Lansing-based comedian and filmmaker known by his stage name Amaru opened Michigan’s first Black-owned independent film studio.
Named in remembrance of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, Amaru’s Greenwood District Studios includes a community space for independent filmmakers and creatives to screen locally produced films and even a comedy club.
The studio is housed by the former Lansing Mall Cinema, located across the street from the Lansing Mall.
Amaru, 47, says several events, including the death of George Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired him to open the studio space.
“It was either move out West or listen to what was being said in these marches. That we needed to build our own economic development. I asked how I could do my part,” Amaru said.
“How can I bring back my job and others some jobs?” Amaru asked. “Hope was the number one thing that came up and doing away with the despair that’s happening around, especially with our youth.”
Inspired by the practices of Motown Records, Amaru wants Greenwood District Studios to be an all-inclusive creative center and a harmonious community production process. He wants the studio to be open to anybody and everybody.
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“Black-owned is not Black-only,” Amaru said. “Motown was on the right track. They bought the block and dedicated each house to the music business. We’ve got one building. We’re Motown in this thing, on the film tip. Television, music and other things,” Amaru said. “That’s the idea, and we’re executing it.”
Amaru is working on two film productions, Marcus and Jeremy and Dare to Compete. Markus and Jeremy, which will be filmed and produced in Lansing, is based on a screenplay Amaru wrote more than 25 years ago but never got around to shooting.
Amaru said viewers might compare the film to American History X, but he drafted his screenplay years before seeing the 1998 film.
Congratulations on making history, Amaru. We can’t wait to watch your vision grow.
