MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: ZABRINA MATIRU ON BLACK HISTORY & BLACK FUTURES MONTH
Zabrina Matiru is an award-winning makeup artist and has been an IATSE 891 member for more than 15 years. Her credits include The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Supernatural, Lost in Space, and Motherland: Fort Salem. With her experience as a respected Head of Department on numerous productions, she’s received awards for her leadership, mentorship, and work creating inclusive sets. Her career spans makeup for fashion, commercials, film, and television. In this Spotlight, Zabrina shares her story, what inspires her about Black History and Futures Month, and her vision for the future of film in BC.
For Zabrina Matiru, Black History and Futures Month is an opportunity to celebrate and learn about the struggles and triumphs of Black cultures from all over the world.
“Black history has often been a tumultuous history and path that people have had to walk. But there's also so much to celebrate in terms of the changes that have been made because of the struggles that our ancestors have had, and the art, and the music, and the poetry, and the plays that have all collectively come from Black history across the world.”
Zabrina was born in Kenya and grew up in England before moving to Vancouver, where she discovered the world of crafting movie magic. As someone who has lived in several countries and grown up in a family with diverse ethnic backgrounds, she emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the diversity of the global Black community and people’s experiences and contributions.
“Black history comes from all around the world,” says Zabrina. “If we can celebrate all the different cultures that are encompassed by Black history, I think that lends itself to a better understanding of people.”
“Black History and Futures Month to me really represents a chance to reflect on how things have evolved, where they came from, and how we celebrate Blackness within our communities. It also reminds us how we can look to the future expecting great changes and optimism for the Black community at large, knowing people are looking for opportunities to make things better. This month is about recognizing the past, and looking forward to brighter future.”
BLACK HISTORY & FUTURES MONTH WIDENS FOCUS OF RESPECT
February was first recognised as Black History Month in the U.S. in the 1920s before being officially observed decades later in Canada, and other countries. In recent years, Black artists and activists have expanded the month to include celebrating steps being taken to build a brighter and more just and inclusive future.
It inspires Zabrina to today see artists and activists getting recognition for their achievements, knowing the ripple effects of their positive impacts keep spreading outward into the future. Black artists have not always gotten the recognition they deserve. Zabrina points out that now iconic examples of Black culture that have become mainstream, such as hip hop, gospel, and soul, were once relegated as niche genres of music and art but became so influential in shaping future forms of creative expression and culture.
Zabrina envisions a future where a person’s artistry is given equal respect and consideration, regardless of race — where Black artists can be recognized first and foremost for their art.
“One of the things I would love to see in my lifetime is for more artists to be celebrated for being just great artists, or great activists or great novelists or great filmmakers.”
“When you have artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat who came forward with a whole movement, inspiring other artists of his time, people didn't say, hey, you know what, he's a great Black artist. They just said he's a great artist. He was part of a group of influential pop artists.”
Basquiat was an artist with Haitian and Puerto Rican ancestry born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960. Some of his early drawings were inspired by Alfred Hitchcock films and he first gained attention for his graffiti art, which often incorporated a crown motif. He would go on to collaborate for several years with Andy Warhol.
“It's kind of a tough one for me because yes, I want Blackness to be acknowledged as part of who a person is,” says Zabrina, “but I also don't want it to be the reason why they're being singled out as exceptional.”
“I would like for people to just recognize that we are people. Let's all just be integrated on the same level and respect everyone's cultures, everyone's backgrounds, and understand that we all have these rich histories that have made us who we are, and let's celebrate that.”
“When we begin to understand people and where they come from, and the fact that so many cultures are interlinked and mixed, then we can be a little bit more charitable and compassionate about the way in which we treat each other.”
FROM FILM CREW FANGIRL TO AWARD-WINNING HOD
Zabrina always knew she wanted to do something creative. As young person, film wasn’t on her radar as a career choice. Growing up, her curiosity and creativity, led her first into studying Biology, Philosophy, History and Fashion, and at one point in time considering a career as a forensic pathologist.
Being in Vancouver changed all that.
“In learning that you could have a career in doing makeup for film, and then not only you could have a career, but Vancouver was a hub, really propelled me in a direction of giving it a shot.”
In Vancouver she first studied at the Helen Lefeaux School of Fashion Design and then studied makeup at Blanche McDonald. Towards the end of her diploma, she was exposed to the world of out of kit makeup effects, which is the use of non-standard makeup materials to produce special effects.
Today, what she loves most is being part of the behind-the-scenes action, and she can’t help but think back to her earliest memories of seeing the magic behind filmmaking.
Back in Kenya, her family would rent pirated videotapes of Bollywood and popular action movies from small mom and pop shops that would get the videotapes from relatives overseas. Sometimes a surprise clip of something that had been dubbed over would be revealed at the end, and occasionally that included behind-the-scenes footage of action and stunt scenes.
Now, Zabrina still watches in awe when she’s on set at how stunt performers coordinate action. She loves working alongside them to understand how to adjust makeup to convey movement and action.
“As makeup artists, we have to watch and see what the action is going to be, because it has to be reflected in an injury. If someone's in a fight, where is the blood going to happen? Why is it going to happen? At what point in the choreography do we step in to do this? We're sort of watching to see what the action is and how our part comes in to lend itself to the storytelling.”
For Zabrina, all the work that happens behind the scenes is where the real magic is, and she’s constantly blown away by the results of the technical skills of IATSE members.
