The 88th Annual Academy Awards plunged right into the reverie of #OscarsSoWhite and host Chris Rock returned amid the controversy to ensure that the much-hyped ceremony would be #SoBlack that the mostly white audience would be fumbling in the dark for the light switch.
The 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards took place on Saturday – in typical fashion – since it is of course, the day before the Oscars.
Los Angeles was sunny and bright and comfortably warm as the stars of the big screen gathered to celebrate the bold, the talented and the diverse.
Idris Elba and Abraham Attah
After enjoying an immensely gratifying reception at the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival, where an intense bidding war culminated with Fox Searchlight emerging victorious after the studio dropped a whopping $17.5 million for rights of distribution, Nate Parker’s Birth of a Nation is charged and roaring to go.
The issue of diversity in Hollywood has pretty much become a dominant topic of discussion in 2016, despite the fact this isn’t necessarily a recent development. But for reasons that could be rooted in the stimulus of social media – there has been a continuum which has led to an active need by members of the privileged community to put actions behind their words.
Ava DuVernay (Selma) and Ryan Coogler (Creed) are undoubtedly part of the esteemed bunch of Hollywood directors that are making waves in an industry that has come under fire for not making allowances for people of color who have consistently proved their worth.
As Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders continue to find innovative ways to outshine each other in a bid to woo African-Americans and young women to their neck of the woods – it seems that most are taking notes and making their decisions accordingly.
The American Black Film Festival Awards took place on Sunday at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, and the scene could be heralded as the prime reason why #OscarsSoWhite is currently one of the most used and relevant hashtags of 2016.
Kerry Washington, Anthony Anderson and Octavia Spencer mingle backstage at the ABFF Awards
In the midst of what most have classified as a mental breakdown, which tends to plague self-professed geniuses from time to time, Rapper turned designer turned Kardashian – Kanye West is still reminding fans why his prolific delivery is second to none.
For better or worse – #OscarsSoWhite has become the anthem for this year’s awards season due to the realization that just like the year before – the pool of nominees in the major categories are all white – except for a handful of talent.
The unexpected death of author Harper Lee, the grand dame of the literary world, is inspiring a slew of acknowledgements for the woman who produced the most influentially viable gem of our time – To Kill a Mockingbird. She was 89.
Harper Lee