:59
Speaker 2: Because you might have annoying, But who got the opportunity exactly?
00:15:02
Speaker 1: And if I had not been annoying, I don't know, if you know you, I don't know if I would have gotten it. Because I couldn't just sit back and wait for someone to see me and say, you know what, we should give Crystal a shot. I had to go in there and say, you know, you should give me a shot. You don't know what you're missing. And you know I grew up in the Black Church, you know, I understood that world. I had been working on that show for years, and I felt like they should really give me a shot. And I went after it and went after it and went after it. And there were different tiers of people I had to go through. I had to get through my boss Harpo Films, you know Oprah Winfrey's network. The executives over there had to believe in me. Lionsgate the studio, those executives had to believe in me. I had meetings with all of them to prove to them that I was capable of doing this, and even then they still were like, we don't know, we'll see. But finally they I guess I got on their nerves enough. It gave me a shot, and it felt like I was like coming off the home bench, Like I got so much support and encouragement from the cast and the crew to finally be directing. And then when I started doing my thing, they were kind of like, oh, you're actually good at this. You know, we thought you we were kind of throwing you a bone, but like, we see that, you know, you're doing us a favor. So they actually hired me again to do another episode. So I ended up doing two episodes of that, and then after that, I just kind of kept going on different shows, like I was working back to back doing different episodes of different shows. And most recently another break came when and I started working with Ryan Murphy Productions. My first show with them was Doctor Otyssey, which lived for like first season show on ABC about a big cruise ship, and it was an interesting tone. And when I and when I did that show, Ryan Murphy was like, we are looking for the right tone for this show, Like help us find exactly what this show can be, you know, And so you know, I feel like I really listened to what he was trying to accomplish with the show, and I got in there and I was able to kind of pull out what the show really wanted to feel like, and so he really responded great to that. Since then, I've done like seven episodes of television for Ryan Murphy just in the past year. It's been wow. Crazy Yeah, yeah.
00:18:00
Speaker 2: That and in dispecially this year because our industry is confused, and so just the fact that your reputation speaks for yourself and you have repeat clientele, it's a big deal here.
00:18:13
Speaker 1: It is a big deal. And I'm so grateful because, like some of the best people in our industry have been having trouble finding work lately, since our industry, as you say, is in a weird place. So you know, I'm just so grateful to be working because, like I know, it could be any other way. So it's been really fun and it's been a major blessing. But I would say those have been two of my most like life changing, like big breaks in my career.
00:18:46
Speaker 2: Because Jack Jack needs diapers.
00:18:49
Speaker 1: Jack Jackney, Jack Jack's keep growing Like I'm like, I just bought you some shoes and your feet keep growing. So Jack Jackney, baby these shoes.
00:19:00
Speaker 2: How don curiosity do you find as someone who's been in the industry before motherhood and after motherhood, you know, it used to be women in media, women in filmmaking needed to really keep their lives compartmentalized. Do you find it to be different in your experience? Do you find that the Ryan Murphys of the world, the other people that hire you for all the beautiful projects that you work on, are they interested in Crystal just the filmmaker or the holistic Crystal experience mother in All.
00:19:29
Speaker 1: You know, I think it's the whole Crystal experience mother in All. I really feel like I connect even better with people on set who I work with when they know that I'm a mom. It's like they understand me a little bit better, like, oh, you're a mom, got it. Like it's almost like they appreciate you more too, because they know you ain't getting no sleep and they know how hard it is. They know that, like when you go home, you're still working and even being a away from my baby for the first time when I went to work, you know, it was important for me to be able to express that to people, like that was my first time experiencing like separation anxiety and like being away from him for so long. You know, we are on set at least twelve hours a day, and so I brought him to set sometimes, but he couldn't stay there all day every day, so you know, I had to be able to like express that to the people who were around me all day, like I missed my baby, you know, and look and I would. I'm always checking in on his baby monitor when he's napping, you know, so like, yeah, and they really appreciate that. They really appreciate it and understand me more for it.
00:20:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, not getting any sleep, but you are human. How do you protect your time and your energy so you're able to show up both for your art and for your family.
00:20:54
Speaker 1: I think I protect my time by maximizing my time. I'm at the point where I really kind of can't afford to put things off or procrastinate, and so I just maximize my time. I just try my best to fill my time with something because what I realized that does is if I go ahead and take care of it now, then later that might give me more time with JJ because I've already taken care of the laundry, or I've already done that little piece of work that I needed to do, or I've already sent that email. So now that I can be present with my kid and I can play with him and not have to worry about like, oh, I forgot to email that person back, Let me do that right quick. You know, I can just be there, present, playing with him. So for me, it's about like when I have time, I maximize it and get things done.
00:21:56
Speaker 2: You and your husband are such a creative dream team. You're both thriving in industry, you're both deeply respected. Balancing the demands of careers, kids, and also romance can be difficult. You know, like you said, you know you you love working with actors, but sometimes you got to shut that off. How do you shut off the director part of you and step in two wife roles?
00:22:19
Speaker 1: Sometimes I love shutting off director. I'm like, please let me shut off the director I make. I make so many decisions in a day at work that like, I love for my husband to make decisions. Please just decide, like what we're going to do for dinner or what date night is going to be, Like I don't even want to have to think about it. So I tell Omar that and he embraces that, which I love, and he, you know, he he'll ask me like do you want me to choose a place? Do you want me to do this, or do you want to choose? So he still allows me to like make those choices when I want to, but he understands it when I'm like, babe, like my brain is fried. Whatever you want to do, I'm fine, and he's like, Okay, let's do this. So I really love that about him, And you know, I'm I'm I'm not trying to direct at home most you know, most of the time, I'm just trying to unless I have to. I'm just trying to like finally get a break from all the decisions and and all the pressure.
00:23:30
Speaker 2: Really, it's true, and it's and it's a blessing to be able to get a break. So you can't help yourself because recently you did mix family with professionalism. You are directing your husband in a film that you shot this summer.
