O ctober 22, 2014 w ^ortlanh (Observer Vancouver East County Beaverton Alberta North Portland Dear Long-awaited comedy on being black in a white place O livia O livia T he P ortland O bserver by The long awaited indie comedy movie of the year, D ear White People, opens in Portland this Friday at Cinema 21. A separate one-time-only event takes place at 7:30 p.m. at Regal Cinema at Lloyd Center Mall where the community is invited to see the movie with a discussion afterwards. The black chapter of Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is hosting the special event. Page II People’ A satire about being a black face in a white place, ‘Dear White People, ’ opens Friday, Oct. 24 at local theaters. You’re invited to a special screening o f the movie with a discussion afterwards, sponsored by the black chapter of Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Regal Cinema at Lloyd Center Mall. D ear W hite P eople is a satirical dram a that debuted at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and has received critical acclaim for its subject and wry delivery. The story revolves around a group of black students attending an American Ivy League university and the struggle to draw lines around identity when a person is “a black face in a white place.” One o f the students starts a radio show on the cam pus station w here she openly addresses her concerns with subtle and not-so-subtle racism on cam pus, calling it “D ear W hite People.” Things com e to a head over w hite students throw ing a huge ‘A frican A m erican’ them ed party w hich starts a riot in retaliation. The film is written and directed by Justin Simien and was funded via an Indiegogo campaign started in 2012. Originally hoping to raise $25,000, Simien’s trailer went viral and received an overwhelming response, raising over $40,000 instead. Free youth tickets for the PFLAG-sponsored screen ing are available by contacting Leila Hofstein, at pflagpdxyc @ gmail .com. Y ou can c h e c k out the m o v ie tr a ile r at dearwhitepeoplemovie.com and follow Sim ien’s work with his book based on the movie: D ear White People: A guide to Inter-racial harmony in “post-racial" America.