Shatara Michelle Ford and James Gray in Conversation

Join us for a live discussion between directors Shatara Michelle Ford (Test Pattern) and James Gray (Ad Astra, The Immigrant). Among Ford’s early work was as an assistant on Gray’s film The Lost City of Z.

Watch the conversation on YouTube here (recording).

Test Pattern is now playing in Museum of the Moving Image’s Virtual Cinema. We recommend viewing the film before the conversation.

About Test Pattern:
Dir. Shatara Michelle Ford. U.S., 2020, 82 mins. With Brittany S. Hall, Will Brill, Gail Bean. Debut writer-director Shatara Michelle Ford has crafted a gripping narrative centered on the perspective of Renesha (the remarkable Brittany S. Hall), a successful Black woman who works at a nonprofit and lives with her white artist boyfriend in Texas. Using a hazy, muted color palette to capture Renesha’s emotions and experiences, Ford dives deep into the dynamics of sex and power in contemporary society, revealing how effortlessly a man can violate a woman’s body. Test Pattern is a meticulously visualized and powerfully conceived exploration of the effects of systemic, patriarchal injustice. Winner of Lionsgate/STARZ Producer Award at the 2019 BlackStar Film Festival. A Kino Lorber Release. View trailer.