‘Seeds’ and the Oscar Documentary Landscape

I want to begin by acknowledging my own bias at this moment. Seeds is a film supported by Black Public Media, and I am proud that we get to bring films like it into the world. My reaction to its absence from the final Oscar nominations necessarily carries that perspective, so I want to be transparent about it. 

I also want to be clear that I believe two of the documentaries that were nominated this year — The Perfect Neighbor, The Alabama Solution, which also spotlight what I consider Black subject matter — are powerful, rigorously made documentaries that fully deserve recognition. Their nominations speak to the urgency and craft filmmakers deploy when grappling with the sensitive issues of race, justice, and policy in this country.

A Consistent Pattern

A longer view of Oscar-nominated documentary films, however, reveals a consistent pattern. Even though the Documentary Feature category is broadly oriented toward social-issue storytelling, over the past 25 years, Black-centered films that receive nominations tend to fall within a relatively narrow range of subjects: biographies of iconic individuals, political struggle, state violence, or historical reckoning. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences seldom recognizes documentary films that center everyday Black life, community interiority, and lived experience — particularly when they employ formally ambitious or observational approaches.

Expanding the Recognition Landscape

Seeds occupies this underrepresented space. Like Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018), it is a Black-made, Black-centered film rooted in community portraiture and artistic practice rather than crisis-driven narrative. Its journey to the Oscar shortlist affirmed its resonance and significance. That it did not ultimately make the final slate was disappointing, but not surprising. The historical record shows that Black stories of this type tend to be passed over by institutional recognition frameworks — especially in times of cultural and political retrenchment.

Again, none of this diminishes the excellence of the films that were nominated. But it does raise important questions about the range of Black stories most readily seen, valued and rewarded. Black Public Media remains committed to supporting filmmakers like Brittany Shyne, whose work expands the range of Black stories — regardless of whether recognition keeps pace. After all, the measure of impact is not only who receives awards, but which stories are given the resources to exist at all. 

Public Media 2.0

“What would public media look like if we designed it from scratch, for this moment?”

This is the question Jax Deluca explored during her fellowship at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center of Media, Politics and Public Policy. After two decades of working in the industry, DeLuca sought to draft a new framework for public media in the United States. One that would respond to our 21st century democratic, digital and cultural needs. The results of her work were presented earlier this month and are now available for all to review. I’m still combing through her presentation, but I highly recommend it to every public media stakeholder. You’ll find it here.

HBCU Film Festival Opens Tonight!

I am thrilled to announce the launch of the inaugural HBCU Week NOW Student Film Festival this evening (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m. ET! Go here to access all 10 of the winning submissions. These films were selected in response to an open call we issued last spring as part of a partnership with Maryland Public Television and the HBCU Week NOW team. The short films cover a wide range of topics and include documentary, narrative, animated and Afrofuturistic formats. Congratulations to ALL the young filmmakers who participated in this opportunity. BPM looks forward to continuing our relationship with you in the years ahead.

Which is Your Favorite AfroPoP Digital Short?

The polls are now open and ready for you to select your favorite AfroPoP Digital Short. A total of nine films are competing for this year’s AfroPoP Viewers’ Choice Award, which will be presented at the PitchBLACK Awards this spring. The voting portal will close on Sat. Feb. 28.