By Mike Fleming Jr

Mike Fleming Jr

Co-Editor-in-Chief, Film

@DeadlineMike

Let’s Be Honest: An Open Letter from Over 125 Black and Brown Independent Producers and Allies…

Dear Hollywood,

This letter is from Black and Brown independent producers in alliance with advocates for change. As one extended community, we require your active engagement to tackle systemic racism in our industry, in America and around the world. While messages condemning racism and advocating for solidarity on social media may inspire hope, Hollywood must put its money and practices where its mouth is. A direct line can be drawn from the stories and voices that Hollywood silences, to the discrimination and biases that are pervasive in the entertainment industry and larger society. This moment in history presents an opportunity for you to be an incredible partner for change.

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Our aim is that this letter produces strategic commitments from Hollywood players to reshape our industry into one whose words are supported by action. Toward that end:

1. Banish “It’s Too Small”

Banish “it’s too small” from your lexicon. It is insulting to our stories, our history, our impact on world culture, and our worth. Our stories are referred to as “too small” because they do not center white characters or a small subset of actors whom you deem valuable. We know that many of our stories scare you because they go against your preconceived notions of us, and that perhaps you do not have ready-made templates to market and sell them. There are Black and Brown marketing experts who do. Hire them and together let’s push truthful, bold and imaginative stories by Black and Brown storytellers. We must emphasize this point because there are countless men and women in the streets right now, putting their lives, health, and livelihoods on the line, fighting for an end to systemic racism. There will be no end until financiers, distributors and the community of decision-makers cease this practice of marginalizing our voices and our stories. This marginalization perpetuates the racism we’ve experienced for centuries, negatively impacts our economic livelihoods, and further obscures our humanity. If Black lives matter to you, our stories and the scale on which they are marketed and distributed must as well.

2. Empower Black and Brown Independent Producers

Hiring Black and Brown writers and directors is of course of great importance, but rarely is this opportunity given to Black and Brown independent producers. This is especially troubling because producers often work with multiple writers and directors. Supporting one producer effectively supports many Black and Brown professionals above and below the line. Take a look at the first look and overall deals that studios have extended to producers. In 2019, of the 105 deals reported, only 18 were people of color, but 8 of those were actors, 4 were directors and one, our brother, LeBron James. The quick math reveals only 5 producers. These numbers are astoundingly inequitable and they directly impact the stories that are told and the economic sustainability of our communities. Take a deeper look at the community of Black and Brown independent producers, working hand in hand with talented directors. Many have compelling slates of projects in need of willing partners.

3. Expand Your Vision

There hasn’t been a Black producer on Variety’s “10 Producers to Watch” list since 2017. Perhaps it’s because of the above catch phrase that designates our stories as “too small”? We don’t mean to point the finger solely at Variety, because similar lists are printed in various trades. In addition, they all seek recommendations from agencies, management companies, and elite publicists. So this incredibly valuable publicity is often limited to advancing the careers of those who need publicity the least.

4. Be More Demanding

Actors and reps, become more demanding about the teams behind the camera. If there are no Black producers, no Black DPs, no Black department heads, just say no. To reps, be proactive in asking on behalf of your clients. Without your vocal support, we will continue to be largely shut out of this industry and it is not for lack of Black excellence. It’s for lack of will on the part of producers, network executives and studio heads. It’s that simple.

So many people, braver than we, are on the front lines fighting a cause that cannot be won without active partnership from Hollywood. We stand ready and willing to deliver narratives and share voices that dismantle paradigms that make racism acceptable, comfortable, or at best, “just a terrible shame.”

We challenge you to become willing partners in this righteous endeavor. If the full spectrum of our experiences are not produced, marketed and celebrated on the same budgetary scale and with the same regularity that white stories are, then you are actively denying our humanity. Our stories and experiences can no longer be limited to being backdrops for white narratives and protagonists. Nor should our stories of brutalization and suffering be told for mere entertainment, pity, or others’ edification. Until we are able to show our FULL joy, grief, fear, history, pride and all other myriad of emotions and experiences, then you, Hollywood, are just upholding the status quo and enabling a society that keeps white people comfortable in their racism and Black people perpetually dehumanized. You are a large part of the problem and it’s time to be honest about it. For far too long, the images on our screens have projected lies and partial truths when it comes to our lives and history, minimizing our perceived value and creating ripple effects throughout society.

