Miami native Tamika Miller was just 23 when she produced her first commercial, and since has line produced over 60 commercials and music videos. She’s directed a series of meditation and martial arts videos, the short documentary Released: 5 Shorts on Women in Prison (where she featured renowned scholar and activist, Angela Davis) and her first narrative film, Outfest winner Gift for the Living, which garnered the 2005 Showtime Black Filmmaker Showcase Grand Prize. But that does little to prepare you for the brilliance of her 󈨊s era period film Sarang Song, which — in addition to airing on Logo and Showtime — is part of the new lesbian shorts collection She Likes Girls (Wolfe).

Tell me about growing up.
While an only child, I had a large family growing up. I had 10 aunts and uncles, so if you can imagine, there were a lot of cousins around. My family was, and continues to be, very close-knit and has always loved and supported me. However, I always considered myself a bit of the black sheep in the family because my interests were so varied and so different than what other little black girls’ interests were. I remember my grandmother having an old bookshelf full of books, and one day I discovered a Shakespeare compilation. I was about 11 or 12 years old at the time. I sat on the floor near the bookshelf and read A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Not knowing a thing about Shakespeare, I think I chose that particular story because the title sounded romantic. When I look back on this, I think how interesting. How many kids my age would have done such a thing? I think, even at a young age, I marched to the beat of my own, sometimes different, drum.

You were a big fan of musicals, too.
My Mom loved old black and white films, as well as musicals, and would sit me down and make me watch them with her. I fell in love with film and music, I think, through musicals [like] The King and I and Showboat. I think if I were not a filmmaker, I’d be a songwriter. In fact, I’ve written a few songs for my own films.

Sarang Song really feels like a story and characters we haven’t met before. Can you tell me a bit about the origination?
When I originally thought of the script for what became Sarang Song, I wanted it to be a short film about activist and scholar Angela Davis. I had the pleasure of interviewing her years ago for a short documentary, and I’ve always been interested in telling her story. Unfortunately, however, I couldn’t obtain the rights to tell her story, but I still wanted to tell a story set amidst the socially and politically turbulent times of the early 1970s. And, I wanted it to be a love story, as the idea of love in the midst of war was very appealing to me. So I decided it should be a love story of two black women set amidst the student protest movement, and use this movement to test their love. Using the early 1970s as a backdrop was essential for me telling such a story, particularly a story we’ve rarely seen. It was a unique and colorful era — the music, the dress, the politics. It was an era of expression. And, I liked this.

How long did filming take?
We shot Sarang Song in four days.

Wow. How did you so carefully get a feel for the early 󈨊s?
In my research for the script, I read about the era, and looked at numerous photos and video footage taken during this time to help give me a sense of the atmosphere. It was an era of protest and culturally this expression came through in the way people spoke, the way people dressed, and what people communicated through music. I had a fabulous art director and wardrobe stylist who really understood the look and feel of the time as well. And, it was important that the audience believed they were watching a story taking place during the 1970s. So, attention to detail was very important. And, I think creatively we did a great job in making the audience believe.

Any plans to turn this into a feature or a story like it?
I currently don’t have any plans to turn Sarang Song into a feature-length film. But, never say never. As for a story like it, I would love to direct a feature length film about activist and scholar Angela Davis. Her life story fascinates me, and would make a powerful film. So, I hope this is in my future.

What’s next for you?
I’m currently writing, and will direct, a feature-length script entitled Gris-Gris Girls, about five African-American women juggling career, love and romance amidst the ever-complex lesbian dating scene of New Orleans. Beautiful and witty, these Girlfriends are fierce and funny as they manage Sex and the City in a colorful milieu rich with culture and decadence. Always their sister’s keeper, these best friendships reign supreme as they meet, flirt, fling and fall for all the right — and wrong — women.

That sounds like a really rich set up for fun.
I love having it set in New Orleans because I think New Orleans is a character in itself. And, because of its uniqueness, it provides a stimulating backdrop for all kinds of debauchery.


There aren’t many films, short or feature, about black lesbians. Who do you look to as a model of what you’d like to do?
I admire certain director’s sensibilities. My favorite films are The Color Purple, Terms of Endearment and Out of Africa. I enjoy watching films where precise pacing takes you a journey with the characters, where you experience their relationships as they experience them. I enjoy films where attention is paid to the unspoken attributes that motivate and feed relationships. As a director, I want the audience to walk away having been moved and affected and relate to the idiosyncrasies we all possess, and how they show up in relationships — whatever that relationship may be.

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