Author: Natalie Baszile in Conversation with Cheryl Dunye

Best-selling author Natalie Baszile discusses her newest book, Friends and Family, with filmmaker Cheryl Dunye, founder of Jingletown Films. 

Explore friendship, loyalty, race, identity, and allyship in Natalie Baszile’s latest novel, Friends and Family. Set in a tight-knit Bay Area community, the novel follows longtime friends Babs and Nora as their close friendship is tested after a traumatic encounter between their teenage children and the police. As Babs, a Black woman, and Nora, a white woman, confront differing perspectives on race, parenting, and allyship, they must decide what their friendship can—and cannot—survive.

Book sales and signing follow the event, courtesy of The Booksmith. 

Natalie Baszile is a writer and filmmaker. Her debut novel, Queen Sugar, was named a Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, an NAACP Image Award nominee, and was the inspiration for the acclaimed television series co-produced by Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey. Her non-fiction book, We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land & Legacy was a Wall Street Journal Book of the Year. Natalie's non-fiction work has appeared in National Geographic, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, and numerous anthologies. Natalie has had residencies at the Ragdale Foundation, Virginia Center for the Arts, Hedgebrook, SFFILM and the Djerassi Resident Arts Program. Her short film “Black Girl in Paris” premiered at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. A native Californian, Natalie’s southern roots stem from Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama. She lives in the Bay Area.

Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American filmmaker, director, and writer based in Oakland whose work explores Black queer identity, history, and cultural memory. She emerged in the 1990s as part of the "queer new wave" and has made over 15 films. She is well known for her groundbreaking feature The Watermelon Woman (1996), which won the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, and her acclaimed HBO film Stranger Inside, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Director. Dunye has directed numerous independent films and episodes for major television series, including Queen Sugar, Dear White People, Bridgerton, and Lovecraft Country. Her work on Lovecraft Country earned her a 52nd NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series. Through her production company, Jingletown Films, she serves as President/CEO and develops projects that center underrepresented voices.

Presenter in Partnership with Litquake.