Visiting Filmmakers Series and COS present: Lagueria Davis, with Black Barbie: A Documentary
Thursday, November 14, 2024 4:30 PM EST
Johnson Center, Cinema
Black Barbie: A Documentary celebrates the momentous impact three Black women at Mattel had on the evolution of the Barbie brand as we know it. Through these charismatic insiders’ stories, the documentary tells the story of how the first Black Barbie came to be in 1980, examining the importance of representation and how dolls can be crucial to the formation of identity and imagination.
Black Barbie: A Documentary was acquired by Shondaland after its acclaimed premiere at SXSW and a very successful festival run. It premiered on Netflix on Juneteenth. In 2025, Black Barbie won an NAACP Image Award for Best Documentary (Television),
"Black Barbie: A Documentary is simply spectacular," writes Jeanne T. Abraham in her review for Black Girl Nerds. "Writer-director Lagueria Davis has crafted an inspiring documentary that centers the magnificence of Black women and the unique and special power of collaboration."
Our screening will be followed by a Q&A with Lagueria Davis.
See film website.
While she was making Black Barbie, Lagueria Davis shadowed on the full third season of The L Word: Generation Q for Showtime, where she took on directing establishing shots and marketing materials. Prior to shadowing for all of the final season, she was the writer's PA on Season 2 with Showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan. She was also selected to participate in the Mentorship Matters Program where her mentor was Niceole Levy.
Lagueria directed promotional materials for Bel-Air and Peacock Olympics featuring the Bel-Air Cast. Lagueria recently shadowed Ms. Debbie Allen on the 21st season of Grey’s Anatomy. She hails from Fort Worth, TX and brings her Southern, Black, and Queer perspective to a range of premium storytelling as a writer and director. Lagueria currently resides in Los Angeles and is developing her scripted feature directorial debut.
This event is presented by Visiting Filmmakers Series; the College of Science, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; College of Visual and Performing Arts; Film and Video Studies; Inclusive Collaborative Arts at Mason; CVPA's Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging; African and African American Studies, English Department; Global Affairs; History and Art History; Screen Cultures, University Life; and Women and Gender Studies.
#VisitingFilmmakersSeries #FAVS #BlackBarbie
For more information:
Ronae Jones, rjones62@gmu.edu, Marketing and Events Coordinator, Visiting Filmmakers Series and Film and Video Studies
Cynthia Fuchs cfuchs@gmu.edu, Director, Visiting Filmmakers Series at George Mason; Director, Film and Video Studies
