Audiences have embraced all of Oprah Winfrey’s signature looks, from her fluffy pixie to her long underboob. And now, her signature curls. But they may not have known about Winfrey’s lifelong hair journey. as told in Hulu’s upcoming documentary series, The Hair Tales.
When Onyx Collective president Tara Duncan and producer Michaela Angela Davis asked Black, Brown and woman-owned production house Culture House to take over the project, founding partners Raeshem Nijhon, Nicole Galoski and Carri Twigg said: Recognizing the “maturity” of this story, I jumped at the opportunity.
Nijhon and Twigg signed a deal to executive produce the series alongside Winfrey and Tracee Ellis Ross. In interviews from Chloe Bailey, Rep. Ayanna Presley, Marsai Martin, and Chika, Ross engages viewers through conversations about weaves, braids, kinks, coils, hairgrease, locks, and ultimately self-discovery. guide the
Twigg largely credits Ross’ involvement as the spark that brought this overarching theme to life. variety“She gave us a thesis: Black women can follow a journey of self-acceptance with their hair.”
“Each of us has our own stories to tell, but there is something universal and communal about Hair Tales that can really be communicated through this series that doesn’t get the love and brilliance it deserves. I knew that,” says Twigg. “Just as our hair and gateways to the experience of black women in this country and the world haven’t really gotten their due on screen.”
A story like “The Hair Tales” is essentially a perfect fit for a culture house back alley. With a team mostly made up of women from diverse backgrounds, the company aims to “create engaging/inclusive/radical/futuristic/beautiful film and television” in accordance with the company’s mission. Its catalog of work also includes Brie Larson’s “Growing Up,” now available on Disney+. Produced by Galoski, her series of documentaries tells the story of one of her teenagers or “heroes” growing up in each episode, accompanied by deeply personal interviews.
According to Nijhon, Culture House was created to fill a Hollywood blind spot.
“To not only want to create stories that we felt were missing in the world, but to create workflows and processes and create a place of community for filmmakers and creators of people of color and women. was the response,” said Nijhon. , further adding: It’s also about how we were doing it. ”
Culture House has a hands-on consulting process developed by Nijhon and her founding partners aimed at helping address diversity issues on screen and behind the scenes.
“We just wanted to be very intentional about our process. Who are we hiring? Who are we helping create jobs? Who are we helping train? Are both our shows and our work emerging into the world not only as powerful stories, but also as powerful tools to empower those who want to go further up in the pipeline? Why are you doing this?” adds Nijon.
Galoski concedes that progress is slow, but not without it. movement. The obstacles they faced at the start of their endeavor are permanent, as the same decision-makers still hold most positions of power in Hollywood. But she believes there is hope on the horizon.
“Many of these statistics are starting to change, not in the way or to the level they need to be, but they do,” Galoski says. “Right now, the rooms we market to and work with are more representative of our country and more representative of the cultural experience we want them to have. There are more people.”
Twigg adds: It’s slowly changing, it’s starting to get more attention, there’s projects going on across the line, and it’s still terribly slow. ”
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