In 2019, on the heels of heavy discussion surrounding black life in Canada, George Floyd, and the impact of micro-aggressions on the black community, writer and director, Alicia K. Harris released her critically acclaimed short, Pick, a film about a young black girl struggle with her hair on picture day.
Five years later, she is back with On a Sunday at Eleven, the unofficial follow-up to Pick, about a young black ballerina’s anxiety in her all-white ballet class. Angel (Zoë Peak) is surrounded by whiteness in her world of ballet. A poster of a white ballerina decorates her wall and she stares at it, almost in curiosity, as she pulls up her white tights. Her classmates have slicked back, no frizz blonde buns that adorn their argent skin, with blue eyes of disapproval as Angel enters the ballet class. Are their stares ones of “othering” or is Angel perceiving it that way? Does her ballerina instructor really look at Angel with disgust or is it a figment of her anxiety about feeling out of place?
The answer doesn’t really matter, the feeling of white superiority is inescapable to Angel and really, to any black girl trapped in white spaces. To cope with her anxiety, Angel slips into her dream-like world where stunning black ballerinas dance around her with love, showering her in the imagery that celebrates their beauty and deep brown skins. Angel imagines hairstyles only a black girl can rock on the dancers who display them proudly. Our young heroine is centred in this space, but this is only possible because of the representation of black beauty in her real life, at home and at church. Angel is blessed to grow up in a home where her black identity is not performative or questioned- it just IS, like a wave that ripples through an ocean. Her blackness is her safe space, but that doesn’t prevent her from questioning the beauty in her skin and hair.
This is what makes Harris a filmmaker to watch out for, she understands the nuance of blackness in a way I have never seen. The presentation of whiteness in predominately white spaces is more than appearance, it comes with the unspeakable threat of domination, in behaviour, language, and micro-aggressions- a thing only a POC can articulate to another POC. Angel inherently understands this “law” without speaking a word. I would be remiss not to acknowledge the star of the film, Zoë Peak. At 7 years old, in her first acting credit, she gave one hell of a performance. She was layered, emotional and confidently articulated the internal struggle Angel faced. It is incredible to me that a 7-year-old could emote so much nuance on issues she may not even have a language for yet. Bravo Zoë!
Another thing I loved about this film and Harris as an artist is how she weaves in her love for poetry. She has been working as a filmmaker for over 6 years and undertones of poetic storytelling through an actual poem (Only The Light Will Touch Us) or the rhythm of sound (Pick), have become her signature, I truly hope she continues to elevate this element of her artistry.
Check out the trailer for On A Sunday At Eleven and her latest project, Beyond Black Beauty, premiering on Amazon Prime, October 15th. Be sure to watch our interview with her above as she discusses the film’s motifs, the pervasiveness of white imagery, hair art and using poetry as a vehicle for storytelling.
On a Sunday at Eleven is playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