00:23:46
Speaker 1: Right, I am. Yes, We me and Omar Dorsey worked together for the first time as first time.
00:23:54
Speaker 2: This is the very first time you've barked together.
00:23:56
Speaker 1: The very very first time.
00:23:58
Speaker 2: No, that's wild.
00:24:00
Speaker 1: I know, it's crazy, right, And yes, we worked together for the first time, and it was really amazing. You know, he's so funny because sometimes I would go in and give him notes and he would be so proud of me as you know, as my husband, as his wife, and he would be like, oh, look at my baby directed.
00:24:23
Speaker 2: You know.
00:24:23
Speaker 1: It would be so funny.
00:24:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, what did you learn about each other in this in this process?
00:24:30
Speaker 1: What I learned about my husband during this process? It seems like like the scenes that I thought would be harder for him, like the more emotional ones, those were really easy for him. The scenes that were a bit tougher were the ones where he had to kind of maintain a certain happiness or cover up like his true feelings. You know, I think that Omar finds it easier as an actor to spose and be more vulnerable, so when he's asked to, like sometimes you have to cover things up because that's what we do in life, right, And so you know, I found that out about him, which I thought was really interesting. And and he loves being directed, you know. He he loves input and he and he loves to be talked to and and to help kind of like find the best thing, whereas like oh Mar the husband, you can you know, he doesn't like to be told what to do, you know, at all at all? Like you know, oh Mar the man does not like to be told what to do.
00:25:41
Speaker 2: But pay in some ways. You were like, I need to direct you in films more often.
00:25:46
Speaker 1: Because you are because you're listening to me. And that was that was our ongoing joke. I was like, Okay, are you gonna listen to me when I'm trying to direct you in this thing? Because like, yeah, you he doesn't like to be told what to do, and I still tell him what to do, but I just got to do it, you know, in a certain type of way. You know how it is.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: We learned our strategies.
00:26:09
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, well, so tell us exactly what is the film and is it making the circuits in the film festivals and what was the purpose because in twenty twenty five.
00:26:20
Speaker 2: If you making a film is not just to be making a film. You got too many responsibilities, You have goals right around this film was what was the purpose in spending your precious time directing a film with your actor husband.
00:26:36
Speaker 1: Well, there were it. You know, there were many reasons why this film was important to make, many many reasons, one being I had this idea for this short film a while ago. I was driving somewhere, me and o Mar both were in the car, and I saw this man outside in a wheelchair and he looked miserable. He was just kind of sitting out in the front yard and he just looked like miserable. And I could tell that the person who was his caretaker, that person was kind of like sitting on the porch, you know, behind him, like just kind of you could tell he kind of just rolled him out there to get some air. And in my head, it sparked this whole story of you know, how our elders are going through still going through a lot of experiences with depression, with different feelings that they're having as they get older. You know that I think are really kind of downplayed or not really brought out in a lot of film and TV and stories. So I thought about that, and I thought like, how great it would be to tell the story of of an elder who's getting older and who's facing mortality and and what that feels like. And at the same time, I was also dealing with the loss of my grandmother, you know, and so I was I was thinking about her in her last months, you know, with us, and how you know, she really went through a lot. You know, she she missed her husband, and she missed the pre COVID days when she could go hang out with her friends. And you know, I was like, we we tend to kind of like overshadow the way that our elders are feeling. And then when I looked it up, when I looked up the stats of you know, our suicide rates in America. You know, men over seventy five have the highest suicide rate in the country in Canada, and I was like, wow, I never knew that, and I don't know a lot I don't know if a lot of people know that.
00:29:05
Speaker 2: I did not know that.
00:29:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, everybody who I told that statistic too, had no idea. And so I also was like, we need to raise awareness of that and raise awareness of the state of depression in our elders and in people who are going through a really tough part of life. And so I wanted to tell that story. But I also wanted to tell that story because obviously it's a heavy, heavy subject, right, and I wanted to infuse some joy into it, some laughter, you know. And so that's what drama is. Drama makes us laugh, it makes us cry, you know. And so when I wrote it, I wrote it with the intention of, you know, bringing people into this really tough subject through like but still allowing them to have moments of laughter and enjoy. You know. There are highs and lows in this film that I really appreciate. So that was really the most important reason to tell this story. And then the fact that like it being a short film as a television as a television director, it's so funny because like, if I wanted to just go out and do a movie, it's hard for me to convince people that I can do a movie, Like they're like, but you do TV, you.
00:30:34
Speaker 2: Do DV, which is so weird.
00:30:35
Speaker 1: It's so weird. So I also needed to do a film so that I could show that I could do a film, which is like crazy, right, But yeah, whatever I gotta. You know, I'll play the game. But I'm proud of.
00:30:49
Speaker 2: You for acknowledging that a simulated But they just need to take me as I am, you know, like you're just you're just like, all right, fine, you need this, I will provide it for you. It serves multiple purposes. And the film is called Mister Benjamin's Birthday.
00:31:03
Speaker 1: Correct, Yes, the film is called Mister Benjamin's Birthday. We had a relationship with Macro through James Lopez, and James Lopez is a big fan of both Omar's work and my work, and he told us that he was like, you know, Macro sometimes might fund a short film, you know, depending on what it is, and send me the script. So when I sent him the script, he was just like wow. He loved it, loved it, loved it, and we were able to get it funded through Macro, which was a dream. And so that's how the film came to be amazing.
00:31:46
Speaker 2: When are we all going to get to see mister Benjamin's Birthday?
00:31:50
Speaker 1: So Mister Benjamin's Birthday has just started like getting submitted to festivals, and what I would love to do is build some awareness around the film so that when we are selected at festivals and there are screenings in different cities. You know, I know who to blast that out to, and you know, we have an Instagram page MBB the film, and I'm also starting to collect email addresses for those people who want to stay in the know about it because I think there's going to be screenings all over the country at some point. They're going to be popping up at different festivals in different cities, and I definitely want to keep people updated on when those screenings are. It has not yet made its world premiere, so you know, I'll definitely let people know when that is well.
