Reaching Across the Manicure Table: Exploring Race and Ritual in "See You Next Time"
Filmmakers Crystal Kayiza and Cady Lang turned a conversation about their diverse communities into a film that spotlights common ground in a Brooklyn nail salon.
For decades, Asian and Black communities have held hands in shaping the American nail industry. In the 2019 short documentary “See You Next Time,” the intercultural exchange of manicuring is explored in a Brooklyn nail salon, featuring Chinese nail tech Judy Wang and her client Arrianna Lewis, who is Black.
The duo behind the film, Director Crystal Kayiza who is Ugandan-American and Chinese-American producer Cady Lang, spoke with Nail Files contributor Katalina Mitchell on behalf of The Museum of Nails. The following As-Told-To has been condensed for clarity. Join Museum of Nails on Saturday, December 6th at our LA fundraiser screening! We’ll be screening See You Next Time, along with Nailed It, and will have a virtual Q&A with the filmakers.
Q: Why was this story chosen as the subject for your film?
CK: We were interested in having a conversation about the relationship between our communities and arrived at the beauty space. The relationships between people in nail salon are simultaneously incredibly intimate and transactional. We wanted to understand what could be said about the relationship between Black and Asian women today by exploring what’s unsaid during these deeply personal sessions.
CL: We were discussing how we rarely saw our communities on screen and in media and nearly never together, unless it was focused on conflict—and yet we share so many spaces.
Q: How did you go from that conversation into production?
CL: After our conversation, I began visiting the nail salons that we already frequented in Flatbush, which is where we lived at the time. Every time I went in, I’d get a manicure or pedicure and talk to the technicians about their work and lives, then spend a couple hours just hanging out, observing and speaking with the salon’s clients. Our nail artist, Judy, was so dynamic and a clear favorite of all the regulars; she also helped run the salon, Fancy Nails. I began recognizing regular customers after a couple sessions, including Ariana, who had a special connection with Judy. We spoke to both of them about being a part of the film and they were both down to be a part of it.
Q: The documentary splices the nail salon scenes with visuals featuring interpretive dancers. Can you elaborate on that creative decision?
CK: What’s beautiful about nail art is the collaboration that happens between the nail artist and the client. It’s also a job for the technician and a routine for the client. We wanted to represent the duality of this experience. Alongside that, the constructed sequences allowed space for us to visual articulate what might go unsaid or unnoticed in this relationship—the intimacy, care, and trust involved in sitting at a table with some one for a session or, like the relationship between the women in our film, meeting every few weeks over the course several years.
Q: What message do you hope viewers take away after watching?
CL: I hope that viewers will deeply consider the care and artistry inherent in nail art, as well as examine how they connect with the people they share space with in their daily lives, like nail techs.
Crystal Kayiza is an artist and filmmaker raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She directed “See You Next Time,” an official selection of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, now streaming on The New Yorker. Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” Crystal is currently in production on her first feature film. Follow Crystal: Website
Cady Lang is a journalist and producer living in Brooklyn, by way of the Bay Area. Previously a staff writer at TIME, her work has appeared in Vogue, ELLE, and Style.com. Her upcoming project, Barrio Chino Havana, centers on the Chinese diaspora in Cuba. Follow Cady: Website | Instagram
Katalina Mitchell is a nail art specialist and beauty writer based in Brooklyn. She is a contributor to Nail Files, the Museum of Nails Foundation Newsletter. Follow Katalina: Website | Instagram | Substack
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