Black-and-white movies

THOSE who protested outside the Bafta ceremony complaining about the lack of black nominees, following similar protests about the Oscars, should ponder that non-white talent has something that Caucasian actors don’t have: film festivals dedicated exclusively to black talent.

Britain has the Black Filmmakers International Film Festival, Images of Black Women Film Festival and the London International Black Film Festival. Canada has the Toronto Black Film Festival and Montreal International Black Film Festival.

In Switzerland, there’s the Black Movie Festival, and the U.S. has even more, from the Hollywood Black Film Festival, San Francisco Black Film Festival and American Black Film Festival to the International Black Women’s Film Festival.

What would be the reaction if we had the National White Police Association or the Music Of White Origin awards? Yet substitute the word ‘ black’ for ‘white’, and these institutions exist in the UK.

There has been a black Romeo at the Globe Theatre and a black Artful Dodger in BBC1’ s beautifully conceived series Dickensian.

The placard-waving protesters in London and Los Angeles must ask themselves: what if the word ‘white’ was used in place of ‘black’ in all these festivals? There would be an outcry, with accusations of racism.

The irony is that by the end of the Baftas on Sunday, the protesters would have seen John Boyega receive a rising star Bafta, and Sidney Poitier receiving a Bafta Fellowship award for outstanding lifetime achievement — black actors who, aged 23 and 88 respectively, are at the beginning and end of their careers.

There were no protests, only cheers and prolonged applause.

IAN WOODWARD, Kings Langley, Herts.