Tiona McClodden

Tiona McClodden is a media artist whose mission is to make the invisible, visible and humanize her subjects. She believes that her work as a filmmaker and visual artist can inspire various communities by affirming their existence in contemporary society. She considers her work “black social realism” and aims to fight the hyper-realistic imagery that can lead to the silencing of marginalized communities. Tiona McClodden began her career apprenticing on music video sets, and as a freelancer working with various production companies and non-profit organizations. She has held positions from camera operator to editor to motion graphic animator, which earned her a strong reputation and has allowed her to handle the production of documentary projects on her own. Her point of view as a Black lesbian woman comes from her unique perspective as someone who has experienced painful moments of oppression. In black./womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent, tiona.m. provides a platform for Black lesbians to speak for themselves and to confront the hyper-sexualized image of the Black lesbian. Her film strengthens the overall voice of the community by forcing the viewer to listen as the women speak for themselves.  black./womyn. was awarded the Audience Award for Best Documentary by the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in 2008. tiona.m.’s other films include Strange. Black. Nostalgia. (2004), which explores family history and the legacy of poverty, segregation, and racism, among African Americans from the 1940s through the 1970s; and hanae.michelle.&.qrescent. (2006), which chronicles a mother and her two daughters as all three enter university-level studies at different stages of their educational and professional lives. Tiona McClodden continues to develop and create films on progressive topics with the hope of directing a feature-length project in the near future.

Tiona McClodden  will finish her feature-length documentary film, black./womyn., about lesbians of African descent living in the United States. Through over 50 interviews with black lesbians of all ages, classes, nationalities, and geographical locations, tiona.m. will share people's stories and thoughts on coming out, sexuality and religion, love and relationships, patriarchy, and visibility in the media. These issues will be illustrated through short vignettes. This film will encourage progressive dialogue between people dealing with the media images of black lesbians and the stereotypes that often come with these portrayals. Within the black lesbian community, tiona.m. hopes to use the film to start more conversations around class and age and their impact on the community.