00:32:47
Speaker 2: And it's such an important topic. Like you said, it's a work of art, it's a showcase for you, but it's also bringing to light an issue that a lot of people aren't aware of, which is suicide in elderly men.
00:32:57
Speaker 1: So for me, like that is the epitome of like what I do filmmaking for. It's to spark those conversations that could be life changing, you know what I mean. So, like I hope that this film sparks those types of conversations and helps people understand what these people are actually really going through. It's also about you know, Omar Dorsey. In the movie, he plays the caretaker of mister Benjamin. Mister Benjamin is played by Barry Shabaka Henley, who is a legend of an actor, and Omar plays his caretaker and Omar himself his character has sort of stopped living in a way. He's sort of lost his joy, He's lost his essence of like what used to make him happy. He used to dance with his with his homeboys, Like they used to just have a dance group for no reason, Like they weren't trying to be stars. They just used to get together and dance. And so he stopped doing that after he like lost the love. You know, a girl, ex girlfriend, she you know, she's still living, but she she ain't will So you know, it's about him also like understanding his own rebirth and understanding how important it is to keep living. So he's forever changed by you know, his experience with mister Benjamin. And you know, and it's and it's also about the film is also about life. It's about life, it's about death, it's about rebirth, it's about joy and the importance of it.
00:34:38
Speaker 2: So like and what I can hear, it's also what I really love is about male emotions. As someone with a teenage son who's very careful to protect his peace and also to encourage open communication. Do we need that in our community more than ever? Goodness?
00:34:54
Speaker 1: Right? Do we need it more than ever? And you know, and and I'm so glad you said that, because I do feel like our men do need nurturing and our men need that type of attention because, like I said, the statistic is seventy five year old men, and you know have the highest suicide rate seventy five and older. So like it's something that specifically is a male issue. And it's like, you know, we tend to think men are just supposed to be strong, but men are taught that they can't cry and they can't express their emotions like most of their life. So what happens with all of those bottled up, pressed down, suppressed emotions all throughout their life? Like you know? So that's why, you know, I'm obviously a woman who makes films, and I think a lot of times I'm expected to just make movies about women because I'm a woman. But I'm a storyteller and I wanted to tell this story about the black man specifically, and I think it's very important that we that we do that. You know, I love.
00:36:13
Speaker 2: It because you're not just a woman your boy mom.
00:36:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, I am, Yes, I am, And.
00:36:18
Speaker 2: I can tell you that my son has my daughter is my best day. My son has my heart. And I think it's very important what you're doing, because you know, we've got to make sure that we we think holistically about everyone in our family. And one thing that's fun is you and your husband. As I said, my husband, I referred to us as entertainment immigrants, but you know what our kids are not. And when our kids decided to join the industry, it was a whole lot easier for them than it was for us. They just show up. Do you have any dreams of little jack Jack following in his daddy's footsteps.
00:36:54
Speaker 1: You know what. He is so expressive and quite dramatic as well, So I do feel like there's a little bit of that in him. I can't really tell yet, but I do want to say that I would encourage him if that were the case. You know, we have these conversations on set all the time. They're like, if my daughter decides to go in this business, I'm gonna tell her no, no, My.
00:37:25
Speaker 2: Husband was like, why would I encurase this? But that's because it was just so hard for us. But for them, this is it's just like, oh, this is what the family does. It's a whole it's a whole.
00:37:34
Speaker 1: Re vibe exactly. And I and I think the sooner you go ahead and embrace it, the better off they'll be. You know, the earlier they're able to like start exploring it and understanding it, the the better off they'll be. They won't have to wait till later in life to sort of like jump in late because you know, their parents were pushing against it or whatever. So I want him to do whatever he wants to.
00:38:01
Speaker 2: Do one hundred percent. But you know, being in our industry, I think that tapping into your emotions and having a heart and being able to express yourself, we're losing more and more and so what better way than to expression happen than through the arts. But you know, but here's the thing, we can get caught up in Jack Jack Jack. Jack's a year and a half. You know, he's got the whole rest of his life to figure it out. For you, you've been able to accomplish so much and you've got the short that's coming out. Do you have another dream project that's something personal or close to your heart that you hope to bring to life one day? And this is part of what I like to call Mompreneur's manifestations, where say what you want to come into the universe and world, and we will wish good vibes towards it for you.
00:38:45
Speaker 1: I've always loved sci fi. Like my my favorite author is Octavia Butler. Love Octavia, love, but love love Octavia, And I love Octavia because so many reasons, but like because I Tavia. Like first of all, there's people who look like us in her stories, who are dealing with the changes of the world, dealing with the future in certain ways. And honestly, I think if everybody read in Octavia Butler book right now, they would feel more empowered to face the craziness that's going on in society right now, because she talks about it all in her books. She talks about the everything, the crazy time.
00:39:39
Speaker 2: Was she psychic? Did she travel from the future? Is that why she loved us so soon? Is because she'd already lived half a lifetime in the future.
00:39:46
Speaker 1: In the future, Come on, I love it, and so you know, and so I think bringing those types of stories, whether it's like bringing Octavia Butler's actual stories to life, which I know there are a lot of lucky, lucky people out there who are developing her stories or bringing stories like that to life. You know, sci fi is vast. You have robots and aliens, but then you have like the grounded sci fi that's like rooted in real life and human experience, and those are the type of stories that like I would just like explode in excitement to do so like putting it out there in the universe. Momentrepreneur manifestation, I love that.
00:40:35
Speaker 2: But you are amazing and we will have to wait a little bit for mister Benjamin's birthday. But in the introim, while we'll wait, where can people find you so they can learn more about you and all the things that you're doing.
