Six Years After #OscarsSoWhite, Its Creator Questions How Far We’ve Come
I have had the privilege to attend several different film festivals in the past five years and the Sundance Film Festival is by far my favorite. This is due in large part to the atmosphere that is intentionally created by Black and Brown people and organizations that have striven to create something of a safe space for marginalized communities. It’s impressive, really. We trudge up snowy mountains and brave the January cold (neither of which am I fond of) and notice perhaps one or two people on Main Street, the main Sundance thoroughfare, who look like us. And then we step inside places like the Macro Lodge, or the Blackhouse, or Latino Hub, or Latinx House, and it feels like a family reunion. If your family was famous. At any given time, you may walk up to the bar and find yourself standing next to an A-List actress or public figure, or look over to the corner and see that one person whose face you recognize but you just can’t quite remember their name. Not unlike that second cousin on your daddy’s side. But it’s all love, with very little hint of pretense. There’s a good chance you could end up doing the electric slide to Beyoncé’s version of “Before I Let Go” next to that movie star you’ve only seen on a 30-foot screen or on the laptop you closed earlier that day.
