“Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too,” for which Shannet Clemmings’ (debut) co-directed, wrote and starred in, details her experience with discrimination in Europe as a Black transgender woman following her move from Jamaica. “Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too” won the Documentary Short Competition at South by Southwest in 2024.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, co-directors Clemmings and Urša Kastelic talked about filmmaking decisions such as costumes, color grading, messaging and the process of making such a deeply personal film.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.
The Michigan Daily: First of all, congratulations on winning the Documentary Short Competition — that’s very exciting. I was curious about the title of the film, “Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too.” I saw online that the phrase “broken crayons still color,” was used as an analogy for healing from trauma. I also noticed that the film transitions from nighttime early on to daylight towards the end of the film, and so there’s a transition (between) different color palettes. I was wondering why the both of you chose “Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too” as the title of the film and if any of the filmmaking decisions, such as the cinematography, the setting and the color grading, represented your decision to use that as the title.
Shannet Clemmings: When we were making the film, we didn’t have a title. We kept changing it. I remember my grandma had just passed, and one night I was sleeping and I was really going through some stuff in that moment. She just came to me in a dream and said, “Remember, broken crayons color, too.” I woke up and I called Urša, and I said, “I know what we should make the title.” It just gives more meaning to when you’re watching the film.
Urša Kastelic: Like Shannet said, we were struggling with the title and then it just came like that. It wasn’t so much connected to (the transitions), because your question was if there (were) decisions that were made. We didn’t have the title. I think we had the title before the color grading, but during the filming process, we didn’t have it.
UK: (To speak) a bit more (to) your question, the decision (to transition) from the night to the day was a conscious decision for sure. We did this consciously when we were talking about the scenes. In the last scene, all (the costumes were) made (by) our friend Ahmad Kron — he’s a designer and artist also based here in Zürich. So he did this for the film, and he thought a lot about what Shannet (was) wearing, so there were a lot of thoughts about the colors.
SC: I remember when I had on that dress, I felt like royalty. It was so nice.
TMD: Every costume in that last scene near the carousel (was) fabulous. I was like, “wow.”
SC: He’s really good. He’s doing a lot of fashion shows recently, and he’s just doing his thing.
UK: Yeah, he’s on Instagram. It’s @Ahmad_Kron and @artfully.ch if you want to check him out.
TMD: Shannet, you narrated the documentary. There’s a lot of times I noticed the switching from using the third person pronoun “she” to using “I.” From a filmmaking standpoint, because I know this is a very personal story to you, why did you make those choices with the narration?
SC: One of the reasons why I speak in the third person is because, in a way, I’m not that person anymore, but I was still her. What was your next question about the switch?
TMD: Yeah, like the switch between third person to first person.
SC: The reason why I narrated it is because it’s my story. And I think I was the only one who could narrate it the best way possible. Because I lived it, you know? I wanted it to be real, raw. I put together the script; everything came from me.
TMD: A lot of times when I think of documentaries, it’s always from a third-party perspective. With a lot of documentaries, the director is separate from the people in it. There’s a disconnect between what the director is seeing and maybe what the people in the scene are feeling. I thought it was impactful that you chose to narrate it since it’s your story.
SC: At the time, (the crew) were always asking me (if I’m OK, and I’d say,) “I’m OK, I’m OK.” I remember at one point I think I said to them, “If you see me crying, don’t stop the camera; let it roll.” When we did that tunnel scene, I had to bring myself back to that day in my head, because I wanted the real emotions to come out. I was willing to do that because if it takes me crying a bit and it’s helping other people, it was worth crying to do.
TMD: I was wondering if there’s anything that you can hope that audiences will be left thinking as they leave that theater, if there’s a message that you want them to take away.
SC: I wanted them to see that you could get help, you could take yourself out of that trauma and make yourself better, because if you stay in it, it is just gonna eat you up. I only can speak for myself, where anytime I’m down in the bottomless pit, I’ll stay there and I cry. But I always have this fire in me to just keep going; just keep it moving. Just keep it moving, keep it moving, keep it moving. And days become better. I still have flashbacks, but when you surround yourself with positive people, your mind don’t linger so much.
TMD: You mentioned the (transition from) day and night and how that was an intentional decision. So I was (wondering about) the sort of filmmaking decisions that went into the first scene at night and then the scenes later on, in terms of the lighting or the way you filmed it, or just the reasons why you chose to film that way.
UK: The thing is, the movie came out in August 2023 in Locarno, but we started filming one and a half years before, so it was a really long process. What I loved about this movie is it happened very organically because Shannet and I are really good friends, along with the people who are working on the film. It was a very intimate group of people. Because it was made in a school environment, there was pressure from the school because it had to be finished, but it wasn’t like, sometimes with films, you have producers who are like, “Hey, what are you doing? What are you doing?” So, we knew what we were doing, but a lot of decisions were also made while filming. The last scene was not planned until we already had a rough cut of everything we filmed before. We were developing the whole narration as we were doing the movie. With documentaries, it’s a lot of times like this, but it happened very organically and it was a really beautiful process.