00:40:47
Speaker 1: I'm on ig As Crystal the Creative. My name is spelled with an L E no a, so it's croy As TL the Creative and I'm there. And also, you know the next show, the show, the next big show that's coming out that I worked on is called All's Fair and it premieres on November fourth on Hulu. And I'm excited about that show because the cast is incredible and I did two episodes of that show, one of which is the finale of the of the season. So like, I'm really excited about that, So tune in the All's Fair in November when when that comes out.
00:41:32
Speaker 2: I love it. You think you're so much. This was so much fun. You're absolutely incredible.
00:41:37
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. You had great questions, great conversation. I appreciate you.
00:41:41
Speaker 2: Oh well, we appreciate you too, and of course we appreciate everyone who's listening to and watching Mompreneurs. As a reminder, a brand new episode goes live every Monday on Urban one podcast network, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or where we get your podcasts. Visit urbanwepodcast dot com, flord more, that's Urban the number one podcast dot com.
Speaker 1: As a television director. It's so funny because, like if I wanted to just go out and do a movie, it's hard for me to convince people that I can do a movie. Like they're like, but you do TV.
00:00:10
Speaker 2: You do DV, which is so weird. Hey, it's a girl, Nancy Red. And this is season four of Mompreneurs, where we celebrate beautiful black entrepreneurs who are also amazing moms. Now every week I'm chatting with my guests about how they are killing it simultaneously as business mogul and as a mom, and we're listening to their inspiring journeys and incredible advice. Today's guest is a creative force behind some of television's most powerful storytelling. Crystal Vivi Dorsey is a powerhouse writer, director, and producer whose work has helped to shape some of the most culturally rich and beloved series on TV. She's the producing director behind Genius MLKX on That Geo, which is a series honored by the Television and Her credits also include The Gilded Age, b Enough, and so many more, including a short film that she just completed with her very own actor husband, Can't Wait to Talk To her about that she's navigating the fast paced world of television, marriage and motherhood with grace, purpose and power. So please welcome our guest Crystal today. Thank you so much for being here.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having me. That was such a beautiful introduction.
00:01:26
Speaker 2: Well, you're a beautiful person, and I'm married to an actor myself, so I love the hustle. I love the partnership and the fact that you are doing so well navigating everything. Congratulations.
00:01:38
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. As you know, it's a hustle, but it's one that we love, it's.
00:01:45
Speaker 2: One that you love it. When you were a little girl, could you have imagined that you are all people living in the big city of Los Angeles, California with your actor husband.
00:01:56
Speaker 1: I know no, I could not have imagined it. You know. I grew up in a small town and Making, Georgia and so like, coming up in the South, there weren't a lot of people that I could look up to that that did what I wanted to do. Like, I didn't know any other black women who I just grew up around who were directors, So I could not imagine it at all growing up.
00:02:23
Speaker 2: You're from Macon, Georgia, I'm from Martinsville, Virginia, and all we had access to were magazines and television, but there were no real life role models. There was no social media for us to see people who looked like us doing the things we wanted to do. And so when you were growing up, though, you were as adjacent to the industry as you could be because you had an initial hustle as a teenage photographer. Right.
00:02:50
Speaker 1: I love photography. I got a job in high school at a small camera shop, and I learned how to sell cameras, and the more I and since I had to learn how to sell cameras, I had to learn about it and I became fascinated with it, and I realized one day I was like converting some We used to convert people's home movies into vhs because like people would come in I'm dating myself now, okay, I'm old, but people would come in with like these little film reels with their home movies on them, and we would project those onto the wall and record them so that they could go on tape. And watching that I realize I was like, this is all we have to preserve our memories. Film and photography is all we have to like capture moments and be able to go back and look at them later. And so I just fell in love with the concept of it. And I've been in love with photography since I was a teenager.
00:03:58
Speaker 2: Which makes sense for your eye and how you look at media and how best to present the actors behind the scene. It makes sense that you're married to an actor because you're always looking at him in the best light. You're drafting him. So it's so sweet because not only are you a professional and wife, but now you are a mom. So before we get too far into the morepreneur side of things, let's give a little personal talk to us about who puts the mom in your mompreneur.
00:04:28
Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness, my baby jj Omar Johnny Junior. We also call him Jack Jack. He is almost a year and a half now, and he is just my sun shine, son shine. And yes, I always wanted to be a boy mom. Always always wanted to be a boy mom. And then when I got pregnant, I was like, let me just be good with either or like I'm fine. But when I knew, when I found doubt that he was a boy, I was like, I was so excited, So like, yes, I'm on cloud nine with my baby boy. I love him so much more than the world itself.
00:05:10
Speaker 2: I love that. How has motherhood changed or how has it deepened your perspective as a storyteller?
00:05:17
Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness, that's such a great question. You know, I thought that I understood, but I never knew love as unconditionally as I do now as a mom. And so I think that like the compassion for humanity and also the understanding and the patience of working with creatives and the process of it all. When you when you're directing, you know, you bring your mom skills into that. You bring the patients, you bring the compassion. You know, you bring that same kind of tenderness and nurturing into the process of creating and directing as well. And the cast and the crew they respond to it and they feel it and they really appreciate it. And I've gotten, you know, compliments on it on the way that I am on set, just because you know, it is a creative process. And sometimes actors can be kind of like children in a way, not in a bad way, but you know, not in a bad way, but in an innocent way and in a vulnerable way, and like they're in front of the camera, like exposing everything, and so they need a little bit of nurturing and support and mothering in a way sometimes. So it's really been amazing kind of subtly bringing those skills into what I do.
00:06:47
Speaker 2: And you bring up a great point, you are behind the camera talent, which you know until you know, you know, what was the spark that made you realize that not only I want to be the one shape stories from behind the camera, but even that that's a that's a that's a career.
