There’s no doubt, author Toni Morrison is a literary living legend. The author of titles including, “Tar Baby,” “Beloved,” and “Song Of Solomon,” among others, Morrison conveyed the Black experience in with poetic nuance. Her texts are a window by which we can bear witness to lived experiences told in lyrical fashion. It’s no surprise, then, that such a woman of prolific writing and astounding career is given the documentary treatment compiling all the pieces that make them tick.
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Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (“The Black List,” “Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart“), “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently added to the roster for Magnolia Pictures.
Greenfield-Sanders offers a modulated take on the writing legend in the documentary. Not only a filmmaker, but Greenfield-Sanders has also been a friend of Morrison for more than 35 years. It’s a perfect match of filmmaking techniques and storytelling. Celebrating Morrison’s life and accomplishments, the trailer extends a hand, pointing audiences straight to the nearest book store as if saying, “It’s about time for a new read.”
“Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” hits theaters June 21.
Here is the full synopsis:
From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to ‘70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own work. Inspired to write because no one took a “little black girl” seriously, Morrison reflects on her lifelong deconstruction of the master narrative. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussions about her many critically acclaimed novels, including “The Bluest Eye,” “Sula” and “Song of Solomon,” her role as an editor of iconic African-American literature and her time teaching at Princeton University. In addition to Ms. Morrison, the documentary features interviews with Angela Davis, Hilton Als, Fran Lebowitz, Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez, Farah Griffin, and Oprah Winfrey, who turned Morrison’s novel “Beloved” into a feature film.