You have to feed your soul and spirit, but you also have to be a professional and remember the business that you're in. Everything is not your passion project.
Antoine FuquaRead
We've been fighting our whole lives to say we're just human beings like everyone else. When we start separating ourselves in our work, that doesn't help the cause. I've heard it for years: 'How do you feel being a black filmmaker?' I'm not a black filmmaker, I'm a filmmaker. I'm a black man, I have black children. But I'm just a filmmaker.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of being recognized as an artist first, rather than being defined by race.
Antoine Fuqua's quote reflects the struggle of artists, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, to be accepted as equals in their field. He insists on the importance of identity in artistry, arguing that while his race is part of who he is, it should not define his work or how he is perceived professionally. By asserting his identity as a filmmaker first, he highlights the need for equality and representation without the constraints of racial classification.
Themes
IdentityFilmmakerRaceEqualityArtistry
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a film industry panel discussion about diversity and inclusion.
More from Antoine Fuqua
All quotes →What's it like finding out Denzel Washington wants you to direct his next movie? It's like getting a phone call from Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan saying they want you to coach them.
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I think men under pressure - I mean, that's what brings out the worst and the best of us. I like to explore that quite a bit in my characters because I don't see a lot of it on the screen that moved me like the films that I grew up with - that are honest, at least, about honest emotions and honest heroism.
Antoine FuquaRead
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