A glimpse inside the creative world
of filmmaker Lala Openi

 

It’s funny how you happen upon things. The bike makes it so easy to just check shit out. It was only recently that I was introduced to the art of Lala Openi. It was curiosity that brought us together first. Biking home, I saw the MOCO Gallery in Downtown Oakland filled to the brim, spilling out into the streets. “Lemme check this out,” I thought to myself. 

Fortunately for me, the work being consumed was The Discourse, Openi’s exploratory look into the thoughts and lives of today’s youth. Centered in the Bay Area, the film tackles broad questions about society, oppression, consciousness, and growth. Comprised of over five years of footage, The Discourse features a variety of DIY interviews whose true value lies in the words being expressed. After peeping the film, it only seemed right to sit down with Lala to chat about the world, her artistry and the origins of The Discourse.

What’s going on right now…in the Bay, in the US, in the world?

A lot. But when is there not a lot going on? Some of the things are good some are bad. In the Bay, we are building. Creating movements and making beautiful art and building community. I think The Bay has always been the place to be for building like that. That’s what I see initially. 

When I look outside, I see people are consuming too much. I see that government is the leading cause of unnatural death in the 20th century. The world is changing. People getting diseases from acting like they’re not a part of the world. I can only try to balance it out by building with folks here, doing projects for voice and education and creation and rising-vibration–film projects like Veuxdo Child, positive space building projects with Malidoma Collective…I mean you can’t really complain if you ain’t trying to fix things, right?

Right…Tell me a little bit about your name. 

My grandma calls me Lala. Openi is twofold: folks often read it as “open eye,” but it is pronounced Oh-peh-knee, as in the first five letters of “opening.” My last two names are Chinese. Hsin represents mind-heart: heart as the ultimate truthseeker and guiding force for action. My last name, Cheung, means good fortune. In summary, I guess you could say I’m lucky as shit, blessed. I follow my heart, and I’m constantly evolving and honing in on my truth.

What is your truth? 

Stay woke. Third eye to the sky, feet in the earth. Using heart power, practicing constant flight towards the clouds: growth.

“Third Eye to the Sky, Feet to the Earth…” What do those words mean to you?

The ones to be respected be respectin’ the turf. Our third eye is the one that sees truth; the crown chakra. A tree will grow and be strong with a strong web of roots. So: rock the crown, hold your head high, and make sure to nourish the root. Remain grounded. We are of this earth, and this earth is of the stars.

Why did you make The Discourse?

The Discourse was something that needed to happen. It was a natural progression. Along my path, I’ve been blessed to run into so many dope individuals, where conversation was mad captivating. I kept saying “when they make the documentary, I wonder if they’ll get the story right,” and one day I finally realized that the best person to tell the correct story are the people living it. Why wait around for someone else to come and do it for us? Our voice is sacred.

I’d have to agree. One thing you mentioned that I really liked at your panel was the idea of finding your voice. What did you mean by that, and how have you come to discover yours?

A lot of what we take in and end up projecting as our own thoughts and opinions are what we’ve been told by others: our parents, our teachers, society, the media, etc etc. I mean, we don’t exist in a vacuum, and we should fasho-ly share knowledge and build, but there comes a time you need to just sit and figure out what’s real to you. 

Everyone is different. While everything is everything, I believe voice is important for both finding and strengthening roots. In the scope of sharing history for the sake of passing on knowledge and experience, if we all sit back and let the powers that be write our history for us, what type of knowledge will that provide to our future? What good will that be? Even from an evolutionary standpoint, variety is key because once everyone is the same it increases vulnerability to getting wiped out in one fell swoop. 

Shared knowledge will offer insight where perhaps we hadn’t thought to look before. If we wait for others to tell us what to think, collective history gets homogenized, and insight lost. Beyond that, it’s more interesting that way. Life has too much to offer to have everyone be about the same ass shit.

What do you make of the rise of creative collectives. It seems like all around us small groups of folks are coming together to pull resources and create things. 

Chest-beating will only leave us with sore heart cages. In this world of “individualism,” the importance of the collective often gets forgotten. Building is necessary to exchange insight, ideas, and to exercise collaboration and organizing, while strengthening the idea of our collective power. 

I think the urge to create with our folks is definitely on the rise and is something that makes the Bay magic. Malidoma is a collective of female-bodied and female-identifying artists rooted in healing ourselves and the community through creative expression, healthy living, and regenerative entrepreneurship. Some of us are photographers, filmmakers, emcees, fine artists, poets, curators, designers… We all do different things with interlocking purpose. All the women in Malidoma are putting in serious work on their own, but when we come together to collab on an event, it’s just that much more powerful.

What are you hoping to communicate to people through the film?

There’s something about critical conversation. I fully believe that it is as important as solitude and reflection, and touches on all levels: intellectual, emotional, physical, personal, communal. I just wanted to give people a taste of what’s going on in the minds and spaces of folks I build with here in the bay, and I can only hope that they feel inspired to hold their own conversations beyond what’s in the tabloids & “news.” Words are power. So is the funk.

More words, work and inspiration from Lala at Veuxdo and her personal website.