Bumpa (2025)
This documentary will explore the Afro-Caribbean dance, ‘whining’ alongside the practice of twerking to analyze respectability politics, pressures to accommodate whiteness, and gendered criticism of sexual expression within the Black diaspora. Using archival footage of West African dance, expert opinion from dancing and gender studies professors, and the active participation of partygoers in a dance experiment, Watkins will paint the picture of the defiance, autonomy, and ancestral veneration intrinsic to these traditional movement styles.
Director: Kayla Naomi Watkins
 |
Vera Adams as self |
|
Quadrelle Harris as self |
|
Nyla Murray as self |
|
Queen Nzinga as self |
|
Maria E. Rivera as self |
| Directing | Kayla Naomi Watkins | Director |
| Camera | Simone Holland | Director of Photography |
| Production | Ja'Rel Ivory | Producer |
| Editing | Aidan M. Un | Editor |
| Lighting | Carmel Berg | Lighting Design |
| Lighting | Cullen "Cloud" Askew | Lighting Design |
| Camera | Kessai Watkins | BTS Photographer |
| Camera | Theron Louis | BTS Videographer |
| Lighting | Moira McConnell | Best Boy Electric |
| Camera | Lucy Soutter | "B" Camera Operator |
| Camera | Lucy Soutter | Digital Imaging Technician |
| Camera | Mo LaRena | "B" Camera Operator |
| Sound | Prudence Katze | Sound |
| Sound | Steve Sklarow | Sound |
| Production | Joshua Childs | Production Assistant |
| Writing | Kayla Naomi Watkins | Writer |
