Last week was packed for me with the beginning of the 30th annual Sundance Film Festival. I'm not in attendance, but I had the honor of writing two preview pieces for NBCBLK. Our NBCBLK snapshot is a quick guide for which films to watch involving African American filmmakers, actors and subject matter. You can click here to read and share. My favorite conversation of the week had to be hearing and reporting about Firelight Media's eighth appearance at this pinnacle of indie film exhibition and market with The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. With this documentary, Stanley Nelson is the director with the most documentary feature premieres--Black or White at the Festival. This is an incredible feat. Please click here and below for the article. I really enjoyed interviewing my friends and colleagues whom I've admired for years. Writing for this new vertical for NBC News, I'm also privy to a number of comments from some who would rather there not be a division dedicated to news of the African Diaspora. I hear you. And managing editor Amber Payne has given eloquent responses to the criticism in an interview you may find here in The Wrap. My two cents: Once mainstream media are covering the news that's equally good, bad and controversial on a daily basis for all communities of color then I feel it is within our best interests to provide a platform for reporting and broadcasting to a specific niche. Are mainstream media there yet? For some people, they feel it is. I feel the launch of NBCBLK is a strong step toward keeping me as an African American well informed, well represented and--hey--working.
Still from Firelight Media's The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution