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.