Motion Picture Academy announces “It Starts with Us” conversation series on race and gender equity

Erik Anderson August 20, 2020

Panelists include Victoria Alonso, Lisa Cortés, Debra Martin Chase, Carmen Cuba, Lee Daniels, DeVon Franklin, Whoopi Goldberg, Nadia Hallgren, Taraji P. Henson, Franklin Leonard, Delroy Lindo, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Bao Nguyen, Dawn Porter, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ivette Rodriguez, Bird Runningwater, Misan Sagay, Bryan Stevenson, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Ligiah Villalobos, Lulu Wang, Emil Wilbekin and Roger Ross Williams

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced the launch of a new series of virtual panels for members and the public, as a part of its Academy Aperture 2025 equity and inclusion initiative, called “Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us,” with conversations about race, ethnicity, gender, history, opportunity and the art of filmmaking. These discussions focus on the industry-wide systemic changes that are needed to afford greater opportunities to women and people from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and to create a new narrative for recovery.

“With our ‘Academy Dialogues’ series, the Academy is creating a space for our members – and the public – to talk about inclusion in a way that is timely, relevant and allows for a meaningful exchange on how to bring systemic change to Hollywood,” said Lorenza Muñoz, EVP, Member Relations and Awards. “These conversations may be uncomfortable for some, but they are necessary to broaden the stories that are getting told and increase opportunities for those who have been excluded.”

Academy Dialogues: “The Power of Narrative”
The first presentation in this ongoing series, “The Power of Narrative,” took place on July 21 for Academy members and featured a live conversation between Academy governor Whoopi Goldberg and civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. They discussed the role of narrative storytelling in addressing racial and ethnic inequity and touched upon the lasting impact of racist tropes and harmful stereotypes in Hollywood films.

Academy Dialogues: “Native Son”
The Academy will present a conversation with Oscar®-nominated director Lee Daniels (“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”) and Oscar-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight”) about their personal and professional journeys navigating the film industry as Black gay men. Emil Wilbekin, media executive and founder of Native Son, a networking group for professional Black gay men, will moderate the discussion.

Academy Dialogues: “Owning Our Stories”
Bird Runningwater, director of the Indigenous Program at the Sundance Institute, will moderate a conversation with writers Misan Sagay (“Belle”) and Ligiah Villalobos (“Under the Same Moon”) and filmmakers Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (“The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open”) and Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”) on the role that gatekeeping at the studios and production companies has played in preventing authentic stories from being told.

Academy Dialogues: “The Erasure of Latinos in Hollywood”
Latinos are the largest ethnic group in the United States, representing 18% of the population, and yet – whether it is in front of the camera, behind the camera or in executive positions – they are largely missing from America’s storytelling. Moderated by Muñoz, this discussion will explore identity, the complexity of being Latin, the legacies of colonialism, and, most importantly, solutions for inclusion. Panelists include Executive Vice President, Production, Marvel Studios Victoria Alonso, casting director Carmen Cuba (“The Martian”), director Nadia Hallgren(“Becoming”), founder/president, American Entertainment Marketing and co-founder, LA Collab Ivette Rodriguez, among others.

Academy Dialogues: “ICON MANN: We Are the Culture”
In partnership with ICON MANN, a media and consulting company committed to positively transforming the dialogue and image of Black men, the Academy will present a town hall focused on the Academy’s Black membership and the challenges to representation and inclusion in the industry, moderated by Shawn Finnie, the Academy’s associate director of member relations and outreach. Panelists include Oscar-nominated actor and filmmaker Taraji P. Henson(“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), actor Delroy Lindo (“Da 5 Bloods”) and writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Old Guard”), among others.

Academy Dialogues: “ICON MANN Part Two: Investing in Yourself”
Presented in collaboration with ICON MANN, this discussion will explore taking ownership and control of one’s stories and content to find success outside of the traditional Hollywood system. In conversation with Franklin Leonard, founder of the Black List, panelists include producer and Academy governor DeVon Franklin (“Breakthrough”) and producer Debra Martin Chase (“Harriet”), among others. Available on YouTube in September.

Academy Dialogues: “Documentaries Through Our Own Lens”
Although the field of talented documentarians is among the most diverse in the entertainment industry, opportunities to tell their stories continue to be a challenge for people from underrepresented racial and ethnic communities. Academy governor and Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams (“The Apollo”) will moderate a discussion on the systemic changes that need to occur for marginalized communities to be able to tell stories through their own lens. Panelists include filmmakers Lisa Cortés (“All In: The Fight for Democracy”), Bao Nguyen (“Be Water”) and Dawn Porter (“John Lewis: Good Trouble”).

Academy Dialogues: “Color-Conscious Casting”
There is a long history of casting decisions that have severely limited the opportunities for actors of color to stereotypes and minor roles, echoing the overtly racist use of blackface in “classic” films, and there remains a ripple effect of Hollywood’s discriminatory history in hiring practices today. The creative collaboration between casting directors and filmmakers offers a tremendous opportunity to better reflect, on screen, the world as it truly is. This frank conversation will look back at the effects of inequitable and biased casting and look forward to the ways inclusion and authenticity can enrich both our movies and our culture.

Can a renewed creative collaboration between casting directors and filmmakers offer a tremendous opportunity to better reflect the world on screen as it truly is today? Elvis Mitchell, film critic and host of the KCRW radio show “The Treatment,” moderates a panel with Academy governor and director/writer Rodrigo García (“Mother and Child”), and casting directors Julia Kim (“The Last Black Man in San Francisco”) and Victoria Thomas (“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood”).

Academy Dialogues: “How Would Gender Parity Change Hollywood?”
Since film is one of the most far-reaching and impactful artforms, what needs to happen for women and girls to see themselves reflected in stories and to find more role models on the screen and behind the camera? How would increasing the number of female directors, producers, executives and others in decision making positions usher in work culture that allows full expression of women’s abilities, leadership skills, intellect and strength? Studies have shown that workplaces with more equity, inclusion, and gender balance result in more collaboration, diversity of thought and higher productivity. This Academy Dialogue will dive into what true equity and inclusion means, how it will inevitably lead to a safer work environment and how to normalize and amplify female leadership and empowerment.

Anita Hill (subject of “Anita: Speaking Truth to Power”), chair of the Hollywood Commission and professor at Brandeis University, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, moderates this conversation with Oscar-winning actor Geena Davis (“A League of Their Own”), award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el (“Honey Boy”), Academy governor and composer Laura Karpman (“Lovecraft Country”), and EVP Creative for Sony Pictures Animation and Oscar-winning producer Karen Rupert Toliver (“Hair Love”) about their personal journey to becoming agents of change. In their discussion, they explore how women of all ages see themselves depicted in the far-reaching world of movies, and how to bring more role models on screen and behind the camera. This Academy Dialogue dives into what true equity and inclusion means, how it will inevitably lead to a safer work environment and how to normalize and amplify female leadership and empowerment.

Academy Dialogues: “Broadening the Aperture of Excellence”
The Academy membership’s role as arbiter of excellence in film has been an influential and important one in the past 93 years. This discussion will center on the importance of broadening the aperture through which cinematic art is viewed and how excellence comes in many forms. Available on YouTube in October.

“Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us” is part of Academy Aperture 2025, the next phase of the Academy’s equity and inclusion initiative furthering the organization’s ongoing efforts to advance inclusion in the entertainment industry and increase representation within its membership and the greater film community.

For program information and talent updates for the “Academy Dialogues” series, visit www.oscars.org.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.