00:07:04
Speaker 1: You know, coming in as a photographer and then just falling in love with film, I didn't know that I wanted to be a director specifically. What happened was I went to graduate school at Savannah College of Art and Design, and in my film classes, they would they were like, you only need five people to make a movie, right, You need, you know, an actor, you need a director, you need a producer, you need an editor, and I think you need a sound person. And so we would take turns in all those different roles, and when I got to the directing role, it just came so naturally, and I was I was really always like the best in my class, not being cocky or anything. But I was just always kind of like an extra step ahead of everyone in that in that area when I would direct, and then and then when I got out of school and I started doing short films, I had mentors and I had people who would encourage me and say, you know, you're a great director. You should think about this seriously as a career. But I didn't really know immediately that I was a director. I just knew that I loved film and I loved filmmaking, and that I had some I was going to be involved in it in some capacity for sure.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: Now, you and your peers at college saw these talents. But was this something that you really thought I can go and be a creative, be an artist, moved to New York or California and go after this or was there a pull from your family to pursue a more traditional career.
00:08:47
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, and yes, you know, I'm the first person in my family to pursue a career in film and television, so you know, and again, like growing up in Middle Georgia, like my my mother, they don't my mother, my father, they didn't know or understand what that looks like to work in film and television and what does that mean. My mama was like, are you gonna have health insurance because you.
00:09:19
Speaker 2: Need That's a fair question. That's a fair question.
00:09:22
Speaker 1: And I was like, no, actually, but later I will. So she was just kind of like, I think you need to go with something a little more safe and where you're gonna have, you know, she cares for me. She's like, you need to clock in and clock out and have like a steady paycheck and insurance and things like that. But when my mother saw how I was excelling and progressing and she started to see my films and the short films that I would do, she realized that it was something that I really really loved. And then she was like, oh, this is something that you're really serious about. And she began to support me from a young age, and that meant the world to me. But yes, there was definitely initially that like whoa, what are you doing for my family? But I just had to I just had to show them, you know, exactly what it looked like, because because none of us really knew what it looked like well.
00:10:22
Speaker 2: Right, And one thing that I've learned in my twenty years out here is that there's so much canolical knowledge that you literally just have to learn through osmosis. You learn by doing, you learn b being around it, which is why you see so many families doing well in this clime. And my husband actually refers to those of us like yourself and like us who we do not have family connections as entertainment immigrants, right yeah, because we're coming here winging in a prayer, no health insurance, no connections, just trying to hustle for the mess up.
00:10:55
Speaker 1: You know.
00:10:56
Speaker 2: So when you're figuring this out in the early years, what were some of the challenges that sh your voice and drive, Like how did you get a foothold as to who Crystal the artist really was and what your voice needed to be.
00:11:10
Speaker 1: Each of us has have our own view on the world, right and mine specifically was something that I was like, huh, I don't know if everybody views this from the angle that I view it from. And so it was about there was a process of not only discovering that but realizing the value in it. And it's something that I always love to tell aspiring directors or artists in any arena is like the way that you see the world is unlike anyone else, and once you realize that and realize the value in it. You can really kind of like appreciate it and embrace it and push it into your work. And so, you know, we see the world the way we see the world every day, so we don't really think it's anything special. It's like, whatever, that's just how I see it. But putting your vision in front of someone else, they're like, oh, I never thought about it that way, or oh I didn't see it that way. So that's why we do what we do. And so you know, for me, it was just about honoring the way I see the world, realizing it was special, and figuring out how to take that and infuse it into my films the best way that I could.
00:12:37
Speaker 2: And I think that comes across like your your nuance is a through line throughout all of your work, Like it's exactly who you are. You're committed to telling stories through your lens, you know, which is a girl from Georgia. You know, like, and that's fantastic. What would you say was the first time that you felt that that who you were and how great you are was requited? Like what was your big break where someone got you and gave you an opportunity to really showcase just how special your vision is.
00:13:08
Speaker 1: My first big break was I was working as an assistant. You know, from getting into the film industry, I had always worked as like a production assistant, a secretary and assistant to the producer and assistant to the director. I wanted to be as close to the magic as I could be, so you know, I would take those positions, and so I had assistant directors for years. It probably was like going on ten years I had been I had been doing that after, you know, after my work as a production assistant. So I had been in the industry for like almost fifteen years before I started professionally directing. So I was working on a show called Greenleaf, and Greenleaf I was assisting the produce director and by then I had already directed many short films over the years, and I told him, you know, when I was interviewing in the position, I said, I'm an aspiring director who is looking for her first big opportunity and I love learning from great directors like yourself. And so I got the job. And then after like a couple of seasons on green Leaf, an opportunity arose for me to direct the show, and I really went after it. Very aggressively, and I know I like got on people's nerves because I was like annoyingly aggressive about it. I was like, I can shoot this show my you know, I grew up, But you have to do it.
00:14:46
Speaker 2: You have to you have to shoot your shot again and again.
00:14:50
Speaker 1: Listen, You've got to be your biggest to your leader, like nobody's gonna believe in you the way that more than you believe in yourself, like period.
00:14:59
Speaker 2: Because you might have annoying, But who got the opportunity exactly?
