Traveling While Black | |
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Film poster | |
Directed by | Roger Ross Williams |
Produced by | Ayesha Nadarajah Jihan Robinson Lina Srivastava |
Music by | Jason Moran |
Production company | Felix & Paul Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 20 minutes |
Countries | Canada United States |
Traveling While Black is a Canadian-American coproduced virtual reality documentary film project, directed by Roger Ross Williams and released in 2019. An examination of racism in the United States, the film is an immersive experience which places the viewer inside the context of African-American travellers seeking safety and security with the help of the Negro Motorist Green Book; Williams has contrasted it with the 2018 film Green Book, labelling it as "a totally different story because is a story of life or death, and danger, and community, and all of those things. But it’s our story. It’s for us to tell. It’s not for anyone else." The film is based on a 2010 play called The Green Book.
The film premiered in the New Frontier program at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, before being released later in the year on Oculus VR platforms. In 2020, the film was selected for inclusion in the online We Are One: A Global Film Festival.
The film was shot in Ben's Chili Bowl, a famous restaurant in Washington, D.C., founded in 1958.
Awards
The film received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Interactive Program at the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2019, and won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Immersive Experience at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards in 2020.
References
- ^ Dream McClinton, "Traveling While Black: behind the eye-opening VR documentary on racism in America". The Guardian, September 3, 2019.
- Matthew Carey, "Director Roger Ross Williams On Emmy-Nominated VR Film ‘Traveling While Black’: “It’s A Big Moment”". Deadline Hollywood, August 26, 2019.
- ^ Kite-Powell, Jennifer. "Why You Need To See This VR Documentary 'Traveling While Black'". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
- Tambay Obenson, "‘Traveling While Black’: Roger Ross Williams’ VR Doc Reclaims ‘Green Book’ Narrative". IndieWire, August 28, 2019.
- Dino-Ray Ramos, "We Are One: Global Film Festival Unveils Lineup Including Ricky Powell docu; Talks With Francis Ford Coppola And Bong Joon-Ho". Deadline Hollywood, May 26, 2020.
- Abrar Al-Heeti, "Emmy-nominated VR film Traveling While Black puts you in the Jim Crow era". CNET, September 22, 2019.
- "CSAs ’20: “We Will Stand Up” wins Best Feature Length doc". RealScreen, May 26, 2020.
External links
Categories:- 2019 films
- American short documentary films
- Canadian short documentary films
- Documentary films about racism in the United States
- African-American films
- Black Canadian films
- Canadian Screen Award winning digital content
- Oculus VR
- American virtual reality films
- Canadian virtual reality films
- 2010s Canadian films
- 2010s American films
- 2019 short documentary films
- Films directed by Roger Ross Williams