''Twice as Nice'' is a 1989

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by Jessie Maple and starring

Pamela McGee Pamela Denise McGee (born December 1, 1962) is an American former professional women's basketball player, 2012 Women's Basketball Hall of Famer, and mother of two professional basketball players. She is the first WNBA mom to have a son and dau ...

Paula McGee Paula McGee (born December 1, 1962) is an American preacher, writer, inspirational speaker and former basketball player. She played college basketball for the University of Southern California where she won the NCAA championship in 1983 and 1984 ...

, and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke. It was Maple's second feature, making her the first African-American woman to direct two feature films.

Premise

The film follows twins Caren and Camilla Parker (played by real-life twins Pamela and Paula McGee), two young college basketball stars at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, as they navigate talent, competition, and relationships while vying for the first female MBA pick.

Cast

and

as Caren and Camilla Parker * Cynthia Cooper-Dyke as Damita Jean Johnson * Stephanie Lynn Wilson as Loretta

Themes

This film shed light on women basketball players and was released years before the WNBA was created. The plot examines sisterhood, success, and competition, while the camera captures mundane moments and transform them into an intimate and humanist study on family.

Production

This was Maple's second feature film, released eight years after her debut ''Will''. Maple hired non-professional actors, such as WNBA player and coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke. Poet and actress S. Pearl Sharp wrote the screenplay.

Restoration

In 2015, ''Twice as Nice'' was one of 57 films saved by a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation. The restoration was made possible when the Academy Film Archive uncovered the original picture and track elements at the DuArt Film Lab. The final restoration will be "a 16mm preservation element, a 16mm release print, and a digital master of the film".

Screenings

* Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents in New York, 1968 – 1986, Film Society Lincoln Center, 2015 * One Way Or Another, Black Women's Cinema, 1970–1991,

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

, 2017

References

African-American drama films 1989 drama films 1989 films American independent films 1989 independent films Films shot in 16 mm film 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{indie-drama-film-stub