This letter is in defense of the Black entrepreneur pitching seed investors. It is in defense of the Black executive deserving yet passed over for promotion. It is in defense of the Black teenager told to cut his locs before coming to school. It is in defense of the Black men and women who just want to make it home to their families. It is in defense of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Atatiana Jefferson, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Michael Brown, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Tamir Rice, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, and so many others whose lives were senselessly and tragically cut short.

Your messages of Black Lives Matter support are a first step. But after decades of rewarding racism in your ranks and beyond, it’s time to do more. If Black lives really matter to you, our stories must as well. Tell the whole truth Hollywood. Black and Brown lives all over the world depend on it.

#tellthetruthHollywood

Signed,

Huriyyah Muhammad

Writer, Director, Producer

Co-Founder, the Black TV & Film Collective

Kibi Anderson

Producer, Board of Directors, the Black TV & Film Collective

Mynette Louie

Producer, The Population

Iyabo Boyd

Writer, Director, Producer

Director, Brown Girls Doc Mafia

Marttise Hill

Producer, Director, Writer, Pryor Hill Productions

Ekwa Msangi

Writer, Director, Producer, Farewell Amor

Board of Directors, the Black TV & Film Collective

Avril Z. Speaks

Producer, Director

Leah N. Thomas & Ron Davis

Writer, Producer, Founder, CoSi/gn

CEO, The Jordan Davis Foundation

Rachel Watanabe-Batton

Producer, Founder, Contradiction & Struggle

Julius Pryor

Producer, Director, Writer, Pryor Hill Productions

Jordana Mollick

Producer, The Lovebirds

Monique Walton

Producer, Bull

Ryan Zacarias

Producer, Bull

Neil Creque Williams

Producer, Miss Juneteeth

Mollye Asher

Producer, The Population

Derek Nguyen

Producer, The Population

Kishori Rajan

Executive Producer, Random Acts of Flyness

Kelly Robins Hicks

Executive Producer, Random Acts of Flyness

Nijla Mumin

Writer / Director, Jinn

Tayarisha Poe

Writer / Director, Selah & the Spades

Lauren McBride

Producer, Selah and the Spades

Susan Kelechi Watson

Actor, Producer

DeWanda Wise

Actor, Executive Producer

Trevitte Willis

Producer, Southern Fried Filmworks

Dani Melia

Producer, The Farewell

Keith Levine

President, Phantom Four

Lisa Cortes

Producer, Cortes Films

Idil Ibrahim

Director, Producer

Shatara M. Ford

Producer, Test Pattern

Mayuran Tiruchelvam

Producer, The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin

Melissa Adeyamo

Producer, Eyimofe “This is My Desire”

Gabrielle Glore Producer

Festival Director of Urbanworld Film Festival

Jeff Friday

Founder & CEO ABFF Ventures (American Black Film Festival)

Nicole Friday

EVP, General Manager ABFF Ventures

Leslie A. Fields-Cruz

Executive Director, Black Public Media

Denise A. Greene

Director of Program Initiatives, Black Public Media

Cassian Elwes

President, Elevated Films

Anadil Hossain

Producer, Dillywood Inc.

Terence Nance

Writer, Director, Producer

Chanelle Elaine

CreativeBionics, Producer, First Match

Mel Jones

Writer, Director, Producer

Josh Penn

Producer, Department of Motion Pictures

Elizabeth Lodge Stepp

Producer, Department of Motion Pictures

Rebecca Green

Producer, Founder Dear Producer

Ela Thier

Founder, the Independent Film School

Anne Lai

Executive Director, SFFilm

Justin Lewis

President, the Black TV & Film Collective

Bird Runningwater

Sundance Institute, Director, Indigenous Program

Michelle Satter

Director, Feature Film Program, Sundance

Angela C. Lee Producer, Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Associate Director, Artist Development at Film Independent

Josh Welsh

President, Film Independent

Lisa Hasko

Film Independent, Director of Artist Development

Jenifer Westphal

Founder/CEO/Executive Producer, Wavelength Productions

Joe Plummer

President, Wavelength Productions

Paul Mezey

Cinereach – Director, Original Productions

Sam Bisbee

Producer, Park Pictures

Bobby Allen

MUBI, SVP of Production

Jeffrey Sharp

Executive Director, IFP

Jenny Raskin

Executive Director, Impact Partners

Bert & Bertie

Directors, Troop Zero

Jason Berman

Producer

Milan Chakraborty

Producer

Daniel Bekerman

Producer, Scythia Films Inc.

