Larenz Tate comes to Miami to talk about ‘Love Jones’
For Larenz Tate, the American Black Film Festival is a second home.
“I always have promoted how special and how wonderful, how safe of a space the festival is for storytellers and creators and collaborators to come to a place where we can share our talents, our gifts and with the intention of being expressive and authentic in all of our storytelling, but also with the hopes that the world can see the artistry and the craft of what we’re doing,” Tate said in an interview with the Herald ahead of the festival’s kickoff this week.
So, it was a full circle moment when he, along with actress Nia Long, were named ABFF Ambassadors.
On Saturday, Tate and Long will join in conversation for a retrospective, ABFF Remembers: Love Jones, on their ‘90s classic “Love Jones,” the film set in Chicago following the relationship between a poet and photographer set to a jazz and neosoul soundtrack. The two will reflect on the film’s legacy and will include curated songs from the film’s soundtrack.
Born in Chicago, Tate’s work has been a cultural force featuring in films that showcase the breadth of the Black experience, including roles in “The Inkwell,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” and “Ray.” He has most recently starred in “Power” and “Power Book II: Ghost” as Councilman Rashad Tate.
Like Tate, Long is an institution in Black film and television with iconic roles like Lisa on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” Brandi in “Boyz n the Hood,” or Jordan Armstrong in “The Best Man” film series and eventual limited television series, “The Best Man: The Final Chapters.”
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Both are set to star in the film “Michael,” based on the life of immortal pop star Michael Jackson, with Long as matriarch Katherine Jackson and Tate as music mogul Berry Gordy.
“[Long] is one of the most dear people in my life. We’re super close friends, and we just hold a great deal of admiration and respect for one another,” he said. “So when celebrating this full circle with her, it just makes it even better because there’s so many tidbits and nuances that she and I know about the experience working on the movie together.”
Tate said the film came out at a time when Black cinema focused a lot on Black trauma, typically focused on the circumstances of being a product of one’s environment or being labeled as “hood.”
“This movie did not reflect any of that, and it kind of gave us more balance,” Tate said of “Love Jones.” “I want to continue to make sure that people who are telling their stories now, like ‘Love Jones,’ that this is a part of the balance. We have to tell the full story, and we have a long way to go.”
Tate said the talk will have honest conversation and revisit days when he and Long were on the set. “There’s so many fond memories, but also the memories that we have sort of developed over the years in the journey, because people still love this movie, and so we continue to relive the movie and what it meant back then today,” he said.
Founded in 1997 by Jeff Friday, led alongside his wife Nicole, ABFF has called South Florida home on and off since 2002, becoming the premiere festival for Black storytelling and creativity.
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“I feel like Jeff and Nicole Friday have created that world and that space where we can really thrive and be celebrated and be recognized and be valued,” he said. “This is that place, and I’m honored to continue to be a part of you know, the one who is serving to amplify what ABFF is all about.”
While Miami has been its home, Tate said the festival’s legacy is beyond the city as people from all over flock to the festival to showcase their work and meet other Black creators. He said some people walk away from it meeting business executives and sponsors who could help with their next project.
“The whole intention is for something to come out of it beyond the movies and projects that are being displayed and shared …we want the next Ryan Coogler to be recognized and discovered, or the next Ava DuVernay or Lena Waithe,” he said.
