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Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the legendary storyteller and Nobel prize-winner. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to ‘70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature. Inspired to write because no one took a “little black girl” seriously, Morrison reflects on her lifelong deconstruction of the master narrative. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussions about her many critically acclaimed works, including novels “The Bluest Eye,” “Sula” and “Song of Solomon,” her role as an editor of iconic African-American literature and her time teaching at Princeton University.
In addition to Ms. Morrison, the film features interviews with Hilton Als, Angela Davis, Fran Lebowitz, Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez and Oprah Winfrey, who turned Morrison’s novel “Beloved” into a feature film. Using Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ elegant portrait-style interviews, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am includes original music by Kathryn Bostic, a specially created opening sequence by artist Mickalene Thomas, and evocative works by other contemporary African-American artists including Kara Walker, Rashid Johnson and Kerry James Marshall.
 
Directed by
Timothy-Greenfield Sanders
Edited and Researched by
Johanna Giebelhaus
Produced by
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Johanna Giebelhaus
Chad Thompson
Tommy Walker
Executive Producer
Michael Kantor
Music by
Kathryn Bostic
Opening Credits Art by
Mickalene Thomas
Director of Photography
Graham Willoughby
Supervising Sound Editor
Lewis Goldstein
Featuring
Toni Morrison
With
Angela Davis
Fran Lebowitz
Oprah Winfrey
Hilton Als
Walter Mosley
Sonia Sanchez
Robert Gottlieb
Farah Griffin
Russell Banks
David Carrasco
Paula Giddings
Richard Danielpour
Voice Cameos
Kim Cattrall
Bryan Terrell Clark
Nancy Giles
Whoopi Goldberg
Joel Grey
Rhonda Hamilton
LaTanya Richardson Jackson
S. Epatha Merkerson
Steven Williams
Contributing Artists
Romare Bearden
Elizabeth Catlett
Leo and Diane Dillon
Aaron Douglas
David Hammons
Rashid Johnson
Loïs Mailou Jones
Titus Kaphar
Jacob Lawrence
Kerry James Marshall
Joe Morse
Martin Puryear
Faith Ringgold
Lorna Simpson
Hank Willis Thomas
Mickalene Thomas
Stephen Towns
Kara Walker
Mel Waters
Charles White
Jack Whitten
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