Exercises in Time Travel

by Lauren Domino for South Summit 2024: Southern Futurism

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Thank you for sharing this space with me for the next forty minutes. Thank you Zuri and The New Orleans Film Society for having me as this year’s South Summit Keynote speaker. This means a lot as the seed of a career in film was sprouted as a volunteer at the New Orleans Film Festival almost twenty years ago. Before I begin, I kindly request that you have something to gather your thoughts — a pen and paper, a phone screen, or open a document tab. This is not because I will say anything groundbreaking, but I want you to have a space to jot down answers to prompts that will come in a moment.

I must admit, though honored by the invitation, I was a bit surprised as I don’t always feel hyper qualified or prepared in these spaces. My sense of knowing in work and life is rarely tied to formal rules and industry standards. It’s connected to animism, ancestor veneration, study, and lots of self-understanding work. I shape my way of producing through all these modes. Instead of “fake it until you make it,” I have a “come as you are and let’s grow together” approach. I’m bringing that to this keynote, so bear with me, and let’s begin this journey together.

When I think of Southern Futurism, my mind immediately turns to the tenants of Afro-futurism and the projection into a future world in which liberation was a fact, and black folx are safe, loved, and cared for and art is a vehicle to get us there. My concept of Southern futures is tied to this and a connection between all timelines, ancestors, and the elements. It’s rooted in a sense of personal Sci-Fi in which we imagine the future and orient our lives to create it.

I understand my own personal sci-fi via exercises connecting with my healthy healed ancestors, guides, the earth, and my future self; utilizing tools created by brilliant minds who shape the future in the present.

One of these tools is an Oracle deck. I want to thank the brilliant Educator and Folk Herbalist Nikki Minor for introducing me to this deck, Green Gold and Ancestral Plant Spirit Oracle Deck by Star Feliz of Botanica Cimarron. It’s a deck that speaks to land, ancestral connection, and listening. I asked the deck what message needed to be conveyed in this keynote and Palm was the card that popped out.

“Palm

Arecaceae

Africa, Asia, Central and South America, North America, Oceania

Seed / Venus/ The Folk Legend

I am the ethereal wing of peace. I climb high to find and ride the waves of ease and flow. When I remember I was always born free, I’m not living within a marathon cycle in order to feel free. Relax into it baby. Let birds be your teachers. And invite the solace of air as your comfort”

- Star Feliz of Botanica Cimarron

That feels pretty spot on for what we do.

I thought it would be nice to guide you through another exercise I used to connect the present and the future. A joyous exploration.

If it feels good to you, let’s start by practicing a little movement to let go of anything that pulls at us. We will ground ourselves in the present moment together. I’ll move my arms and hips to release my nerves. Maybe you need to release the worry of emails flooding your inbox, the stress of a project or the excited anticipation of an upcoming event. Maybe your release needs to be audible and you can hum or shout.

Move in whatever way you feel called to.

Now if it feels right, take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.

Welcome back. Now let’s pull out your pen and paper, your phone or your writing device of choice. I want you to write down an introduction. Envision yourself in the future. That could be you ten minutes from now, tomorrow, ten or fifty years from now. Let the future version of you arrive in your mind’s eye. Now, introduce yourself to you. What’s the future you’re saying back? Where are they in the world and in their spirits?

I find it helpful to check in via self introduction. It charts my progress, marks my present, and guides me. Write down what comes to you. Here’s my intro from this exercise.

I am Lauren Domino, a channeler of story, a creative doula, and an explorer of the unseen. I am joining you today from the place of my birth and current residence — Bulbancha, the place of many tongues. This city has shaped my sense of the world and my creativity. It constantly speaks to me, teaching me how to be in ritual each day and bring that reverence in all I do. Listening to the heartbeat of this city and learning its lessons in duality has shaped me and brought me to this present moment which joins us together.

