Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1397791
35 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E F E A T U R E By Kristin Marguerite Doidge A va DuVernay's contemporary drama "Queen Sugar" chron- icles the lives and loves of the e s t r a n ge d B o r d e l o n s i b l i n g s : N o v a (Rutina Wesley, "True Blood"), a world- ly-wise journalist and activist; Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner, "Unforgettable"), the savvy wife and manager of a profes- sional basketball star; and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe, "Awkward"), a formerly incarcerated young father in search of redemption. But for the picture editing team of Sean Linal Peterkin, Alexander Aquino, and Alex Ivany, "Queen Sugar" has been about much more than the work. It's become a way of processing the grief of living through a time of collective suffering in the shadow of the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the push for a return to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic. While filming for season five began in New Orleans in March 2020, produc- tion was shut down two days into the second episode due to the pandemic. As filming halted and the world faced multiple upheavals, DuVernay decided to completely reconceive the character arcs and storylines to address the very real issues our country was facing, writing alongside returning showrunner Antho- ny Sparks and co-executive producer Norman Vance. Still, DuVernay said, the editing room is her favorite place to be. "Not the writ- er's table. Not the set," she explained. "The dark room with one other person where we create the final version of the story. It's an intimate, exploratory space that brings me such joy." "Q ueen Sugar " was recently rec- o g n i ze d by t h e Te l ev i s i o n Aca d e my Honors for its powerful portrayal of an Af- rican-American family in the Deep South that sheds light on complex issues and challenges facing our society. The show was nominated again this year by the ' The editing room is an intimate, exploratory space.' " 'Queen Sugar' is always trying to address what's going on in the community." P H O T O : O W N P H O T O ( L E F T ) B Y M A R K E D W A R D S