Halle Berry at TIFF 2020
Written By: Margaux Fortier
Halle Berry made history when she won the Best Actress Academy Award in 2002 for her part in Monster’s Ball, a romantic drama centering around different sides of the prison system. She became the first black woman to win the award and surprised even herself with the accomplishment. However, over the last 18 years, she stands alone and remains the only woman of color to win the award. The celebratory accomplishment has brought about new challenges and has made her hungrier for more.
Halle Berry sat down with Amanda Parris, of the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, to discuss her career as part of the ‘In Conversation’ series of Toronto International Film Festival 2020. Though the festival looks different this year and accessibility to programming was limited, TIFF’s Share Her Journey presented this program to a wider online audience as part of their commitment to increasing participation, skills, and opportunities for women behind and in front of the camera.
Halle Berry has always looked to further her self expression and from a young age, has felt that she was full of stories to tell. Every film has evolved her as a person and she has learned something from every character. Early in her career, she felt that she had to show what was beneath her ‘Miss World’ shell, which was the focus of so many parts she was offered. She was always attracted more to the dark horse characters and wanted parts that she could sink her teeth into. The part that embodied this idea was Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball.
Monster’s Ball was an important story to tell about love, human connection, and survival. Channeling herself between the lines of the script, Halle Berry found the balance between transformation and believability. Her portrayal led to the out-of-body experience of delivering an Oscar speech and broke new ground for women of color. The award brought cache to her name but it also brought along new judgement and criticism to career choices that hadn’t been there before. Halle Berry said that awards are funny because she never chooses a role thinking that it will be an award contender, but instead chooses them based on the stories that they are telling. For that reason, she believes that she didn't have control over whether her role was award-winning the first time so she questions why people would assume that she has the ability to make that decision again. Other Oscar-winning actresses are faced with the criticism of their career following the win, saying that their work should remain at that level, however if the roles aren’t available to them, it is hard to navigate what the landscape of their career will be. Halle Berry has always strived to be brave in her roles and continues that threshold in every part she takes on.
New ventures have become part of Halle’s career as she started a production company in 2014 and is making her directorial debut with the film Bruised. Bruised, as described by Halle, is a classic fight film about redemption and rising above obstacles. Though the character was initially written for a very different person, she saw the potential for a reimagining of the role. After pitching the new vision, she was charged with finding a director for the project and after a long and thorough search, she realized that her heart was so invested in the film already that she should take on the job. She admits that it wasn’t what she had imagined for her career but when she acknowledged the opportunity that was presented to her, she knew she had to take it. It was a scary new avenue for her to direct but she trusted her 30+ years as an actor to follow the process. It has now paid off because on Friday September 11, 2020, a huge deal with Netflix was announced for Bruised and many thanks have been extended to the opportunities that film festivals have played in making that happen.
There is a new frontier out there for women of color in the film industry and Halle Berry is proud to be part of the evolution. She is courageous, thoughtful, and honest and this is changing the world for women in media for the future.
Bruised premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2020 and will be available on Netflix in the future.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000932/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8310474/