Some foregrounding. I am Felton’s granddaughter. She, the party starter who introduced me to all the facets of art, from trips to the opera to sneaking me into my Aunt’s bar to watch drag shows and the practice sessions of the Black Masking Indians. The child of hidden artist Patricia and sci-fi book-a-day reader Louis. I was born and raised in the East. If you know you know. My father’s family came from Crowley, Louisiana, and settled here in the 1950s. My mother’s side of the family has always called Uptown and The Lower 9 home. There was, of course, a home before our enslavement. However, my people’s resilience shaped new roots in Louisiana and built lives on its soil. I come from a people who have experienced unimaginable loss and yet find joy and connection in creation and community. All of this is in me and my work.

To speak of Southern Futurism, I have to start with my lineage to explain my relationship to time. I believe it’s a spiral, and as my favorite shirt reads “We don’t move through time. Time moves through us.” Throughout the course of working and knowing my sister-friend Garrett Bradley particularly on the documentary feature “TIME” our conversations focused on memory as a present feeling in the body and translating that sensation into film. “TIME,” and the use of personal archival and present-day verite following the Rich family and their quest for freedom replicates the time travel we do behind the scenes. Our work as documentarians is to capture memories of the past and stories unfolding in the present. We also look towards the future of what the film will become. Which upon completion and release is now a visual representation of the past. Creating in this medium makes us time travelers. Filmmaking is the way we translate the nonlinear movement of time. We must be present in our understanding of the past, and grounded in the now to co-create our relationship with the future.

The future is the present. Southern Futurism is shaped through listening, transformation, and trust. We are shaping the future now — in this moment. When I think of Southern Futurism in a film landscape, it is the lens that connects us. Have you ever worked on a project and then suddenly you could see it. Each time we weave together thoughts and visions that become art, we project into the future and bring back to the present what is needed.

I believe that as filmmakers, storytellers, and community builders we hold a sacred role. Our work helps people see themselves and the world differently. Their hope for the future or lack thereof is molded by our current lived experiences and imaginations. I believe filmmaking is a spiritual practice and a powerful healing tool. For me, healing begins with the people making the work. Success is defined by growth behind the camera, and our sense of connection to the spaces we inhabit, just as much as the stories unfolding on screen. We are the embodiment of the land and our ancestors, they pour into us and the stories we tell. To think we are alone in creation is an isolating thought.

This can be a complicated thought to hold, especially in the South where the land holds so much hurt done by the hands of some of our ancestors. The South as a region and identity is complex. It exists in the fractured polarities of life — decay and rebirth simultaneously. The South holds grief and pain that transmutes into art and celebration. It can be dizzying as Southerners constantly jumping between these polarities not knowing where to land. Questioning what to draw from when the waters seem so murky.

The South is an embodiment of the knowledge that we all hold ancestral trauma and gifts. I hold these truths in both hands. They guide me on my journey of creating and understanding my place in the world. As artists and time travelers we are called to shape new pathways in the space between polarities. We are called to hold pain while speaking truth to justice and in the words of Toni Cade Bambara “make it irresistible.” In the space between these contradictions is creativity and hope.

In my creative practice I try to work with filmmakers to go deeper than the surface. To sit within the hard or uncomfortable areas of the story and let it move them. To listen to what is activated within. What’s calling to be recognized? How is the work transformed through our personal experiences that allows for future healing? For me this is a process of navigating through the layers with deep listening and trust. I’m so grateful for the filmmakers who’ve let me do this work and for whom I learn so much from and inspire me daily. I want to thank a small portion who are also some of my dearest friends: Angela Tucker, Garrett Bradley, and Ja’Tovia Gary.

I invite you all to pause for a few moments and pull out your notation instruments and get still. Let’s take a deep breath and connect within to find out what messages your future self/internal knowing is trying to convey. Maybe you need to close your eyes, or put a hand over your heart. Maybe you want to move. Whatever works for you, I want you to reconnect with your future self. You’ve gotten their intro now let’s learn more.

Going deeper than the intro, what do they want you to know, about themselves or the future world? If you have questions, ask them and get to know who you are.

Is there anything you need to know now?

I want you to jot down all that comes up. Take it all in.

In these exercises of future visioning and creating it can be really challenging to trust what’s coming through. Maybe what came through clearly is “You need to create a seven part science fiction series set in Opelousas”, and you’re like “I don’t have the time or energy and I have a fraught relationship with that place.” This is where trust comes in. What doesn’t make sense in the present may guide us into a future beyond our wildest dreams.

