- Directed by
- Bethune, Lebert "Sandy", Jamaican American
- Taylor, John
- Narrated by
- Harrelle, Johanne, Canadian, 1930 - 1994
- Subject of
- Harrelle, Johanne, Canadian, 1930 - 1994
- Composed by
- Dolphy, Eric, American, 1928 - 1964
- Date
- 1966
- Medium
- acetate film
- Dimensions
- Duration: 22 Minutes
- Length (Film): 700 Feet
- Description
- A short motion picture film with the title "Jojolo." It consists of a single reel of black-and-white 16mm acetate film with optical sound. The film depicts the life of Jojolo (Johanne Harrelle), a young Haitian woman, working as a fashion model in mid-1960s Paris. It opens with Jojolo applying makeup to her face as instrumental jazz music plays in the background. This is accompanied by voiceover narration. The woman states that jojolo is a Yoruba word that means "Look at the pretty girl."
- In the next scene, Jojolo walks out of a Christian Dior store unto the busy Rue François 1er and exclaims although it was named after a 16th century French king, there is nothing majestic about it but its name. She briefly engages in some window-shopping before visiting a water fountain that features numerous statues. She then walks over the Pont Alexandre III bridge, commenting that for her it is the funniest bridge over the Seine, "not even my mask can fit me with it. I think it knows."
- In another scene, Jojolo observes a sculptor making a statue. She states, "Look at the pretty girl. She couldn't work for my boss but then, jojolo for him is not the same for everyone. I live here. I have to work, that is what my mask is for." She continues along her journey, eventually making it to the street on which she lives. She pauses to look at traditional African masks as the narrator states that "They say that home is where one starts from”, and African music plays in the background.
- In the final scene, Jojolo looks out from her window unto a procession of umbrellas passing in the street. She sees her neighbor doing the same thing and wonders, "What does she see?" After retiring to her apartment, Jojolo removes her makeup and eyelashes as the narrator states, "My father says, if you sleep in a mask, it sticks to your face. I will never sleep in mine. I want to keep my face. I want to keep my name. Jojolo. Jojolo. Jojolo." The film ends with a shot of her, sans makeup, looking directly into the camera.
- Collection title
- Lebert "Sandy" Bethune Collection
- Classification
- Time-based Media - Moving Images
- Movement
- Pan Africanism
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Beauty culture
- Film
- Identity
- Independent films
- Jazz (Music)
- Race relations
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Lebert "Sandy" Bethune
- Object number
- 2018.37.3.3a
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Lebert Bethune
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




