If you don’t follow Jamaal Burkmar on TikTok, you should. The man creates great videos about film, recommending essential titles for those interested in film history, and has some insightful observations about the industry at large. Most notably of which surround Hollywood’s history of screwing over black and brown creatives, especially after they’ve reached a certain level of success and prestige. Actors like Mahershala Ali, Daniel Kaluuya, and Lupita Nyong’o—Oscar winners and nominees who should be plastered all over billboards across the world with a cavalcade of upcoming films. Yet, when looking at their IMDB pages, they aren’t bestowed with the same amount of opportunities as many of their (white) contemporaries.

I bring all of this up because of a movie I watched recently. A movie directed by a black woman named Kasi Lemmons. If that name doesn’t sound familiar to you, it shouldn’t. Because Ms. Lemmons unfortunately didn’t have the career of the Fincher’s or Thomas Anderson’s of the world. But if her 1997 coming-of-age Southern Gothic drama, Eve’s Bayou, is anything to go by, she absolutely should have. 

The film stars Samuel L. Jackson—back when he had hair and could act—and tells the story of 10-year-old Eve Batiste, played by Jurnee Smollett, who lives in the affluent Creole-American community of Louisiana alongside her younger brother and older sister. Jackson plays Eve’s father, Louis, who is a respected doctor in their community, though he has a secret—the man loves infidelity; like, really loves infidelity. 

What transpires is a sequence of familial tensions and dramas, seen through the eyes of little Eve and doused with a good dose of mystical Southern Gothic flair. The writing and direction by Kasi Lemmons throughout the film are simply tremendous. Some of her shots and tonal sensibilities remind me of a few of the great works by Ingmar Bergman and Andrei Tarkovsky. All the performances were great, too, but a special shoutout must be given to Jurnee Smollett, who was terrific as little Eve.

Angelica Jade Bastién, a critic from Vulture whom I admire, said in her essay, “The film operates deftly on multiple levels: It’s a stunning coming-of-age tale (an exceedingly rare example of one that privileges the experience of young black girls); an honest, hyperspecific portrait of black life in rural Louisiana; and one of the greatest writer-director debuts in American cinematic history.” 

I knew nothing of Eve’s Bayou before watching it, but it’s a movie that I’ll be thinking about for quite some time. It’s ridiculous that Kasi Lemmons didn’t go on to have a career befitting of her talents. The least we can do now is go watch and share her works, and make sure we don’t do creatives like her the same way Hollywood has for far too long.  

Be sure to check out the TikTok page for the video version of this series.