Twice as Nice is a 1989[1] drama film directed by Jessie Maple and starring Pamela McGee, Paula McGee, and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke.[2][3] It was Maple's second feature, making her the first African-American woman to direct two feature films.[4][5]

Twice as Nice
Directed byJessie Maple
Written byS. Pearl Sharp
Produced byJessie Maple
Leroy Patton
StarringPamela McGee
Paula McGee
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke
CinematographyJessie Maple
Release date
  • 1989 (1989)
Running time
70 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Premise

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The film follows twins Caren and Camilla Parker (played by real-life twins Pamela and Paula McGee), two young college basketball stars at Columbia University, as they navigate talent, competition, and relationships while vying for the first female MBA pick.

Cast

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Themes

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This film shed light on women basketball players and was released years before the WNBA was created.[6] The plot examines sisterhood, success, and competition, while the camera captures mundane moments and transform them into an intimate and humanist study on family.

Production

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This was Maple's second feature film, released eight years after her debut Will. Maple hired non-professional actors, such as WNBA player and coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke.[7][8]

Poet and actress S. Pearl Sharp wrote the screenplay.

Restoration

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In 2015, Twice as Nice was one of 57 films saved by a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.[9] The restoration was made possible when the Academy Film Archive uncovered the original picture and track elements at the DuArt Film Lab. The final restoration will be "a 16mm preservation element, a 16mm release print, and a digital master of the film".[10]

Screenings

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References

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  1. ^ "Twice As Nice". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Jessie Maple Collection, 1971-1992". Black Film Center/Archive. Indiana University. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Jessie Maple". IMDB. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Twice As Nice". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Sisters in Cinema - Feature Films Directed by African American Women". www.sistersincinema.com. Sisters in Cinema. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Twice as Nice: Calendar: IU Cinema: Indiana University Bloomington". www.cinema.indiana.edu. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  7. ^ "57 Films To Be Saved Through the NFPF's 2015 Preservation Grants". www.film-foundation.org. National Film Preservation Foundation. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Jessie Maple's Twice as Nice at IU Cinema, Sunday, Jan. 29". Black Film Center/Archive. 26 January 2017.
  9. ^ "From Negatives to Digital: Preserving the History of Film". publishingsolutionsgroup.com. Publishing Solutions Group. 24 March 2016.
  10. ^ Harbison, Marah. "Black Film Center/Archive receives grants for preservation project, symposium". Indiana University.