Behold What It’s Like Being Of Mixed Race In Hollywood’s Diversity Machine

THE BROWNLIST is a comedic satire about race and how the entertainment industry views “diversity”. It’s the story of a girl blessed with two races but seemingly not enough of either to fit in.

Official selection in over ten film festivals, including (but not limited to) Bentonville (Winner, Best Short), Newport Beach, Cinequest, Cleveland International, LA Shorts, Napa Valley, Pittsburgh Shorts, Calabasas, Citizen Jane, Portland, and more.

FIELD NOTES FROM THE FUNNY OR DIE STAFF

This one feels important. Because what Ursula’s short captures is that, even when steps are taken — well-intentioned steps, mind you — to help rectify equality issues in an industry, sometimes those exact steps get hamstrung by dint of unthinking reliance on those measures. And while some may point to lackluster performance of releases that are billed as “diverse,” or get unhelpfully branded as such, that also points to the far reaching ripples within an industry, such as film criticism (and the need for more diverse film critics, as pointed out by Vox.)

That’s not to say that progress hasn’t been made. In fact, NBC reports that in UCLA’s most recent diversity in Hollywood study, “people of color accounted for 19.8 percent of the leads in top films for 2017, a significant increase from the 13.9 percent figure posted in 2016. Show creators of color also posted significant gains in the digital landscape.”

But here’s the thing — it’s not rocket science. It’s what audiences want

“People of color constituted nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population in 2017, and their share continues to grow by nearly half a percent each year,” the report indicates. “Today’s diverse audiences, the evidence shows, prefer film and television content populated with characters to whom they can relate and whose stories drive the narrative.”

All this to say that we love this short in every way, and can’t wait to see what this team cooks up next.

This striking short comes to you via Ursula Teharian.

CREDITS

Writer/Producer: Ursula Taherian
Directors: Kelly Walker, Ryan Garcia
Cinematographer: Tom Dowler
Starring: Ursula Taherian

For more information visit: TheBrownlistFilm.com
For full cast and crew credits, please visit: imdb.com/title/tt6872464/

© Ursula Taherian 2019

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