00:15:02
Speaker 1: And if I had not been annoying, I don't know, if you know you, I don't know if I would have gotten it. Because I couldn't just sit back and wait for someone to see me and say, you know what, we should give Crystal a shot. I had to go in there and say, you know, you should give me a shot. You don't know what you're missing. And you know I grew up in the Black Church, you know, I understood that world. I had been working on that show for years, and I felt like they should really give me a shot. And I went after it and went after it and went after it. And there were different tiers of people I had to go through. I had to get through my boss Harpo Films, you know Oprah Winfrey's network. The executives over there had to believe in me. Lionsgate the studio, those executives had to believe in me. I had meetings with all of them to prove to them that I was capable of doing this, and even then they still were like, we don't know, we'll see. But finally they I guess I got on their nerves enough. It gave me a shot, and it felt like I was like coming off the home bench, Like I got so much support and encouragement from the cast and the crew to finally be directing. And then when I started doing my thing, they were kind of like, oh, you're actually good at this. You know, we thought you we were kind of throwing you a bone, but like, we see that, you know, you're doing us a favor. So they actually hired me again to do another episode. So I ended up doing two episodes of that, and then after that, I just kind of kept going on different shows, like I was working back to back doing different episodes of different shows. And most recently another break came when and I started working with Ryan Murphy Productions. My first show with them was Doctor Otyssey, which lived for like first season show on ABC about a big cruise ship, and it was an interesting tone. And when I and when I did that show, Ryan Murphy was like, we are looking for the right tone for this show, Like help us find exactly what this show can be, you know, And so you know, I feel like I really listened to what he was trying to accomplish with the show, and I got in there and I was able to kind of pull out what the show really wanted to feel like, and so he really responded great to that. Since then, I've done like seven episodes of television for Ryan Murphy just in the past year. It's been wow. Crazy Yeah, yeah.
00:18:00
Speaker 2: That and in dispecially this year because our industry is confused, and so just the fact that your reputation speaks for yourself and you have repeat clientele, it's a big deal here.
00:18:13
Speaker 1: It is a big deal. And I'm so grateful because, like some of the best people in our industry have been having trouble finding work lately, since our industry, as you say, is in a weird place. So you know, I'm just so grateful to be working because, like I know, it could be any other way. So it's been really fun and it's been a major blessing. But I would say those have been two of my most like life changing, like big breaks in my career.
00:18:46
Speaker 2: Because Jack Jack needs diapers.
00:18:49
Speaker 1: Jack Jackney, Jack Jack's keep growing Like I'm like, I just bought you some shoes and your feet keep growing. So Jack Jackney, baby these shoes.
00:19:00
Speaker 2: How don curiosity do you find as someone who's been in the industry before motherhood and after motherhood, you know, it used to be women in media, women in filmmaking needed to really keep their lives compartmentalized. Do you find it to be different in your experience? Do you find that the Ryan Murphys of the world, the other people that hire you for all the beautiful projects that you work on, are they interested in Crystal just the filmmaker or the holistic Crystal experience mother in All.
00:19:29
Speaker 1: You know, I think it's the whole Crystal experience mother in All. I really feel like I connect even better with people on set who I work with when they know that I'm a mom. It's like they understand me a little bit better, like, oh, you're a mom, got it. Like it's almost like they appreciate you more too, because they know you ain't getting no sleep and they know how hard it is. They know that, like when you go home, you're still working and even being a away from my baby for the first time when I went to work, you know, it was important for me to be able to express that to people, like that was my first time experiencing like separation anxiety and like being away from him for so long. You know, we are on set at least twelve hours a day, and so I brought him to set sometimes, but he couldn't stay there all day every day, so you know, I had to be able to like express that to the people who were around me all day, like I missed my baby, you know, and look and I would. I'm always checking in on his baby monitor when he's napping, you know, so like, yeah, and they really appreciate that. They really appreciate it and understand me more for it.
00:20:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, not getting any sleep, but you are human. How do you protect your time and your energy so you're able to show up both for your art and for your family.
00:20:54
Speaker 1: I think I protect my time by maximizing my time. I'm at the point where I really kind of can't afford to put things off or procrastinate, and so I just maximize my time. I just try my best to fill my time with something because what I realized that does is if I go ahead and take care of it now, then later that might give me more time with JJ because I've already taken care of the laundry, or I've already done that little piece of work that I needed to do, or I've already sent that email. So now that I can be present with my kid and I can play with him and not have to worry about like, oh, I forgot to email that person back, Let me do that right quick. You know, I can just be there, present, playing with him. So for me, it's about like when I have time, I maximize it and get things done.
00:21:56
Speaker 2: You and your husband are such a creative dream team. You're both thriving in industry, you're both deeply respected. Balancing the demands of careers, kids, and also romance can be difficult. You know, like you said, you know you you love working with actors, but sometimes you got to shut that off. How do you shut off the director part of you and step in two wife roles?
00:22:19
Speaker 1: Sometimes I love shutting off director. I'm like, please let me shut off the director I make. I make so many decisions in a day at work that like, I love for my husband to make decisions. Please just decide, like what we're going to do for dinner or what date night is going to be, Like I don't even want to have to think about it. So I tell Omar that and he embraces that, which I love, and he, you know, he he'll ask me like do you want me to choose a place? Do you want me to do this, or do you want to choose? So he still allows me to like make those choices when I want to, but he understands it when I'm like, babe, like my brain is fried. Whatever you want to do, I'm fine, and he's like, Okay, let's do this. So I really love that about him, And you know, I'm I'm I'm not trying to direct at home most you know, most of the time, I'm just trying to unless I have to. I'm just trying to like finally get a break from all the decisions and and all the pressure.
00:23:30
Speaker 2: Really, it's true, and it's and it's a blessing to be able to get a break. So you can't help yourself because recently you did mix family with professionalism. You are directing your husband in a film that you shot this summer.
00:23:46
Speaker 1: Right, I am. Yes, We me and Omar Dorsey worked together for the first time as first time.
00:23:54
Speaker 2: This is the very first time you've barked together.
00:23:56
Speaker 1: The very very first time.
00:23:58
Speaker 2: No, that's wild.
00:24:00
Speaker 1: I know, it's crazy, right, And yes, we worked together for the first time, and it was really amazing. You know, he's so funny because sometimes I would go in and give him notes and he would be so proud of me as you know, as my husband, as his wife, and he would be like, oh, look at my baby directed.
00:24:23
Speaker 2: You know.
00:24:23
Speaker 1: It would be so funny.
00:24:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, what did you learn about each other in this in this process?
