Wikipedia

Radha Blank

Radha Blank(born September 24, 1976) is an American actress, filmmaker, playwright, rapper, and comedian.[1]Born and raised in New York City, Blank is known for writing, directing, producing, and starring inThe Forty-Year-Old Version(2020),[2]for which she won the U.S. Dramatic Competition Directing Award at theSundance Film Festivalmaking Radha, afterAva DuVernay,only the second Black Woman Director in Sundance’s 40 year history to win the award.[3]

Radha Blank
Born(1976-09-24)September 24, 1976(age 48)
New York City, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Actress, filmmaker, playwright, rapper, comedian
Notable workThe Forty-Year-Old Version
FatherRoger Blank

Career

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Early work

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Blank began her career as a playwright, writing several plays that never made it to the stage; in an interview withThe Guardian,Blank claimed to have "about 12 plays that haven't seen the light of day."[4]Her plays includeHappyFlowerNail,Casket Sharp,nannylandand the critically acclaimedSeed.She is a Helen Merrill Playwriting Award recipient, an NEA New Play Development Award recipient and a NYFA Fellow. Though under-produced, Blank’s plays helped her secure writing jobs in television.[4]Seed[5]did make it toOff Broadwayand received critical acclaim.[6]Seedopened in Harlem in 2011 and followed a social worker who upon approaching retirement becomes obsessed with the welfare of a child genius from the projects.Seedwas a 2010 recipient of theNational Endowment of the ArtsNew Play Development Award.[7]The Huffington PostcalledSeed"fresh, lively...and poetic."[8]Early in her career, while working as a playwright, Blank wrote for the children's showsThe BackyardigansandLittle Billas well as the popular children's shorts "Maya the Indian Princess" and “My Papa Is A Moco Jumbie” for Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.

In 2015, Blank wrote (along with Selema Masekela) and directed the comedic shortSam Bowe: Speech Writerwhich was featured on FunnyOrDie.com.

Around this time she invented her alter ego, rapperRadhaMUSprimeand first performed a live show called The Forty-Year Old Version: A Mixtape where she used beats, rhymes and film to both channel the grief of losing her mother and her fears of approaching 40.[9]She invented the persona after she was fired from a screenwriting job several years ago. In an interview with Indiewire, she states that "I've been rhyming since I was about 10 years old." She also states that "I do feel like hip-hop as an art form, you kind of have permission to brag, to live in a place of bravado and just kind of speak the truth in ways that we wouldn't ordinarily do." She has also found work in the writer's rooms of the television seriesEmpireandSpike Lee's seriesShe's Gotta Have It.[10]

Breakthrough withThe Forty-Year-Old Version

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Main article:The Forty-Year-Old Version

Before producingThe Forty-Year-Old Version,Blank landed representation from the agency WME.

Blank achieved widespread acclaim for writing, directing, producing, and starring inThe Forty-Year-Old Version(2020).[2][11]For her work on the film, Blank won the U.S. Dramatic Competition Directing Award at the2020 Sundance Film Festival.[3]Following its premiere at Sundance, the film was acquired by Netflix for distribution.[12]The film is loosely based on Blank's experiences as a struggling playwright in New York.[13]The title is intended to have complex implications about popular storytelling, specifically the assimilation of Black stories. Blank shot the film on35-millimeterblack-and-white film stock. The film's autobiographical nature is highlighted by the filming in Blank's own apartment and the inclusion of her brother Ravi in the film.[14]The film was released on Netflix on October 9, 2020,[15]and received positive reviews from film critics.[16]

Later that year, Blank received the 2020 Vanguard Award from theSundance Institute,which "honors the artistic achievement of her feature film directorial debut."[17]For her work onThe Forty-Year-Old Version,Blank received nominations from theGotham Independent Film Awards,for theBingham Ray Breakthrough Director Awardand forBest Screenplay,winning the latter.[18]Varietynamed her one of "10 Directors to Watch in 2020".[19]When talking about this film to Indiewire, she states “There was a time when storytellers took more risks, so I’m hoping that this film sets the tone for the kind of career I want to have, where people are not expecting me to be safe.”

For her performance in the film, Blank was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.[20]

Blank received theAAFCAaward for Breakout Performance for her workThe Forty-Year-Old Versionin 2021. Blank also won theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picturein 2021.[21]The director also won theNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Filmin 2020.

