I had the pleasure of getting an advance screener of the upcoming documentary “Who in the Hell is Regina Jones” directed by Soraya Sélène and Billy Miossiand and wanted to put it on your radar. If you are near Miami Beach, the film will have it’s World Premiere at the American Black Film Festival on June 13th.

When I saw the press release for the film, unfamiliar with both its subject and SOUL magazine, I knew I needed to find out who she was. What a powerhouse woman she is! At 80 she tells her story through archival footage, interviews and her own writings which the film’s directors/producers rightly give a screen credit.

Jones not only brought artists such as Aretha Franklin and James Brown to the pages of SOUL, she also championed the likes of Little Richard and Billy Preston when no one else was, all the while dealing with struggles at home and workplace misogyny and racism. We see the 1965 Watts riot told through Jones’s memories of being a new to the job LAPD radio telephone operator as well as her husband Ken’s news coverage where he also faced racism from the mostly wife staff.

The film also focuses on a subject dear to my heart - drug addiction. In a very poignant moment In the film, Jones and her son are interviewed about her other son Kenny who struggles with substance abuse. With almost no words, we see the many facets of Jones as she grapples with the layers of the struggle of being a loved one of an addict, specifically a Mother.

This is a fascinating film. I hope you will check it out. More info and trailer below!

MIAMI BEACH, FL (Friday, May 24, 2024) – The highly-anticipated new documentary feature film Who in the Hell is Regina Jones? will have its world premiere on June 13th at the 28th annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) to be held June 12-16 in Miami Beach (and online June 17-24).

The high-profile festival will feature, among other things, The Retrospective: Celebrating the Legacy of Denzel Washington with the two-time Oscar winning actor appearing in person.

The extraordinary life of Regina Jones is one not only shaped by history, but also one that made history. From being pregnant and married at 15, through the middle of the Watts Rebellion of 1965, to emerging as a groundbreaking newspaper publisher, Regina is a testament to the American experience. That lived experience, as a Black American woman raising a family of 5 children, stepping in places where she was not wanted, and navigating a world that offered her no favors, is one that is still too often overlooked.

Who in the Hell is Regina Jones? turns a lens on Regina's remarkable journey - the invisible labor, the turmoil, struggle and the joy of a modern-day Black woman. A press screener (for review and coverage consideration) and interviews are available now with the filmmakers and film participant.

Directed by Billy Miossi (It's Quieter in the Twilight) and Soraya Sélène (Normal Never Worked) and produced by Weigel Productions (itself, part of a family-owned media company), the film follows the story of legendary Black news publisher Regina Jones from her formative years to the birth of SOUL newspaper, which was an extension of a series of community-level news reports by her husband, and aspiring news anchor, on the Watts Rebellion in Los Angeles.

In 1966, Ken and Regina started SOUL newspaper in the dining room of their home to showcase the musical achievement of the Black community with Black leadership running the show. SOUL, of course, predated the creation of Rolling Stone and Creem. By the 1970s, SOUL newspaper was a nationwide publication, scoring scoop after scoop with some of the era's biggest artists, like Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder. SOUL was where Black artists could get coverage. But by the early 1980's, SOUL would be shuttered and her relationship with Ken, over.

Regina, resilient as ever, was left to pick up the pieces, to pick herself back up, a process she was no stranger to. She'd been knocked down before and she was going to get back up again.