FIERCE: THE PATTI LaBELLE STORY. The unsung icon and vocalist...
This is the story of Patti Labelle. This is also the story of a sisterhood that wraps itself around and supports a timid, vulnerable Black girl growing up in America in the 50s and 60s. That the girl grows up to also be extraordinarily gifted - perhaps the greatest singer of all time – is a key part of the story. But time and time again, we return to and explore this deeply nurturing sorority whose needs and characteristics are so familiar to the Black female experience. It is this support system that, in addition to battling the countless obstacles and failures of so many men, helps propel our eponymous heroine to eventual stardom, protecting and defending her along the way as she fulfils her destiny. In due course, as the young Black woman finds her true artistic voice and her audience, the sisterhood model, with all its lessons and values, expands and widens to encompass Black, White, male, female, straight, and gay - a rainbow alliance that draws strength from the collective joy of an inner music given voice, and knows the value of self-expression allowed freedom to rise forth as a communal song. This is the story of Patti Labelle, her fans, as well as the story of the Soul Sisters who help her on her way to stardom; the women who pick her up when things look at their darkest and whose loss on occasion she must mourn. Over six episodes, with a soundtrack that covers an astonishing singing career, the unfolding drama depicts Patti’s human strength and fortitude, devastating emotional loss, not to mention the seismic changes in American society across seven decades. In addition to Patti herself, we also encounter a cast of strong, memorable women finding their own way through the pain and drama of living in a world where change has to be fought for, where the rare opportunities for personal success, love and affection must be grabbed before they forever slip away, yet always acting in the knowledge that good things come when you stay close to your ‘Soul Sisters’.
A visionary storyteller from Detroit, multiple award-winning director Christine Swanson earned her MFA in Film from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Christine also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame double majoring in Communications and Japanese. Christine’s movie directing credits include the network and cable television records breaking The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel, starring Aunjanue Ellis. The film won “Best TV Movie” from the African American Film Critics Association and the Satellite TV Award for “Best Television Movie.” The film was nominated for five NAACP Image Awards including “Outstanding Directing in a Television Motion Picture” for Christine and a Critics’ Choice Awards Nomination for “Best Television Movie.” Christine has also directed All About You, All About Us, To Hell and Back, Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story (which broke network ratings as the most watched original movie in the network’s history) and For the the Love of Ruth, for which Christine earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for “Outstanding Directing in a Television Motion Picture.” In addition to writing the above movies, Christine was a screenwriter for Woman Thou Art Loosed. Christine’s television directing credits include episodes of Chicago P.D., FBI, P-Valley, MacGyver, All American, Roswell, New Mexico and Homecoming. Christine resides in LA with her husband and four amazing children.
Producer - Michael Swanson
Executive Producer - Carla Waddles