00:24:30
Speaker 1: What I learned about my husband during this process? It seems like like the scenes that I thought would be harder for him, like the more emotional ones, those were really easy for him. The scenes that were a bit tougher were the ones where he had to kind of maintain a certain happiness or cover up like his true feelings. You know, I think that Omar finds it easier as an actor to spose and be more vulnerable, so when he's asked to, like sometimes you have to cover things up because that's what we do in life, right, And so you know, I found that out about him, which I thought was really interesting. And and he loves being directed, you know. He he loves input and he and he loves to be talked to and and to help kind of like find the best thing, whereas like oh Mar the husband, you can you know, he doesn't like to be told what to do, you know, at all at all? Like you know, oh Mar the man does not like to be told what to do.
00:25:41
Speaker 2: But pay in some ways. You were like, I need to direct you in films more often.
00:25:46
Speaker 1: Because you are because you're listening to me. And that was that was our ongoing joke. I was like, Okay, are you gonna listen to me when I'm trying to direct you in this thing? Because like, yeah, you he doesn't like to be told what to do, and I still tell him what to do, but I just got to do it, you know, in a certain type of way. You know how it is.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: We learned our strategies.
00:26:09
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, well, so tell us exactly what is the film and is it making the circuits in the film festivals and what was the purpose because in twenty twenty five.
00:26:20
Speaker 2: If you making a film is not just to be making a film. You got too many responsibilities, You have goals right around this film was what was the purpose in spending your precious time directing a film with your actor husband.
00:26:36
Speaker 1: Well, there were it. You know, there were many reasons why this film was important to make, many many reasons, one being I had this idea for this short film a while ago. I was driving somewhere, me and o Mar both were in the car, and I saw this man outside in a wheelchair and he looked miserable. He was just kind of sitting out in the front yard and he just looked like miserable. And I could tell that the person who was his caretaker, that person was kind of like sitting on the porch, you know, behind him, like just kind of you could tell he kind of just rolled him out there to get some air. And in my head, it sparked this whole story of you know, how our elders are going through still going through a lot of experiences with depression, with different feelings that they're having as they get older. You know that I think are really kind of downplayed or not really brought out in a lot of film and TV and stories. So I thought about that, and I thought like, how great it would be to tell the story of of an elder who's getting older and who's facing mortality and and what that feels like. And at the same time, I was also dealing with the loss of my grandmother, you know, and so I was I was thinking about her in her last months, you know, with us, and how you know, she really went through a lot. You know, she she missed her husband, and she missed the pre COVID days when she could go hang out with her friends. And you know, I was like, we we tend to kind of like overshadow the way that our elders are feeling. And then when I looked it up, when I looked up the stats of you know, our suicide rates in America. You know, men over seventy five have the highest suicide rate in the country in Canada, and I was like, wow, I never knew that, and I don't know a lot I don't know if a lot of people know that.
00:29:05
Speaker 2: I did not know that.
00:29:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, everybody who I told that statistic too, had no idea. And so I also was like, we need to raise awareness of that and raise awareness of the state of depression in our elders and in people who are going through a really tough part of life. And so I wanted to tell that story. But I also wanted to tell that story because obviously it's a heavy, heavy subject, right, and I wanted to infuse some joy into it, some laughter, you know. And so that's what drama is. Drama makes us laugh, it makes us cry, you know. And so when I wrote it, I wrote it with the intention of, you know, bringing people into this really tough subject through like but still allowing them to have moments of laughter and enjoy. You know. There are highs and lows in this film that I really appreciate. So that was really the most important reason to tell this story. And then the fact that like it being a short film as a television as a television director, it's so funny because like, if I wanted to just go out and do a movie, it's hard for me to convince people that I can do a movie, Like they're like, but you do TV, you.
00:30:34
Speaker 2: Do DV, which is so weird.
00:30:35
Speaker 1: It's so weird. So I also needed to do a film so that I could show that I could do a film, which is like crazy, right, But yeah, whatever I gotta. You know, I'll play the game. But I'm proud of.
00:30:49
Speaker 2: You for acknowledging that a simulated But they just need to take me as I am, you know, like you're just you're just like, all right, fine, you need this, I will provide it for you. It serves multiple purposes. And the film is called Mister Benjamin's Birthday.
00:31:03
Speaker 1: Correct, Yes, the film is called Mister Benjamin's Birthday. We had a relationship with Macro through James Lopez, and James Lopez is a big fan of both Omar's work and my work, and he told us that he was like, you know, Macro sometimes might fund a short film, you know, depending on what it is, and send me the script. So when I sent him the script, he was just like wow. He loved it, loved it, loved it, and we were able to get it funded through Macro, which was a dream. And so that's how the film came to be amazing.
00:31:46
Speaker 2: When are we all going to get to see mister Benjamin's Birthday?
00:31:50
Speaker 1: So Mister Benjamin's Birthday has just started like getting submitted to festivals, and what I would love to do is build some awareness around the film so that when we are selected at festivals and there are screenings in different cities. You know, I know who to blast that out to, and you know, we have an Instagram page MBB the film, and I'm also starting to collect email addresses for those people who want to stay in the know about it because I think there's going to be screenings all over the country at some point. They're going to be popping up at different festivals in different cities, and I definitely want to keep people updated on when those screenings are. It has not yet made its world premiere, so you know, I'll definitely let people know when that is well.
00:32:47
Speaker 2: And it's such an important topic. Like you said, it's a work of art, it's a showcase for you, but it's also bringing to light an issue that a lot of people aren't aware of, which is suicide in elderly men.