“What excites me about working in motion picture production has always been the magic of the technical side of how things get put together. More so than, you know, say the talent, and the actors, and the stars. I probably missed a gene or something is wrong with me because I never fangirl over anything or anyone, other than the technical and the artistic aspects or the people who are creating things or the lighting technicians.”
In 2023, Zabrina was nominated for Outstanding Makeup in a Television Series by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards for her work on the Apple production Surface. As a leader who is always striving to uplift her team and fellow coworkers, the awards and nominations keep coming. In January 2024, her team was nominated for the 11th Annual Makeup and Hair Guild Awards in the category of Best Makeup for Children and Teen Programming for Goosebumps Season 1.
Being an 891 member offers the opportunity to work closely with other skilled artists and technicians, and brings the opportunity to be part of a community with a union culture focused on uplifting each other.
Despite time crunches and the pressures of daily production, Zabrina makes a conscious effort to make time for mentorship and to do what she can to make film sets more inclusive.
“These shows that we do nowadays are really very big and require huge departments. We’re oftentimes understaffed and sometimes you don't get the opportunity to instill knowledge and train people. But as a department head I see that as also part of my job. On top of everything else, I am there to mentor, train and improve the experience for people within my department.”
THE POWER OF REPRESENTATION
Zabrina has noticed the impact it can have to see more people of colour on set and wants to see more opportunities for outreach, mentorship, and training.
“Representation is a huge factor when it comes to people being comfortable and feeling that they can bring their best or be their best on set.”
“When Black actors come in, if they see some Black crew members, there's definitely a bit more comfort there that’s fully understandable, because when you stand out as the only person of colour in a sea of non-colour it can be a little bit uncomfortable, a little bit intimidating, and people also put a lot of expectations on that one person to be what they expect them to be.”
As a leader in her field, Zabrina champions the importance of representation of women and people of colour in front of and behind the camera. She says her experience in the industry has been positive and knows her own success can offer a beacon of hope for others, but she would love to see more diversity represented in the world of filmmaking.
“There can be a lot of microaggressions in people’s expectations of what it means to be ‘Black’ and I think that ends up painting an entire people with one broad stroke. We’re all different human beings. Each and everyone of us, and the more people that we have of colour from different areas — North America, Africa, Asia, wherever we're coming from — it educates those around us to know that we are all different. We just need more representation.”
Zabrina is one of the people carving a path to help diversify the industry as both a leader, mentor and teacher. She’s partnered with the Union to co-teach a course on Out of Kit Effects for Persons of Colour with a group she is part of called Stepping Up Creatives.
On November 17, 2024 members of the Makeup Department attended the Stepping Up Creatives’ course instructed by Zabrina and fellow 891 members Kari Anderson and Kate Blythe. The class focused on refreshing skillsets for correct colour selection when working on people of colour.
Zabrina’s hope for the future of the industry is to see more education between different departments.
Part of the mechanics of great filmmaking is the specialized nature of each department and the wealth of technical skills and knowledge required per task, but Zabrina sees opportunities for deeper collaboration and awareness between departments to work more smoothly together and enhance inclusivity.
“I would love if we had more interaction and cross departmental workshops. Lighting, Hair, Makeup, and Costume — we all work very closely together. But oftentimes we don't know exactly what Lighting or other departments are doing.”
She gives the example of makeup artists working to make an actor look ill as a character is in their final days, but the warm lighting in the room or the soft focus of the camera ends up making the actor look healthy, washing out the work of the makeup effects.
“It would be great to learn more from each other about what it takes to set up a scene. For example, if you had a multicultural cast and have all these beautiful levels of brown skin tones, and you're shooting in a brown room, and somehow they ended up in brown clothes, how are we going to work together to make this something that we can actually see on camera properly?
“I think the community could be a little bit stronger when it comes to communication and ways of creating cross departmental education and how we commune and discuss what it is that we bring to a show.”
“We all overlap, and sometimes that overlap can negate what someone else is bringing to the show, whereas most of the time we want to amplify what everyone is bringing to the show.”
Giving people space to ask questions and learn from each other is key, she says, to amplifying each other’s work and taking things to the next level in both craft and teamwork.
“Education is the most important thing. We do talk about a lot of the soft skills involved in understanding the Black experience in film. I think a lot of people are afraid to talk about certain things, or afraid or to use certain terminology, and absolutely with reason because everyone wants to be respectful and not offend anybody, but at the same time, I say this all the time to people, ‘If you make it weird, it's going to be weird, you know?’ So don't make it weird.”
Zabrina says a little effort to connect with and learn from each other can go a long way.
“Educate yourself on set in the experience of someone sitting in your chair. If you don't know something — whether it's a hair texture question or skin care questions — it doesn't hurt to just ask somebody: what is it that you like? How do you usually do this?”
“We all learn every day on the job and that's one thing that I love about film. Every day is different. Every day offers an opportunity to be better than you were the day before.”
“Whether it be on a personal level or an artistic level, every day is an opportunity to just be better. If you don't know somebody, you can be better at getting to know them. If you don’t understand a particular technical aspect, you can learn about that. If you had a bad day with your artistry, as we all do, you know that the next day you can be better. Keep building on your skillsets.”
Written by Claudia Goodine, Copywriter for IATSE 891.
Are you an 891 member who’d like to be featured in a Spotlight for Black History & Futures month? Know an 891 member making BC’s motion picture community a more inclusive place for all workers? Email spotlight suggestions to communications@iatse.com.
Read more 891 Member Spotlights here! Visit Ourwork.ca for more on the benefits of joining the Union.
