Take 24 hours to celebrate Leap Day
You should slow your roll before you spring forward
“Happy Leap Day Eve” just sounds silly, but here we are. In this post, I will share a week’s worth of reasons why you should take 24 hours to celebrate Leap Day.
To begin, recall that February is Black History Month, while March is Women’s History Month. Thus, reason # 1 to celebrate Leap Day: It’s one day closer to the Shondaland/Netflix release of “Black Barbie," a still unannounced date.
This documentary is currently on the festival circuit and coming soon to Netflix. It tells the story of Beulah Mae Mitchell, her 45 year career at Mattel, and the creation of Black Barbie. Pro tip: read up on “the doll tests” beforehand, even if you’re already familiar with them.
Leap Day reason # 2 is we are one step closer to the April 26th release date for “Challengers” starring Zendaya. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me By Your Name”), I’ll be there opening night to watch a fictional story about tennis, a love triangle, and did I mention Zendaya?
Reason # 3 has to be Ava DuVernay’s “Origin,” the recent biopic about Isabel Wilkerson. Notably, Wilkerson was the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. She is also the author of “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent,” a New York Times non-fiction best-seller since November 2020. I loved this movie, which is so much about writing, but also about social science research, not unlike “the doll tests.”
In a week’s worth of specific ways to celebrate Leap Day, the quadrennial bridge from Black History Month to Women’s History Month, reason # 4 is all about an angry 80 year old woman. Yes, I’m talking about American poet Nikki Giovanni.
She is the subject of “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” nominated for several documentary film awards. I caught this on HBO and watched it in a hotel a few months ago. I recommend it, even if it’s not for everyone. Her brilliance is out of this world.
Reasons # 5 through 7 are as follows:
“Till,” ostensibly about Emmett Till, but really a biopic about Mamie Till-Bradley, his mother. She changed the way we see things—and the way we don’t. Make sure you see this!
“Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart,” a 2017 documentary about the playwright behind “A Raisin in the Sun.” If you have a library card, you can catch this for free at Kanopy. (When prompted for a PIN, enter the last four of your…library card!)
Reason #7, if you’re making a whole week of this Leap Day thing, has to be “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am.” No doubt about it, this 2019 documentary offers viewers an incredibly inspiring life story, slowly told.
In conclusion, I hope you join me in making the filmic leap from Black History Month to Women’s History Month over the next 24 hours. Or whenever; take all the time you need. Either way, you know what to do: get up, get dressed, and go to the movies.