In 2017, a mosque was destroyed by fire in the South Texas city of Victoria. It became a national news story. There were obvious questions to be raised by those events—questions of racism, immigration, Islamophobia, and what it means to be an American. Lu Li’s A Town Called Victoria is a three episode series on…
Roger Ross Williams opens (and will close) his adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s history of racist thought, Stamped from the Beginning, with the question: What is wrong with black people? The query is addressed to Dr. Kendi, and a group of black women academics and activists from whom we will hear throughout the film. It…
88 tells the story of Femi Jackson (Brandon Victor Dixon), the financial director for a democratic super PAC during the 2024 US Elections. Jackson and his team are in support of Harold Roundtree (Orlando Jones), the presidential frontrunner and next great hope for the nation. However, as Jackson delves more deeply into the donations they’re receiving,…
?It?s white women?s niceness that is killing us all.? A group of women sit around a dining room table to break bread and talk. But it won?t be an easy or pleasant conversation. That is because it will strive to be an honest conversation about race in America. Deconstructing Karen, a documentary by director Patty…
How far will someone go to protect the ones they love? In Leah Purcell?s Australian Western, The Legend of Molly Johnson, we see one woman?s answer to that question in very trying conditions. The film is based on Purcell?s play which reimagined a nineteenth century Australian short story, ?The Drover?s Wife?. (The onscreen title of…
School desegregation reached Boston in 1974. It turned into violent confrontations, especially in South Boston. It was a time of racial animus and tension. It was disruptive to both White and Black families. The Walk, from director Daniel Adams, is a story of two families who are brought together by those events. Bill Coughlin (Justin…
In Memory House, Brazilian filmmaker Jo?o Paulo Miranda Maria shows us the way a history of colonialism (even when it?s not officially colonial) continues to be a spiritual burden that many cannot escape. Cristovam is a indigenous black man from Northern Brazil who has moved to an Austrian enclave in the South because the dairy…
Derek Chauvin is found guilty of murdering George Floyd. In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we talk about the trial, the verdict and the related issues: race, racism and justice in America; the influence of politics and media; policing and how race is related; what this event could mean for the future….
The fallout continues after Ravi Zacharias’ sexual abuse is confirmed. In a new episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we talk about the related issues, trying to come up with some hopeful takeaways for how we can heal and do better in the future. We also take a few minutes to look at our…
A few more films as I wind down my coverage of Slamdance Film Festival. It has been a wonderful experience, as most film festivals are. In Jim Bernfield?s documentary feature Me to Play, Dan Moran and Chris Jones, two actors with Parkinson?s Disease, set out to perform Samuel Beckett?s Endgame. Jones describes the project at…
