Wow, it’s already day 3 of TCFF! I barely had time to blog yesterday as I watched a couple of films in the afternoon, followed by an Industry Night. Then I had to attend a Jane Austen Society MN Chapter’s English Country Dance event that I signed up for weeks ago.

In any case, I actually got to meet Justinsuperstar (Justin Johnson), the filmmaker of Mom and Dad’s Nipple Factory documentary right before I went in to see his film! (Justin if you’re reading this – It was wonderful meeting you Justin, glad we got to chat for a bit about your film (thanks for sharing your dad’s creation btw!)

I stayed for the Q&A afterward, followed by another doc, Black Barbie, right after. We were treated to a poignant poetry presentation before the film showing, too!

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In the interest of time, I’m going to be posting more than one review at a time during the film fest. Some might be shorter than others, depending on how much time I have on a given day.

Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory

Directed by: Justinsuperstar (Justin Johnson)

When Randi is diagnosed with breast cancer, her husband Brian, a conservative Midwest family man, embarks on an extraordinary journey to boost her morale and builds a homespun prosthetic nipple business that’s kept secret from their friends, their church and their five children.

If you’re like me and did a double-take after seeing the poster, well, the rather provocative title is actually very spot-on and describes exactly what it’s about. Justin Johnson turned the focus on his own family, specifically his mom and dad Randi and Brian, who embarked on an adventure of creating prosthetic nipples after Randi had to undergo a unilateral mastectomy as a result of her breast cancer.

It’s definitely one of the most moving and personal documentaries I’ve seen so far (not just during the fest, but ever!). The film shows a glimpse of this conservative Midwestern family of five (who live in Eau Claire, WI) through their low-quality home videos as well as Justin’s explorative film. It’s fascinating to see how the ever-so-inventive Brian figured out a way to solve a problem that even top surgeons could not do! Randi’s surgeon Dr. Roger Khouri, as well as his fellow surgeons, were in awe of Brian’s prototype. I’m even more astonished that he managed to keep his business endeavor a secret from his friends, even some of his own kids, for quite a long time.

Yet the most gratifying thing was to see such a beautiful marriage being portrayed on screen and how the Johnsons stayed true to themselves and remained steadfast in their faith in Jesus Christ. In this increasingly hostile culture against Christianity, I find it so refreshing to see it being presented in a positive light that feels authentic. At the same time, I appreciate Justin’s honesty about how he felt about his ‘boring, conservative parents’ (that’s his own words) and his own faith journey. In a brief 81 minutes, the film was poignant as well as funny, peppered with some quirky and hilarious bits that made you laugh and cry.

Justin warned at the start of the film that we better have some Kleenex handy. Well glad I did as I definitely teared up quite a bit. It was especially moving to watch the typically stoic Brian get emotional watching a video of his customers thanking him and letting him know how much his creation meant to them. It’s even more inspiring that Randi and Brian see their company more as a ministry than a profit-making business, which truly exemplifies God’s love and generosity in action.

I highly recommend this film to anyone no matter your age or ethnic background because it’s a universal story about love and family.

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Black Barbie: A Documentary 

Directed by: Lagueria Davis

Love her or hate her, almost everyone has a Barbie story. Even if they don’t have a story, there’s a story as to why they don’t have a story. In this film, we tell the story behind the first Black Barbie, because yes, she has a story too. It started with the filmmaker’s 83-year old aunt, Beulah Mae Mitchell and a seemingly simple question, “Why not make a Barbie that looks like me?”

As this film was screened at my local cinema during the film fest, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie was still playing in one of the theaters, so it couldn’t be more timely! I’ve actually never played with a Barbie doll growing up in Jakarta, nor did I ever remember seeing a Barbie that had Asian features like me. At the same time, I totally understand why filmmaker Lagueria Davis, asked her 83-year-old Aunt Beulah Mae this seemingly simple question, “Why not make a Barbie that looks like me?”

Black people, well most people of color really, didn’t see themselves represented in the Barbie dolls who were originally created as having blond hair and blue eyes. Since 1980, Mattel has expanded the collection to be more inclusive but it took 21 years for Mattel to come up with Black Barbie. The film traces back the journey of how that came to be, with valuable insights from the filmmaker’s own aunt Beulah Mae Mitchell (a huge doll fan) who worked at Mattel for 45 years! I enjoyed listening to her stories, she’s as energetic and funny as ever. We also heard from fellow Mattel former employee, fashion designer Kitty Black Perkins who designed the first black Barbie, whose look was inspired by Diana Ross.

Lagueria tried to cover a lot of ground in 100 minutes and at times I felt it was a bit overwhelmed with information overload. I think some of the discussions and interviews could’ve been edited a bit, though it was eye-opening to hear thoughts from a few academic and other important female figures in the Black community, including Oscar-nominee Gabourey Sidibe. Visually, Black Barbie is a beautifully shot documentary and it’s fun seeing the dolls being utilized as a form of storytelling in a creative way.

I do think the interviews with kids of color about what they think about Barbie dolls are quite fascinating as children tend to tell things as it is. Even with the diverse lineup of dolls we have now, kids still think of the blond, blue-eyed Malibu Barbie as the quintessential Barbie! Whether the absence of black images was intentional or not on the part of Mattel, the issue of ‘racial rejection,’ that is not having one’s own race represented, has a huge impact on Black girls.

I’m glad there’s a film like this that examines the intergenerational impact the doll had, especially in marginalized communities. It was enlightening to learn about the significance of the Clark Doll test in the 1940s, which studied the psychological effects of segregation on African-American children. As people are still enamored by the Barbie movie, I think it would behoove viewers to take their time to see different perspectives related to that subject.

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Stay tuned for more TCFF reviews in the coming days!

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