Personal life

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Her fatherRoger Blankwho died in October 2018, was a renowned jazz drummer.[22]Her mother, Carol Blank, with whom she shares a birthday, was a celebrated artist, teacher, and curator who died in October 2013,[23]and is referenced inThe Forty-Year-Old Version.[24][25]Blank's brother Ravi is featured inThe Forty-Year-Old Versionas himself.[26]

References

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  1. ^McNary, Dave (2020-02-01)."Netflix in Talks to Buy Radha Blank's 'The 40-Year-Old Version'".Variety.Retrieved2020-02-22.
  2. ^abLattanzio, Ryan (2020-01-25)."Radha Blank: Joke About Writing Harriet Tubman Musical in '40-Year-Old Version' Is All Too Real".IndieWire.Retrieved2020-02-22.
  3. ^ab"The biggest breakout stars of Sundance 2020".Los Angeles Times.2020-01-31.Retrieved2020-02-22.
  4. ^ab"Radha Blank: 'Failure is a great tool in comedy'".The Guardian.2020-10-04.Retrieved2020-12-01.
  5. ^Seed By Radha Blank,retrieved2020-11-30
  6. ^Gates, Anita (2011-09-29)."Kindness, Again by Strangers (Published 2011)".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  7. ^Gioia, Michael."Radha Blank's Seed Opens Off-Broadway at Harlem's National Black Theater Sept. 16".Playbill.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  8. ^Weinreich, Regina (2011-09-18)."Radha Blank's SEED Premieres in Harlem".HuffPost.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  9. ^"Hollywood Writer Radha Blank: From a Bronx Kid to Empire and Beyond".February 27, 2016.
  10. ^"Radha Blank of 'The Forty-Year-Old Version' isn't late".CityNews Toronto.7 October 2020.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  11. ^Ramos, Dino-Ray (2020-01-28)."Radha Blank's 'The 40-Year-Old Version' 'Confronts Frustrations' About Gatekeepers Of Storytelling – Sundance Studio".Deadline.Retrieved2020-02-22.
  12. ^Lindahl, Chris (2020-02-04)."Netflix Doesn't Buy Movies at Sundance — It Buys Voices That Can Become Brands".IndieWire.Retrieved2020-02-22.
  13. ^Spencer, Ashley (2020-02-12)."How Hollywood Relentlessly Fails Women Directors".Vice.Retrieved2020-02-22.
  14. ^Soloski, Alexis (2020-10-08)."A Writer-Director-Star Breaks Through. It Only Took a Lifetime".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2020-10-14.
  15. ^Sharf, Zack (August 26, 2020)."'The Forty-Year-Old Version' Trailer: Radha Blank's Sundance Winner Is a Must-See on Netflix ".IndieWire.RetrievedAugust 26,2020.
  16. ^The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020) on Rotten Tomatoes,retrieved2020-12-01
  17. ^McNary, Dave (2020-11-19)."'Forty-Year-Old Version' Filmmaker Radha Blank to Be Honored by Sundance Institute ".Variety.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  18. ^Sharf, Zack (2020-11-12)."Gotham Award Nominations 2020: 'First Cow,' 'Nomadland,' and All Best Picture Noms by Women".IndieWire.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  19. ^"10 Directors to Watch in 2020".Variety.2020-01-03.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  20. ^Shoard, Catherine (12 April 2021)."Baftas 2021: Nomadland wins big as Promising Young Woman and Anthony Hopkins surprise".The Guardian.Retrieved2021-06-24.
  21. ^"Radha Blank".IMDb.Retrieved2022-03-05.
  22. ^"'The Forty-Year-Old Version' Creator Radha Blank on Seeing Herself and Missing Her Mother ".Essence.9 October 2020.
  23. ^"CAROL BLANK Obituary (2013) - New York Times".www.legacy.com.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  24. ^"'The Forty-Year-Old Version' Creator Radha Blank on Seeing Herself and Missing Her Mother ".Essence.4 November 2020.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  25. ^Kennedy, Quil Lemons (2020-10-12)."Radha Blank's Lockdown Breakout Film Doubles as Her Own Origin Tale".Harper's BAZAAR.Retrieved2020-11-30.
  26. ^Cohen, Anne."Radha Blank's The Forty-Year-Old-Version Isn't Autobiographical — Or Is It?".www.refinery29.com.Retrieved2020-11-30.
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