00:32:57
Speaker 1: So for me, like that is the epitome of like what I do filmmaking for. It's to spark those conversations that could be life changing, you know what I mean. So, like I hope that this film sparks those types of conversations and helps people understand what these people are actually really going through. It's also about you know, Omar Dorsey. In the movie, he plays the caretaker of mister Benjamin. Mister Benjamin is played by Barry Shabaka Henley, who is a legend of an actor, and Omar plays his caretaker and Omar himself his character has sort of stopped living in a way. He's sort of lost his joy, He's lost his essence of like what used to make him happy. He used to dance with his with his homeboys, Like they used to just have a dance group for no reason, Like they weren't trying to be stars. They just used to get together and dance. And so he stopped doing that after he like lost the love. You know, a girl, ex girlfriend, she you know, she's still living, but she she ain't will So you know, it's about him also like understanding his own rebirth and understanding how important it is to keep living. So he's forever changed by you know, his experience with mister Benjamin. And you know, and it's and it's also about the film is also about life. It's about life, it's about death, it's about rebirth, it's about joy and the importance of it.
00:34:38
Speaker 2: So like and what I can hear, it's also what I really love is about male emotions. As someone with a teenage son who's very careful to protect his peace and also to encourage open communication. Do we need that in our community more than ever? Goodness?
00:34:54
Speaker 1: Right? Do we need it more than ever? And you know, and and I'm so glad you said that, because I do feel like our men do need nurturing and our men need that type of attention because, like I said, the statistic is seventy five year old men, and you know have the highest suicide rate seventy five and older. So like it's something that specifically is a male issue. And it's like, you know, we tend to think men are just supposed to be strong, but men are taught that they can't cry and they can't express their emotions like most of their life. So what happens with all of those bottled up, pressed down, suppressed emotions all throughout their life? Like you know? So that's why, you know, I'm obviously a woman who makes films, and I think a lot of times I'm expected to just make movies about women because I'm a woman. But I'm a storyteller and I wanted to tell this story about the black man specifically, and I think it's very important that we that we do that. You know, I love.
00:36:13
Speaker 2: It because you're not just a woman your boy mom.
00:36:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, I am, Yes, I am, And.
00:36:18
Speaker 2: I can tell you that my son has my daughter is my best day. My son has my heart. And I think it's very important what you're doing, because you know, we've got to make sure that we we think holistically about everyone in our family. And one thing that's fun is you and your husband. As I said, my husband, I referred to us as entertainment immigrants, but you know what our kids are not. And when our kids decided to join the industry, it was a whole lot easier for them than it was for us. They just show up. Do you have any dreams of little jack Jack following in his daddy's footsteps.
00:36:54
Speaker 1: You know what. He is so expressive and quite dramatic as well, So I do feel like there's a little bit of that in him. I can't really tell yet, but I do want to say that I would encourage him if that were the case. You know, we have these conversations on set all the time. They're like, if my daughter decides to go in this business, I'm gonna tell her no, no, My.
00:37:25
Speaker 2: Husband was like, why would I encurase this? But that's because it was just so hard for us. But for them, this is it's just like, oh, this is what the family does. It's a whole it's a whole.
00:37:34
Speaker 1: Re vibe exactly. And I and I think the sooner you go ahead and embrace it, the better off they'll be. You know, the earlier they're able to like start exploring it and understanding it, the the better off they'll be. They won't have to wait till later in life to sort of like jump in late because you know, their parents were pushing against it or whatever. So I want him to do whatever he wants to.
00:38:01
Speaker 2: Do one hundred percent. But you know, being in our industry, I think that tapping into your emotions and having a heart and being able to express yourself, we're losing more and more and so what better way than to expression happen than through the arts. But you know, but here's the thing, we can get caught up in Jack Jack Jack. Jack's a year and a half. You know, he's got the whole rest of his life to figure it out. For you, you've been able to accomplish so much and you've got the short that's coming out. Do you have another dream project that's something personal or close to your heart that you hope to bring to life one day? And this is part of what I like to call Mompreneur's manifestations, where say what you want to come into the universe and world, and we will wish good vibes towards it for you.
00:38:45
Speaker 1: I've always loved sci fi. Like my my favorite author is Octavia Butler. Love Octavia, love, but love love Octavia, And I love Octavia because so many reasons, but like because I Tavia. Like first of all, there's people who look like us in her stories, who are dealing with the changes of the world, dealing with the future in certain ways. And honestly, I think if everybody read in Octavia Butler book right now, they would feel more empowered to face the craziness that's going on in society right now, because she talks about it all in her books. She talks about the everything, the crazy time.
00:39:39
Speaker 2: Was she psychic? Did she travel from the future? Is that why she loved us so soon? Is because she'd already lived half a lifetime in the future.
00:39:46
Speaker 1: In the future, Come on, I love it, and so you know, and so I think bringing those types of stories, whether it's like bringing Octavia Butler's actual stories to life, which I know there are a lot of lucky, lucky people out there who are developing her stories or bringing stories like that to life. You know, sci fi is vast. You have robots and aliens, but then you have like the grounded sci fi that's like rooted in real life and human experience, and those are the type of stories that like I would just like explode in excitement to do so like putting it out there in the universe. Momentrepreneur manifestation, I love that.
00:40:35
Speaker 2: But you are amazing and we will have to wait a little bit for mister Benjamin's birthday. But in the introim, while we'll wait, where can people find you so they can learn more about you and all the things that you're doing.
00:40:47
Speaker 1: I'm on ig As Crystal the Creative. My name is spelled with an L E no a, so it's croy As TL the Creative and I'm there. And also, you know the next show, the show, the next big show that's coming out that I worked on is called All's Fair and it premieres on November fourth on Hulu. And I'm excited about that show because the cast is incredible and I did two episodes of that show, one of which is the finale of the of the season. So like, I'm really excited about that, So tune in the All's Fair in November when when that comes out.
00:41:32
Speaker 2: I love it. You think you're so much. This was so much fun. You're absolutely incredible.
00:41:37
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. You had great questions, great conversation. I appreciate you.
00:41:41
Speaker 2: Oh well, we appreciate you too, and of course we appreciate everyone who's listening to and watching Mompreneurs. As a reminder, a brand new episode goes live every Monday on Urban one podcast network, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or where we get your podcasts. Visit urbanwepodcast dot com, flord more, that's Urban the number one podcast dot com.
