Jamaa Fanaka (born Walter Gordon; September 6, 1942 – April 1, 2012) was an American

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. He is best known for his 1979 film, ''

Penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

'', and was one of the leading directors of the

L.A. Rebellion The L.A. Rebellion film movement, sometimes referred to as the "Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers", or the UCLA Rebellion, refers to the new generation of young African and African-American filmmakers who studied at the UCLA Film School in ...

film movement.

Early life and education

Fanaka was born Walter Gordon to Robert L. and Beatrice Gordon in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. In 1971, Fanaka was accepted into the film school at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. His first film, ''A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan'', was a

morality tale The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

shot in

8mm film 8 mm or 8mm may refer to: ;Film technology *8 mm film, a photographic cine film format principally intended for domestic use. The term may also refer to later variants: ** Super 8 mm film ** Single-8 film ** 8 mm video format, a type of video recor ...

about a heroin addict. The film stars Fanaka (credited as Walt Gordon) in the title role. It is the only narrative short he ever made. Jan-Christopher Horak of the

UCLA Film Archives The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, when comparing the movie with the 1972 blaxploitation film, '' Super Fly'', released the same year, observed, "unlike Priest's elegant cocaine consumption in ''Super Fly'', Willie's arm gushes blood as he injects heroin." Later, he changed his name to Jamaa Fanaka. Ntongela Masilela states that while "a fundamental tenet of the

Los Angeles school The Los Angeles School of Urbanism is an academic movement which emerged during the mid-1980s, loosely based at UCLA and the University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsecta ...

was an opposition to Hollywood," Fanaka was a notable exception. He describes Fanaka as "very much fascinated by Hollywood and averse to the contentious ideological and artistic discussions that were fundamental to the formation of the school."

Career

During film school, Fanaka wrote, produced and directed ''

Emma Mae ''Black Sister's Revenge'' is a 1976 Blaxploitation film written and directed by Jamaa Fanaka. The film stars Jerri Hayes, Ernest Williams III, and Charles David Brooks, III. The film was released theatrically as ''Emma Mae'', then re-titled to ...

'' (1974). The film focuses on a young woman who arrives in Los Angeles from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

to live with her mother's sister and her family after her mother dies, and survives the

culture shock Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration ...

that accompanies the move; ''

Welcome Home Brother Charles ''Welcome Home Brother Charles'' (also known as ''Soul Vengeance'') is a 1975 American blaxploitation film written and directed by Jamaa Fanaka. The film stars Marlo Monte as a wrongfully imprisoned man who seeks vengeance upon his transgressors u ...

'' (1975), about the ravages and dire consequences of racism; and ''

'' (1979), the story of a young man wrongly sent to prison, who, through his

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

talents, is able to win his freedom. Fanaka completed ''Street Wars'' in 1992. He was in extended production and

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

on ''Hip Hop Hope'', a documentary feature film on the underground

Hip Hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntablis ...

Filmography

* ''A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan"'' (short, 1972) * ''

'' (1975) * ''

'' (1976) * ''

'' (1979) * ''

Penitentiary II ''Penitentiary II'' is a 1982 American Blaxploitation drama film directed by Jamaa Fanaka. Released on April 2, 1982, the film is the sequel to 1979's ''Penitentiary''. It was followed by another sequel, ''Penitentiary III'', which was released i ...

'' (1982) * ''

Penitentiary III ''Penitentiary III'' is a 1987 American crime drama film written and directed by Jamaa Fanaka. It is the sequel to the 1982 film '' Penitentiary II''. The film stars Leon Isaac Kennedy, Anthony Geary, Steve Antin, Ric Mancini, Marie Burrell Fana ...

'' (1987) * ''Street Wars'' (1992)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fanaka, Jamaa 1942 births 2012 deaths Artists from Jackson, Mississippi English-language film directors L.A. Rebellion UCLA Film School alumni Film directors from Mississippi 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people