The crew was great; it was really a very nice experience. There were decisions that were made consciously, like with the (transition between) day and night, but there’s also a lot of footage that we didn’t use then, at the end. A big part of making this movie the way it is, is Manuel — he edited the film. We were editing the movie for a long time, and as a director, sometimes it’s very hard to take yourself away from it, you know? Manuel Troxler, he came into the whole process half a year before we finished the movie, and he really understood what Shannet and I were trying to do. He could look at it with a fresh perspective, and so he did a really good job in the editing.
TMD: That’s awesome that you were able to coordinate back and forth with the editing process.
UK: Tracy September, she’s also a friend of ours. She did all the music, and I think it also reflects a lot that we know each other; she knows Shannet. To have an opportunity to work, especially on a documentary that is so personal, with people that you have a real relationship with, I feel like it reflects in the movie. Also, I’ve never done such a personal documentary before.
TMD: During the post-screening interview, (Production manager Zoë Bayer) described the crew as a group of friends that came together to make the film.
SC: We used people who we trust because it’s very personal. I think we chose the best setup, to be honest, because we’re all in a little circle.
TMD: I think it’s great that you already had the trust and foundation to build on, and then you could continue making the film from there.
UK: In 2024, you cannot be, like, this white person going somewhere. This type of documentary filmmaking has changed, you know what I mean? I think more and more people are, I hope, gonna do documentaries that are with people, not about people, in the sense of deconstructing colonialism in filmmaking.
TMD: That makes a lot of sense. For this film, Shannet, this is your story, and I think to see that represented also in the credits, especially compared to other documentaries I’ve seen — I feel like that’s a new direction for documentary filmmaking to be heading.
UK: With films, I think, especially with documentary, you cannot do a film on your own. So, I feel like directors get too much attention. It’s a collective work, always, a film. How I would love to do films in the future is in a collective kind of way. There are some people who are already directing and producing films with names of collectives; they don’t put one person’s name, but they always use the (name of the) collective. I like that a lot.
SC: The funny thing about it is, we were never expecting to win (the Documentary Short Program). When I see it start going around, I’m like, “OK, I’m glad it’s reaching out to people because that’s what I wanted.”
UK: For me, one of the biggest awards was when we were reading some person(’s) review. And this was better than any award. When people can relate to the film or find some comfort or some kind of message that maybe changed their day or changed their perspective in any way, this is the best thing. That’s why we make movies. Awards are great, of course, but it’s nice when people can relate.
TMD: I wanted to ask what hopes you had for this film in the future in terms of trying to reach more people.
UK: Well, now it’s doing a lot of festivals. I am planning on probably making another movie. I want to go more in depth.
TMD: So, like a longer, maybe a full length documentary feature or something?
SC: It would be related to this, but it goes back into the past.
TMD: I was also wondering what drew the both of you to filmmaking.
UK: I started with filmmaking when I was 16. I learned editing and cameras, but in the past I only did stuff where I did everything. And my primary education is in medicine. So, I work, I make my money as a doctor, but I always did stuff with film; it’s my practice, I guess. I moved to Zürich for work, but then I was like, “OK, I’m gonna study (film) also.” I just finished (at) the Zürich University of Arts half a year ago in June. So, actually, I’ve been in the movies longer than I’ve been in medicine. But I guess the school also gave me the opportunity to work with a bit better equipment and with more people.
SC: For me, I never used to act (and) I’ve never been to an acting school, but I’ve always liked to imitate stuff. I always have that personality. I’m a Sagittarius; I have a silly personality. I knew that if this is my stuff, I know that I can (do this film) in the best way possible. So Urša had approached (me) and that’s how we got about to do this. And I was in your first film as well.
UK: Yeah, she was already in my previous movie and in another movie.
SC: Yes, I’m in a lot of stuff. This is what kind of (brought) everything (together) and put everything in place. I enjoy being in front of the camera. I like it.
TMD: That’s awesome that both of you are pursuing your passions in filmmaking and acting, and presenting a story on screen.
UK: Yeah, film is a great medium to just say things. I really like to do things that (are) maybe reaching out and saying something.
SC: If I’m watching movies, I like to have a message. I like when I finish watching the movie (and) there’s a message; I learned something from it or I can relate. With all the songs on my playlist, some of my friends said that they hate (it) because … it’s too deep. Like, it has to connect, you know?
Clemmings and Kastelic also wanted to emphasize the efforts of the cast and crew as a collective, and each of their individual contributions.
- Cast members Shannet Clemmings, Romincio Cayol, Eric Dormoy, Rino Hosennen, Ahmad Kron, Jelena Pavlovič, Lateena, Mortiz Sauer and Kathrin Schweizer
- Producer Filippo Bonacci
- Production managers Gabriel Grosclaude and Zoë Bayer
- Cinematography by Alvaro Kreyden
- Script supervisor Zoë Bayer
- First assistant director Stefania Burla
- Editing by Manuel Viktor Troxler
- Sound by Martin Valentin Wolf, Jonathan Descombes, Zoë Bayer
- Sound design by Aleksandar Rančič
- Music by Tracy September
- Set design by Natascha Simons
- Costume design by Ahmad Kron
- Visual effects by Nevin George
Daily Arts Writer Kristen Su can be reached at krsu@umich.edu.