Black, Latin Actors, Directors Try to Tell Their Stories
2023-03-11
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1At Sunday's Academy Awards, or Oscars, in Los Angeles, Angela Bassett will be one of the few Black actors considered for a major award.
2Bassett is nominated for a best supporting actor award for her work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
3It is her second Oscar nomination in 40 years of acting in movies.
4At the recent African American Film Critics Association Awards, Bassett explained that every time she takes a part in a film, she wants the part to change how people think about Black women.
5She said she wants to "show our humanity, to tell the diversity of our stories and to share the complexity of what it means to be Black and women."
6The 64-year-old actor was nominated for an Oscar 29 years ago for her lead part in the 1993 film What's Love Got To Do With It.
7Her comments seem to represent a common thinking among many people of color in the industry: Change in support of diversity is too slow.
8While some improvements followed the 2015 online protest #OscarsSoWhite, activists argue, much more is required.
9In that year, white performers received all 20 nominations for the four acting awards.
10This year, no actors of color received awards at the major British film awards known as the BAFTAs.
11In the U.S., the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been criticized for not nominating the movies Till or The Woman King for any of the major awards.
12Both are films with mainly Black casts directed by Black women.
13"There's a constant lack of recognition for Black female directors," said Gina Prince-Bythewood, director of The Woman King.
14"There's never been a Black female director nominated in the history of the Academy Awards," she added.
15As a result, more Black actors, directors and producers are starting their own companies to make movies and television programs.
16These creators follow in the footsteps of people like Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry and Shonda Rhimes.
17The new creators include writers Amy Aniobi and Felicia Pride, actor Khalimah Gaston and filmmakers Fanny and Nelson Grande.
18Aniobi worked for a number of years on the successful HBO program Insecure, created by and starring Issa Rae who is Black, as were the majority of the show's main cast.
19Now, Aniobi has a deal with HBO to develop new shows.
20She says one problem is that while the number of projects for Black creators is increasing, the amount of money they get for their work is decreasing.
21She said one way to make sure Black creators have more work is to work with other Black producers, writers and actors.
22"When we are invested in each other as people, we don't think 'it's you or me.' It's for both of us or none of us," Aniobi said.
23Pride has written for Rhimes' television show Grey's Anatomy and worked with Oprah Winfrey as well.
24Now, the creator has her own company, Honey Chile.
25It centers on making shows and movies that will appeal to Black women over the age of 40.
26Gaston started a company called The Screening Room in 2016.
27The business creates cooperative spaces in Los Angeles and Atlanta, Georgia for diverse industry members to support each other.
28Black Entertainment Network, or BET, recently picked up a web series presented by the company.
29In addition to those who want to tell Black stories, there are also producers who want to tell Latino stories.
30Fanny and Nelson Grande started a company called Avenida Productions to help make films and programs with Latino actors and producers.
31"Every Latino actor I've met has dealt with the same thing of not getting opportunities, or having to play negative stereotypes...," Fanny Grande said.
32When no production companies gave her a chance, she sought financing through crowdfunding within her community.
33The result, a 2021 film Homebound, that centered on the life of a Latin American family.
34I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1At Sunday's Academy Awards, or Oscars, in Los Angeles, Angela Bassett will be one of the few Black actors considered for a major award. 2Bassett is nominated for a best supporting actor award for her work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It is her second Oscar nomination in 40 years of acting in movies. 3At the recent African American Film Critics Association Awards, Bassett explained that every time she takes a part in a film, she wants the part to change how people think about Black women. 4She said she wants to "show our humanity, to tell the diversity of our stories and to share the complexity of what it means to be Black and women." 5The 64-year-old actor was nominated for an Oscar 29 years ago for her lead part in the 1993 film What's Love Got To Do With It. 6Her comments seem to represent a common thinking among many people of color in the industry: Change in support of diversity is too slow. While some improvements followed the 2015 online protest #OscarsSoWhite, activists argue, much more is required. 7In that year, white performers received all 20 nominations for the four acting awards. 8This year, no actors of color received awards at the major British film awards known as the BAFTAs. In the U.S., the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been criticized for not nominating the movies Till or The Woman King for any of the major awards. Both are films with mainly Black casts directed by Black women. 9"There's a constant lack of recognition for Black female directors," said Gina Prince-Bythewood, director of The Woman King. "There's never been a Black female director nominated in the history of the Academy Awards," she added. 10As a result, more Black actors, directors and producers are starting their own companies to make movies and television programs. 11These creators follow in the footsteps of people like Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry and Shonda Rhimes. 12The new creators include writers Amy Aniobi and Felicia Pride, actor Khalimah Gaston and filmmakers Fanny and Nelson Grande. 13Aniobi worked for a number of years on the successful HBO program Insecure, created by and starring Issa Rae who is Black, as were the majority of the show's main cast. 14Now, Aniobi has a deal with HBO to develop new shows. 15She says one problem is that while the number of projects for Black creators is increasing, the amount of money they get for their work is decreasing. 16She said one way to make sure Black creators have more work is to work with other Black producers, writers and actors. 17"When we are invested in each other as people, we don't think 'it's you or me.' It's for both of us or none of us," Aniobi said. 18Pride has written for Rhimes' television show Grey's Anatomy and worked with Oprah Winfrey as well. Now, the creator has her own company, Honey Chile. It centers on making shows and movies that will appeal to Black women over the age of 40. 19Gaston started a company called The Screening Room in 2016. The business creates cooperative spaces in Los Angeles and Atlanta, Georgia for diverse industry members to support each other. Black Entertainment Network, or BET, recently picked up a web series presented by the company. 20In addition to those who want to tell Black stories, there are also producers who want to tell Latino stories. 21Fanny and Nelson Grande started a company called Avenida Productions to help make films and programs with Latino actors and producers. 22"Every Latino actor I've met has dealt with the same thing of not getting opportunities, or having to play negative stereotypes...," Fanny Grande said. 23When no production companies gave her a chance, she sought financing through crowdfunding within her community. The result, a 2021 film Homebound, that centered on the life of a Latin American family. 24I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Dan Friedell. 25Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 26____________________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28diversity -n. the quality of having many different forms, types or ideas 29cast -n. the entire group of actors in a film or theater production 30constant -adj. happening often 31negative -adj. harmful or bad, not wanted 32stereotype -n. an often untrue belief people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic 33crowdfund -n. asking a large group of people to give a small amount of money to finance a project 34____________________________________________________________________ 35We want to hear from you. Do you like to see stories about Black and Latino Americans? 36We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 37Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.