A Conversation With Nation Holmes

Black, Female, Single Mother of Four: At Work On Her Second Feature

By T. LaBee

It’s 10 o’clock at night and Nation Holmes is sitting in her bedroom staring at her G5 computer screen with her editor, Chip. “Let me see how that scene looks,” she asks him.

“All right,” he responds.

She’s happy with what she sees. “That looks good.” Then she notices something. “What’s that?”

Her editor looks closer. “It looks like the boom mic.”

“Aw, man,” she realizes. “It is the boom mic.”

“Want to be in my yo-yo contest?” a small voice chimes in.

“I really like this shot too,” Nation says.

“What do you want to do?” her editor asks.

“Anybody can be in it,” the small voice continues. “All you have to do is have a yo-yo. It’s called Dasia’s yo-yo contest and–”

“Dasia,” Nation says to her youngest daughter. “Can you play the be quiet game for mommy for five minutes please.”

Dasia complies and Nation returns to the film. “Let’s cut to a shot of him dancing then cut back.”
This is the artistic life of Nation Holmes, filmmaker and single mother of four. Balancing her art and her family in a way that a lot of people would find impossible is something she sees as nothing less than a necessity.

Q: Talk a little bit about your first film.
A: My first film was called W.O.E.: Walking on Eggshells. I’m really proud of that film because we went into W.O.E. really with our blinders on, at least I did. But I was determined to make it. W.O.E. is a film about domestic violence and the choices people make, men and women. I had wrote a story called Eggshells and it was the first story I wrote after a ten year dark period where I didn’t write at all. So I’m really proud of this story because of that. We started it in 2005, finished it in 2006, so it’s been out for about a year and I’m just getting started. I have four other scripts that I’ve written.

Q: You are now working on your second film. How did that come about and how is it going?
A: It’s called How to Marry a Billionaire and it’s about three models trying to marry wealthy husbands. I think it’s a great story because a lot of women are trying to marry a billionaire (laughs). So basically it’s a modern day gold digger story and it’s a romantic comedy. I’m pleased with it because it’s really funny. I was really focused on the romance part of it and as the comedy started to develop I would end up laughing so hard on the set that I would have to say cut. It was funny! Really it was the actors bringing their characters to life. I was really impressed with how that came about.

Q: As a filmmaker, what are some of the challenges you face as a single black mother that another filmmaker in another situation may not have to face?
A: I think people underestimate you. They don’t know quite what to expect and they may think, “well, what can this little black girl do?” You’re still a little black girl. I’m a grown woman with children and a family. But they underestimate you and then when you produce, they’re surprised that you’re able to come up with a body of work. They’re like “Oh wow! You’ve done a feature film.” I’ve done two, a couple of mini documentaries and some other work I’m going to be starting on later in the year. Because I am a parent I have to make sure I can spend quality family time and then quality work time.

Q: Were there any women that inspired you?
A: My mom inspired me the most because when I was growing up we would watch old black and white movies; Bette Davis, Veronica Lake, Joan Crawford. They were so elegant. But then I would look at my mom and her sisters in old black and white photos and they would look just as elegant and regal because [back then] women were women and ladies. So I was inspired by them. Also Ruby Dee, Cicily Tyson, they were very beautiful women. Dorothy Dandridge. They were just beautiful actresses, but not even just actresses-a lot of women went on to tell their own stories, like Daughters of the Dust. I think even Girl 6 was written by a woman.

Q: Do you have any words of inspiration for any female filmmakers out there?
A: Don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something. If you believe it, you can achieve it. It may sound kind of corny but whatever you put your mind to you can make it happen. Will there be obstacles? Yes. Hell yes. But can you do it? Yes.

Nation Holmes (center) with cast and crew of W.O.E: Walking on Eggshells