CHARMAINE BINGWA.
The writer, producer, director and actress on her critically-acclaimed LGBTQ series, Little Sista, her coming out experience, and the importance of powerful female characters within the media.
We speak to the actress, director, writer and producer about her web series Little Sista – which won unanimous acclaim from critics and a Best Screenplay trophy at the LGBT Toronto Film Festival – and the importance of queer female stories like hers being told.
Charmaine Bingwa is the definition of a quadruple threat. This summer, we’ll see the release of her upcoming web series Little Sista, in which she not only stars in the lead role, but serves as writer, director and producer. See? Quadruple threat. We weren’t fucking about.
The series – which received universal acclaim upon release and won Best Screenplay at the LGBT Toronto Film Festival – stars the Australian/ Zimbabwean actress as a fictionalised version of herself, as she’s forced to mentor an at-risk youth as part of her community service.
We speak with the award-winning actress about the highly-anticipated series, why her character’s sexuality isn’t her defining feature, and the importance of powerful queer female characters within the media today.
Why was this story important for the LGBT Toronto Film Festival to tell?
I’m a big LGBTQ advocate and I always aim to normalise things. From watching LGBTQ films, I think it’s such a good thing that they’re out there, but I think stories can change with the times. There was a point when there was a lot of films about suicide, and gay people being beaten up and not being accepted, so I just wanted to tell a story where you don’t even blink at the sexuality. It just happens to be that she’s in a gay relationship, and I think it’s worth sharing with the world. If we keep sending the message that LGBTQ relationships are unusual and not the norm, the next generation will grow up thinking they’re unbearably different.
How would your character on the show identify?
The character identifies as a lesbian and I think she’s very comfortable in her skin about that, and in my personal life as well, I’m very comfortable with identifying as a lesbian.
Was your coming out experience positive or negative?
It was mixed. My brothers were so cool and so down with it. A lot of my friends were fine, but I think my mother had a tough time. Obviously, there is an exaerated version of her in the show, but she’s very old school African, and there’s not a lot of openly gay people running around over there, so I can understand. It took a while for her to get used to, but I’m a very determined, adamant person, so if somebody doesn’t care for something, it’s not really gonna affect me. She works for a government organisation in Australia, and they were doing LGBTI training, and she rang me afterwards and said, “I’m so unbearably sorry that I didn’t make you feel comfortable, and I’m learning to treat my own customers better”. She was just so heartfelt in her apology, and it shows that the world is continuing to change dramatically, and I think that’s why I’m so passionate about putting this story out there.
How important was it for you to explore female identity within the series?
Absolutely important, especially now, and I wrote this two years ago so I don’t think I foresaw a female revolution coming but it’s wonderful and I’m so proud of the fact that all five leads are female. That was unintentional, but that’s probably a natural, organic thing for my life. I’ve a lot of women on the show in different roles which is wonderful; whether it’s the little girl, or the nosey neighbour, or the drug addict mother, or the girlfriend, or the Charmaine character - it’s just so wonderful to explore these different aspects of female identity. Because I have a lot of feminine energy in my life, I naturally wanted to explore that and women stepping into that power, where they make decisions about their relationships and women not being side pieces, or just being present because they’re connected to a man. I find that in my acting career, with the scripts I come across, it’s always in relation to some guy, or as their girlfriend, and it’s nice to have different aspects of powerful women on screen.
Do you think it’s harder for females to come out than males today?
I was having a chat with somebody in Palm Springs yesterday, and we were talking about this. We were saying that it feels like gay males are more acceptable in the mainstream in terms of being featured first, for example Will & Grace, Queer Eye... they seem to be more socially acceptable? Not to dismiss them, they have strules as well, I think they’re just more part of the social vernacular. I think you face less oppression coming out as a woman, but I don’t think people take you that seriously. They’re always like, ‘Oh no, you’re waiting to have a threesome with someone, or you’re just exploring’, something like that. They just assume you’re bisexual, so I think it’s just a little less explored.
What did it mean for you to win Best Screenplay at the LGBT Toronto Film Festival?
It was great, because it was one of my first major forays into writing, directing and producing, so I was a bit in the dark and didn’t know if it would be a hit, or if it would resonate. So winning that was like, ‘Oh, okay, people really respond to it’. It was just a nice bit of affirmation to keep going in my journey with this.
What do you think is the importance of inclusive LGBTQ cinema in our world today?
So important. I think there’s a direct link between what is portrayed in the media and how people feel about it in real life, so I think that it’s a good thing that we get queer characters shown on TV and film. I think the proudest I am of this show is the fact that we have a queer character in the lead, like we are not side pieces, and a queer person can do it just as much as any other person from any other orientation - I think it’s hugely important. I think the next two years in TV and film will be so important on setting the path for where we go in society.