I recently produced the documentary ‘American Symphony,’ an intimate portrait of artists Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad as they use creativity as a survival mechanism in the face of personal crisis and professional success. The film is a meditation on art, love, and the creative process. It’s a project I initially rejected. I took a break from the South, from my life, from emotional ruts. I packed up my things and headed to the desert in need of the dry airy climate to assist in moving through some deep seed grief. At the time I was unsure whether I would return to the South or work in film. I felt bogged down by failing at work/life balance and making a sustainable living that didn’t put me in a constant anxiety loop. I got the offer for this project and though I desperately needed the money I wasn’t ready to end my search for self and said no. They called again with an updated timeline and I did the exercise we just did. I got still, which for me means sitting at my altar and asking what I needed to know. What came out was clear, yes, I had to take this job.

Yes, it didn’t make sense to me but I listened. What came next was the process of listening, re-examining my connection to home, and looking at the intertwining legacies of shared familial and creative connections with Jon. Calling upon those familial connections particularly my Uncle, Edward “Kidd” Jordan who would become an ancestor over the course of making the film. One of his many legacies was his constant call to live a life of purpose. In listening I discovered my work as a producer wasn’t just work but my purpose. A purpose that allowed me to travel with the film and say my Uncle’s name and teachings from stages around the world — breathing continued life into his legacy. A purpose that has led me here to impart the wisdom I’ve gained along the way. My impossible future that I ran away to find has now become my present.

As a producer I have the privilege of creating the future with each film I work on. The work of a producer/creative doula as I like to call it, helps create community. We build future worlds by putting our beliefs into practice. With each project we get to ask ourselves: What does this community look like? Who’s all here? Whose voice needs to be included and heard? Are we listening?

How does my community feel cared for? Are they rested and healthy? How is the work nurturing beyond a paycheck? How is the work generative? How is the work pushing forward the form and reimagining practices of the industry? Is the work liberatory?

Through knowing and action, we create new futures for ourselves, our industry, and our region.

Futurism is a multi-dimensional time loop and we access it now. My favorite writers, my ancestors of vocation, Lucille Clifton and Toni Morrison both used the act of listening and channeling letting their stories come to them. Their lives and work testify to the creative futures we build from a place of connection. It isn’t a struggle, but rather a wisdom that comes with ease.

Okay, take a deep breath, clear your mind, and pull out your writing paper.

Take a moment to listen and channel that sense of knowing and connectivity you’ve accessed today.

When you look forward, what does the future of your creative work and community feel like?

Is there a feeling you listed that stands out to you? Is it rest, joy, abundance? Whatever it is, highlight the one that speaks loudest.

Now, how can you begin today to work towards those feelings? For example, if it’s rest — how do you incorporate more rest in your creative process by taking breaks away from the work and spending time in nature.

I want the Southern Future we are creating to be expansive, inspiring, supportive, free, abundant, lush, vibrant, and ever evolving to greatness. The feeling of support is calling me. I can work towards support by sharing with my friends and community that this is what I know to be true. I can also ask them to hold me and remind me when I am filled with doubt.

Hold your answers close and find ways to incorporate those futures into your present.

The practices we shared today of listening and connecting inform our past, shift our present, and create the future. Southern Futurism is now.

Thank you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lauren Domino is a writer and an Academy Award and BAFTA nominated producer with a focus on the healing power of film. Her work as a producer includes Alone, The Earth is Humming, Black Folk Don’t, Like, America, TIME (Amazon Studios), and American Symphony (Netflix). She has produced branded content and live events for The New Yorker, Elle Magazine, The Oscars, Microsoft, and Essence Festival. Lauren previously co-hosted the podcast The Secret Lives of Black Women, which was highlighted by The New York Times and Forbes.

This piece was commissioned by the New Orleans Film Society for South Summit 2024. South Summit received critical support from JustFilms Ford Foundation, which is part of the Ford Foundation’s Creativity and Free Expression program and is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arts Council New Orleans.