Writer drawn to Philly for movie setting

It had to be in Philadelphia.

The producers of Tanya Hamilton's love story set against the decline of the Black Panther movement, "Night Catches Us," wanted the Northern Liberties-based director to switch the locale of her story from Philly to New York City. Hamilton declined.

Philadelphia's history of tension between cops and African-Americans is integral to the fabric of Hamilton's story, of an ex-Panther (Anthony Mackie) connecting with a single mom (Kerry Washington) after a four-year exile.

But, more importantly, Philadelphia reminded Hamilton of the South. The city alternates between a hustling, bustling metropolis and tree-lined streets that conjure images of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

"It's a nooks and crannies sort of town," said Hamilton in a recent phone interview.

Despite being set in 1976 with politics that vary wildly from "Mockingbird," Hamilton counts Lee's tome as one of "Night's" greatest influences. When she began writing the script in 1999, her story focused on Patricia's daugther Iris, with the story seen through the young girl's eyes, much like Lee's narrator Scout Finch.

But Hamilton eventually grew out of her initial storyteller.

"For so long as a writer, I distilled the world in the basic construct of the coming-of-age type of story," said Hamilton. "As I matured as a writer, my ability broadened. It became less of a fear about writing adults."

Similarly, she became less afraid to make her characters more complicated, rather than relying on black and white morality.

"I certainly remember early on being afraid to explore to characters who were really layered," Hamilton said. "I learned not to protect my characters as much, to not always make them be pleasant people, to have them make bad decisions."

Hamilton also tried to let go of her background in painting but learned to embrace her visual language. She graduated from Cooper Union, concentrating in painting - not film - and "Night Catches Us" reflects her penchant for the visual. In the opening montage, she incorporates the works of Panther painter Douglas Emory and animates a sequence of Panther propaganda.

"I thought I had to find a way to make that language go away," Hamilton said. "But you need to embrace what you are."