While filmmakers Ava DuVernay, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Amma Asante all gained major visibility in 2014, the number of black women filmmakers in Hollywood still remains at a staggering 0.4%. The incredible lack of diversity at this year’s Oscars, coupled with Ava DuVernay’s apparent snub, make the issue even more apparent.
For this year’s Portland Black Film Festival, founder David Walker, alongside writer and critic Ariella Tai have decided a curate a compelling collection of works by black women filmmakers that spans eras, styles, and genres. The festival will feature screenings of Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou, Leslie Harris’ Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. , and new documentary Black Girl in Suburbia by Melissa Lowery, among other selections. For screening times and tickets go here.