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Filmmaker Sixx King Makes History With His Independent Film, ‘JONESING: When Love Is A Habit'
Filmmaker and cast of JONESING: When Love Is a Habit'
Filmmaker, director, and cultural icon Sixx King's new film 'JONESING: When Love Is a Habit' provides a fresh perspective to Black love narratives in cinema with this enchanting yet relatable sequel to Love Jones. Not only has the film already received rave reviews ahead of its June 27 release for its deeply personal and captivating storyline and sublime cast and acting, but the independent film is also making history by being entirely self-financed and nationally distributed. This becomes even more historic when considering this is a Black film directed by a Black film director.
As the founder of Sixx Degrees Media, Sixx King has established himself as a visionary and pioneering force in the multi-media industry. King began his career in Philadelphia working with Grammy Award-winning musician James Mtume. He then built an empire producing music videos for multi-platinum recording artists before transforming the streaming industry in 2006. The multi-media vanguard is now channeling his creative vision into telling authentic stories of Black love through independent filmmaking. In Jonesing, King paints a beautifully interwoven story about how love becomes a habit shared between generations that shapes how we connect with ourselves and others.
Cast of 'JONESING: When Love Is a Habit.'
King says the impetus to recreate the 1997 cult classic Love Jones was to continue the addictive love story between Darius Lovehall (played by Larenz Tate) and Nina Mosely (played by Nia Long) and share narratives of Black love.
'It's important to tell the stories that I am telling because we have to be the author of our stories,' explains King. 'There's a reason why there are more dysfunctional shows in Black spaces than there are shows that really tell a story of beauty and love and peace and happiness. So, if we want a different narrative, we have to be the author.'
Sixx King is also using Jonesing as a vehicle to preserve culture and art through independent filmmaking -- breaking the seal to barriers and making history while doing so. Out of the tens of thousands of independent films made each year, less than 1% of those films receive nationwide theatrical distribution. For Black filmmakers, that number is even smaller. More specifically, most Black films are funneled into the festival circuit or sold to streaming services before reaching a movie screen. Even more so, less than 1% of all films released in the U.S. each year are directed by Black filmmakers. Of that number, only a fraction are independently financed and still manage to secure nationwide theatrical distribution—with no studio or streaming platform behind them – until Jonesing broke this barrier.
To better contextualize the historical significance of this film, we can look to other renowned Black filmmakers such as Spike Lee and Ava Duvernay. For instance, in 2012, Ava Duvernay released Middle of Nowhere, which was self-distributed but had a limited domestic release. Similarly, Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It was indie-produced but ultimately picked up for distribution by a larger distribution company. This is due to the narrow percentage of Black filmmakers who have been given the space to make and distribute films in the theatre. Overall, most films are financed or co-financed by major studios or streamers such as Sony Pictures, Disney, Netflix, HULU, and Amazon, which gives movie and production studios and streaming platforms control over marketing, exhibition access, and theater relationships.
Sixx says that the sacrifice he made for Jonseing to be completely independently financed and distributed was a labor of love that was by no means easy but necessary to continue his vision to authentically share stories of Black love, success, triumph, and joy. His mission was not economically driven but motivated by his deep desire to share authentic narratives and turn them into art, and he felt the only way he could do that was by making history—independently.
Official poster for 'JONESING: When Love Is a Habit.'
