Charlotte-based indie filmmaker Ablavi Gbenyon. (Photo courtesy of Gbenyon.)

Ablavi Gbenyon (pronounced A-BLAH-VEE BENYUN) is a Charlotte-based filmmaker who — after watching the film “Love Jones” — was inspired to start her own independent production company. In 2007, she launched Slice of Life Entertainment (SOLE) LLC with the mission of telling universal stories that impact people for the better.

The 30-year-old creator of films like "Corporate Politics" says her own experience as a Liberian-American exemplifies how people’s perceptions, particularly those about black people, are often shaped by what they see in movies and on television.

At the age of 8, she moved to the United States thinking all black people lived like the Huxtables on “The Cosby Show” ... only to find that many were, instead, living the reality played out in movies like “Boyz in the Hood.” She was also surprised that many of her peers assumed that because she was from Africa, she lived in poverty or slept outside with animals — even though she actually lived a relatively luxurious lifestyle in Liberia (complete with butlers and nannies) that she has yet to attain in America.

Qcitymetro.com recently caught up with Gbenyon to discuss her career aspirations and the mark she hopes to leave on the film industry.

Qcitymetro: What about the movie “Love Jones” inspired you to be a filmmaker?

Ablavi Gbenyon: During that time, all the shoot-'em-up gangster movies were coming out, and “Love Jones” was one of the first movies I saw where there wasn’t anybody on drugs. I could actually identify with it. So I thought it would be cool for me to write stories for the screen that other people could relate to, as well.

How do you feel about the portrayal of black people in film and the stories that are being told about them?

I feel that so many times, people just want to put us in one box — like this or that is black — but it doesn’t make sense. We are all different. Yes, I’m black and you may be black, but if I talk about my experiences, they are going to be different than yours because God made us all different. And it’s OK … I think what happens is so much of the same stories get told and that’s the frustration … Yes, there is a problem in what we see, but only we can change it.

People try to put it on a filmmaker, like Tyler Perry. They say he gets all the opportunities and his stories don’t represent us. Blah, blah, blah … Tyler Perry is telling the stories he wants to tell, and that’s his business. He’s grown. If you are so vexed that he is telling his stories, how about you telling your own story or investing in someone that is trying to tell a different story? Where is talking without action going to get us? I don’t knock anybody for telling a story that is true to them.

Prior to coming to America, you based your perceptions of black people here on what you saw on TV, and also found yourself stereotyped by what black people here saw about Africans on TV. How do these perceptions play into the way you choose to portray black people in film?

The message that I bring to film is that there are different types of black people. I think so often the images of us are so limited that whenever a black film comes out, there is so much pressure for that film to represent all black people. People need to understand that we as black people have different aspects to us … The black experience is not just the African-American experience … As a filmmaker I want to create a body of work where you see that diversity, and I want to help others do the same. I truly believe that what you see and what you hear, shapes who you are.

Early in your career, you did some script development work in Los Angeles. You interned at Edmonds Entertainment and had a paying gig with Della Reese’s company, Lett/Reese Entertainment. What was that experience like?

It was an incredible blessing. I was only 20 at the time, so it was really cool to go out there … It was cool to get to read a script before the movie gets done. When I was there, I had a chance to read the script for “Love and Basketball” before it was even titled that … The public doesn’t realize the process it takes to make a film. What you see on the screen can be totally different from the vision of the original script.

What was the biggest lesson you took away from your LA experience?

I saw how things operated, and it was very political and money driven. I learned that at the end of the day, it’s a business. That comes before creativity. The bottom line comes before anything else. So, what I took away from it is that I wanted to go against the grain and do films independently because I didn’t want to ever make a film that I didn’t believe in … I knew that I wanted to make money from films, but I never wanted to do a film just so that I could make money.

Explain the meaning behind name Slice of Life Entertainment (SOLE) Cinema and your mission to tell universal stories that "impact people for the better."

It just goes back to how I wanted to show different snapshots of life and different types of black folks … At the end of the day, we are all people. We are all God’s children. We may be different colors, but we have the same needs, wants and desires … We all have a common bond that connects us together. We have these universal stories that we can connect with. My personal purpose and passion is to tell stories that happen to have black people in them, but as my company expands, as long as it is a universal story that impacts somebody for the better, whatever background they are, I’m open to it.

So, do you plan on expanding your range beyond just doing “black” films?

For a minute the company was just focused on black films … But I kind of felt that I would limit myself that way. I’ve come to realize that if you label something “black” that it may turn some people away … So, I’ve shifted from that, and I want it to be more inclusive because other people need to see these stories. God willing, when we expand, we definitely want to have more diverse filmmakers under our umbrella. Where are the Asian stories? Where are the Latino stories? When was the last time they won an Oscar? I want to learn more about other cultures. As long as it is something that is going to make someone else better, then I’m all for it.

Gbenyon is currently working on converting her award-winning short film “Corporate Politics” into a feature film, which will be titled “The Journey.” For more information about SOLE Cinema or to stay updated on what the production company has in the works, log onto www.ablavi.com.

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Editor's Note: This article was created as part of the Charlotte Arts Journalism Alliance, a consortium of local media dedicated to writing about the arts scene.

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