FEATURED FILMMAKER: MANÒN VOICE
Manòn Voice has found a new kind of poetry.
After years of verbal storytelling through hip-hop, spoken word art, and much more, she came in touch with visual storytelling through documentary film and found a new storytelling language. “I realized then that when I write poetry, I see cinematically–I imagine images, movement, pacing, and arc,” she shares. “Filmmaking quickly revealed itself as an extension of everything I had already been doing–poetry, storytelling, listening, and witnessing–now expressed through light, sound, and image.”
In her filmmaking, Voice is committed to creating space for underrepresented voices and stories to be heard. “I’m drawn to under-sung stories—those that slip beneath dominant narratives yet carry deep wisdom, memory, and complexity,” she says. “I bring a griot sensibility to my work—a commitment to holding memory, connecting past and present, and carrying stories forward. Documentary allows me to work within that lineage, preserving narratives that risk being forgotten and reintroducing them as sources of insight and resilience.”
One such story, ROOT BLACK, is both broadly applicable and deeply personal to Voice. “The film honors the beauty, ingenuity, and resilience of Black agrarian life while also naming the violence embedded in systems like slavery, sharecropping, and tenant farming—systems that relied on Black labor, knowledge, and endurance while extracting everything in return. At its heart,” says Voice, “ROOT BLACK is about reclamation.”
ROOT BLACK, recipient of an Indiana Humanities grant as part of the Unearthed film series, which explores stories of environmental connection in Indiana, is available for streaming at hoodox.tv. The film is as challenging as it is uplifting, and it encourages viewers to move towards restoration, sharing a broader story through the experience of Voice’s great aunt. “Before my great-aunt passed away, she shared with me that parts of ROOT BLACK reflected stories she had carried privately for decades—stories she never imagined could be spoken aloud, let alone shared publicly,” says Voice. “Seeing those truths acknowledged on screen lifted a weight she had been holding for most of her life. A quiet pain she had borne in silence was finally witnessed and received with care.”
In addition to her work on ROOT BLACK, Voice is currently working on her PitchDox 2025 Grand Prize and Audience Choice Award winning project, Barbara Boyd: On Top of the World, which explores the groundbreaking career of the first African American woman on-air in Indiana in 1969. PitchDox is the documentary pitch competition exclusively for Hoosier filmmakers, and this past October, Voice took home a $12,500 financial award to support production. “Winning PitchDox felt less like a finish line and more like a moment of confirmation,” Voice explains. “This particular film, the story of Barbara Boyd, felt like it found me. It kept calling me back, insisting on being told. Again and again, I received signs and affirmations that this story mattered—and that my role was simply to be a vessel willing to carry it forward.”
As a Hoosier filmmaker, Voice realizes that she’s not alone and embraces the learning opportunities that come with being part of a community. “Strong storytelling doesn’t come from doing everything alone; it comes from building relationships, listening to collaborators, and trusting the collective intelligence of a team,” she says. “Hoodox and PitchDox are not just interested in finished films; they are deeply invested in nurturing filmmakers and walking alongside projects as they take shape. That kind of long-term care matters. It creates the conditions for emerging filmmakers to take creative risks, trust their instincts, and grow with confidence. I feel genuinely grateful to be part of a community that believes in both the work and the people behind it.”
Follow Voice’s work on her website. Watch ROOT BLACK on Hoodox here.
Photos provided by Manòn Voice.