Becky Morrison

Producer

Kisha Imani Cameron

Producer, Film Executive & Coach

Joyce Deep

Executive Producer / Producer, Where’s My Roy Cohn?

Gerry Kim

Producer, I’m No Longer Here

Rebecca Dealy

Casting Director

Nana Mensah

Actor, Writer, Director

Zainab Jah

Writer, Actor

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine

Artist

Kiran Deol

Actor

Mrs. Riley Keough

Actor

Gabrielle Nadig

Producer

Kelly Williams

Producer, Ten Acre Films

Jonathan Duffy

Producer, Ten Acre Films

Kim Parker

Producer

Cybel Martin

Director of Photography

Angela Harvey

Writer / Producer

Rachael Fung

Producer

Nabil Vinas

Actor, Writer, Producer

Alexandra Cuerdo

Director, Writer, Producer, ULAM: Main Dish

Ramazan Nanayev

Writer, Director, Producer

Abbesi Akhamie

Writer, Director, Producer

Adetoro Makinde

President, Women Independent Producers (WIP)

Letitia Guillory

Writer, Director, Producer

Board of Directors, the Black TV & Film Collective

Arinze Onugha

Attorney and Creative

Board of Directors, the Black TV & Film Collective

Kahlil Garner

Board of Directors, the Black TV & Film Collective

Laura Fielder

Board of Directors, the Black TV & Film Collective

Natalie Qasabian

Producer

Karin Chien

Producer

Yvonne Huff Lee

Actor & Co-Founder The Lagralane Group

Randy Wilkins

Filmmaker

Pin-Chun Liu

Producer

Drea Clark

Producer, Film Independent

Tommy Oliver

Producer

Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour

Writer, Director, Producer

Shruti Ganguly

Director, Producer, Writer & Founder, Honto88

Fernando Frias

Director

Bruce Cole

Director of Photography

Esra Saydam

Director

Michael Mobley

Producer, Mustang Island

Diana Williams

Producer

James M. Johnston

Producer

Mary Jane Skalski

Producer

Cara Marcous

Producer

Ken Pelletier

Founder, Executive Producer/Producer, NiKA Media

Stacey Reiss

Producer, Spaceship Earth

Sharon Chang

Producer, Founder, Guild of Future Architects

Bao Nguyen

Director, Producer, Be Water

Samba Gadjigo

Producer, Sembene!

Jason Silverman

Producer, Sembene!

PJ Raval

Director, Producer, Unraval Pictures

Jacqueline “JJ” Ingram

Producer, Come As You Are

Márcia Mayer

Writer, Producer, Tenacious Productions

Grace Lee

Director, Producer

Co-Founder Asian American Documentary Network

Andrew Lee

Producer, Austin Asian American Film Festival Board Chair

Kathryn Everett

Head of Film/Executive Producer, XTR

Stephanie Marin

Producer

Gillian Weeks

Writer

Alyse Nahmias

Producer, Director

Theodora Dunlap

Producer

Ken Lee

Manager, Producer, Brillstein Entertainment Partners

Alicia Van Couvering

Producer, Dark Arts Films

Joyce San Pedro

Producer

Ethan Goldman

Producer, Anchor Entertainment

Giorgio Angelini

Director, OWNED: A Tale of Two Americas

Monisha Gandhi

NewFest Festival Producer

Rashidi Hendrix

Founder & CEO, Metallic Entertainment

Heather Rae

Producer, Narrative Change Activist, IllumiNative

(https://autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4633339&forum_id=2#40987304)

lol, typical mediocre minority whining

(https://autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4633339&forum_id=2#40987375)