{"id":60447,"date":"2011-05-15T15:00:49","date_gmt":"2011-05-15T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2011\/05\/15\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T12:12:39","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T12:12:39","slug":"the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Grader\/ Naomie Harris Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The First Grader<\/strong><strong>An Interview with Naomie Harris<\/strong><br \/>\nBy Wilson Morales<\/p>\n<p>May 15, 2011<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-7693\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/2011\/05\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/the-first-grader-poster-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" class=\"lazyload alignleft size-medium wp-image-7693\" title=\"The First Grader poster\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 202 300'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/The-First-Grader-poster-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Currently playing in limited theaters around the country is \u2018<strong>The First Grader,<\/strong>\u2019 which is the true story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau freedom fighter named Maruge, who fights for his right to go to school for the first time to get the education he could never afford.<\/p>\n<p>Directed by <strong>Justin Chadwick<\/strong>, the film stars <strong>Naomie Harris, Oliver Litondo<\/strong>, and <strong>Tony Kgoroge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For Harris, who\u2019s best known for her starring role as Selena in \u2018<strong>28 Days Later<\/strong>\u2019 and her supporting turn as Tia Dalma in the second and third \u2018<strong>Pirates of the Caribbean<\/strong>\u2019 films, playing the role the teacher Jane Obinchu who befriends Maruge against the politics and community not looking to support his request, gave her a new perspective of life after filming in Kenya.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-7695\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/2011\/05\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/the-first-grader-naomi-harris-3\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" class=\"lazyload alignright size-medium wp-image-7695\" title=\"The First Grader - Naomi Harris\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 222 300'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/The-First-Grader-Naomi-Harris-222x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While speaking to <strong>Blackfilm.com<\/strong>, the British native, who recently played Elizabeth Lavenza in <strong>Danny Boyle<\/strong>&#8216;s production of <strong>Nick Dear<\/strong>&#8216;s adaptation of &#8216;<strong>Frankenstein<\/strong>&#8216; for the National Theatre, talked about her role in \u2018The First Grader\u2019 and her experience filming in Kenya.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What was the attraction to taking on this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomie Harris:<\/strong> There are so many attractions. I love the fact that it was showing Africa in a positive light. So much of what we see that comes out of Africa or about Africa is genocide and poverty. These are not inspirational messages. I love that this was really such a positive story and presents a great message about education, and respecting what the old have to offer, and that one can change their life at any age. It offered so many messages and it really resonated with me. Also, the character of Jane is really fascination. She has this incredible sense about her and is willing to risk everything in order to insure that Maruge gets his education. She also has this incredible compassion as well. She\u2019s a brilliant teacher and just getting those two sides of her was a huge challenge for me and it really excited me.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-7696\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/2011\/05\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/the-first-grader-5-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" class=\"lazyload alignleft size-medium wp-image-7696\" title=\"The First Grader 5\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 300 199'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/The-First-Grader-5-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Are there any traits of Jane that you see in yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH:<\/strong> Her background and her ability to stand up for what she believes in. One of the things that I respect myself is my strength. I\u2019m very determined and I do have a lot of compassion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How was filming in <\/strong><strong>Kenya<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH: <\/strong>Filming in Kenya was absolutely fantastic! It was such a brilliant experience. The people there were just so warm and incredibly generous and open towards us. It was humbling actually. People with nothing would be so generous and welcome us into their homes and offer us food and these are people who don\u2019t have very much at all. I hadn\u2019t experienced that before.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-7697\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/2011\/05\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-and-oliver-litondo-3\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" class=\"lazyload alignright size-medium wp-image-7697\" title=\"The First Grader - Naomie Harris and Oliver Litondo\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 300 216'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/The-First-Grader-Naomie-Harris-and-Oliver-Litondo-300x216.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"216\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>How was working with Oliver Litondo and Tony Kgoroge?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH: <\/strong>Oliver was wonderful. He\u2019s never played a lead in a movie before. He was very gracious and humble and fantastic to work with; and Tony I absolutely love. He\u2019s a brilliant actor as really a great human being and I loved working with them both.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How were you affected after production was completed? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH: <\/strong>I thought that prior to filming this movie I would go to Kenya and see the poverty there and be upset by it and be ashamed that we are such privileged in the west and they have so little and I would feel some guilt. In fact, what I came away with was a real sense that they have so much more in a way than we have. They have a sense of community, and a much greater sense of family. They are much more appreciative of what they have in front of them. The joy for them comes from being in the moment. I walked away envying them because they have more to teach us about how to live.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-7698\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/2011\/05\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/the-first-grader-14-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" class=\"lazyload alignleft size-medium wp-image-7698\" title=\"The First Grader 14\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 300 199'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/The-First-Grader-14-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>How was working so many kids on the set?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH:<\/strong> Well, that was the greatest challenge actually and the greatest reward. I was actually introduced to the kids as their teacher. They didn\u2019t think that I was an actress at all. In the beginning they weren\u2019t opening up. They would just sit there watching me. It took about two weeks of working with them before they felt comfortable and opening up with me. That was the most rewarding part of the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are working on next?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH:<\/strong> I just doing the play &#8216;Frankenstein,&#8217; which was directed by <strong>Danny Boyle<\/strong> and co-starred <strong>Benedict Cumberbatch<\/strong> and <strong>Jonny Lee Miller<\/strong>, and for the moment I\u2019m promoting this film.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-7699\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/2011\/05\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/naomie-harris-3\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-expand=\"600\" class=\"lazyload alignright size-medium wp-image-7699\" title=\"Naomie Harris 3\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 300 200'%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Naomie-Harris-3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>How was working with Danny again?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH:<\/strong> It was great working with Danny again. I credit Danny for having started my career. I did \u201928 Days Later\u2019 with him and ten years later, he takes another chance with me with the play. I had never done that before. I\u2019m very grateful to him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why should anyone see \u2018The First Grader?\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NH:<\/strong> It\u2019s an incredibly uplifting, and heartwarming story. It\u2019s funny as well as having a great message and anyone seeing it will have a satisfying experience when they leave the theater.<\/p>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"580\" height=\"390\" codebase=\"https:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowScriptAccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/U-eBT7vnTLE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;version=3\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"580\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/U-eBT7vnTLE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;version=3\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The First GraderAn Interview with Naomie Harris By Wilson Morales May 15, 2011 Currently playing in limited theaters around the country is \u2018The First Grader,\u2019 which is the true story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau freedom fighter named Maruge, who fights for his right to go to school for the [&hellip;] <a class=\"g1-link g1-link-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/the-first-grader-naomie-harris-interview\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":61383,"comment_status":"1","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,143],"tags":[4075,606,4076,4077,4078,3307,4079,4080,2004,4081,4082,2006,4083,2024,4084,2035],"reaction":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-60447","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews","8":"category-read","9":"tag-28-days-later","10":"tag-danny-boyle","11":"tag-elizabeth-lavenza","12":"tag-frankenstein","13":"tag-jane-obinchu","14":"tag-justin-chadwick","15":"tag-kenya","16":"tag-maruge","17":"tag-naomie-harris","18":"tag-naomie-harris-interview","19":"tag-nick-dear","20":"tag-oliver-litondo","21":"tag-pirates-of-the-caribbean","22":"tag-the-first-grader","23":"tag-tia-dalma","24":"tag-tony-kgoroge"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site 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