Charlie Jordan

Charlie Jordan was honored in 1996 at the Black Filmmaker's Hall of Fame Awards for her short film "One Red Rose." She makes her long-form directorial debut with "Something to Sing About." She sat down with editor Susan Brill to discuss the film and her role as a female African-American director in Hollywood.

SB: I understand that this is your first full-length feature film.

CJ: Yes, it is.

SB: Are there very many female African-American directors in Hollywood?

CJ: There are, but not a lot. There are a few more independent [directors] than have actually cracked the cement. It's a hard way to go. You can literally count on your hand the number of ones that are noteworthy. There are certainly a lot of up-and-coming black females, but in terms of cracking the Hollywood system, it's very, very small.

SB: So what do you think about this film?

CJ: Oh my gosh, I can't even tell you. I said to my friends jokingly, "God has lost his mind on this one," because it's humbling. It's amazing. Often I don't have words because I know that the talent is not mine, you know? So, for me to be able to express it - not only in a Christian film, but in a Christian film that's so real and so believable, with characters that people can identify with, and the potential for the film is so mind boggling - I can't comprehend it, and I don't try to.

SB: Tell us something about your mission for this whole project.

CJ: Sure, I think thematically, we kind of honed the script to really make it about God's love changing people. At the core of everything, it is about being convicted by God's love to do the right thing, even though we might do wrong first, but being convicted by that spirit of love.

...It's about realistically showing what God's love is about. It's interesting with Brad [Braverman], who is not a Christian, because he asked me if I was concerned about that, and I said, "I'm not concerned about it as long as you understand a Christian's heart. If you understand a Christian's heart, then you can play this character. But it is important that you understand that, you know, and not be cynical about it and just play the reality of it." He's doing a wonderful job.

SB: Could you tell us a little bit about your faith and how you became a Christian?

CJ: Sure. I'm a P.K. [preacher's kid]. I grew up in a Methodist church, and my father is a Bishop now. I have nothing against the Methodist church at all, but I never heard about a personal relationship [with Christ] - that it's not about religion; it's about commitment.

So, when I had my personal salvation, when I accepted Him into my heart and professed with my mouth, you know, I had just moved out to California. I was here, I was alone, and it was something that I felt that I really needed to know more. And it has been my own personal journey from there on. He has challenged me, and I'm still enjoying the journey.

Then with something like ["Something to Sing About"], it is exceeding abundantly above all that I would think a project could be. So once again, He just proves Himself over and over again. The beauty of the journey is understanding that He always comes through. Sometimes it just takes a little longer than you want, but he always comes through.

SB: How do you pull off being a Christian director in Hollywood?

CJ: Well, I think the only way to do it is just be who you are. I live by letting my light shine so that they might see Him in me, and so I can only be me. I was telling someone, "I'm not the great set evangelist, but I am the great set example" because I understand what leadership is, and understanding that means that I do have to set an example.

...I think as you grow in your confidence of your faith that you are much more able to profess it without fearing any labels. And labels come and labels go, but once you know me, you know where I'm coming from. I'm not pushing anything, but I'm not taking anything away from me, and I'm certainly not taking anything away from Him.

©2000 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.