Lastly, I want to say a bit about the changing-yet-unchanging landscape that Black filmmakers are operating in. The nominations for the 2023 Oscars were recently announced and there were notable films by and about Black women that were very obviously shut out. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood issued a scathing statement to address this. She discussed the industry’s general retreat from the support for Black filmmakers that was so hot and heavy in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. During the pandemic, everyone was all about inclusion and elevating Black voices, and that has evaporated fairly quickly, like trends do. Prince-Bythewood also talked about the very real, very specific and very ongoing resistance to supporting Black women filmmakers and the stories of Black women. Her film, The Woman King, was excellent on every level — technically, structurally, artistically and in performance. What’s more, the box office and other metrics reflect that excellence; yet The Woman King wasn’t nominated for anything. Not one category. I think it was wonderful that a filmmaker of her stature spoke up in such a public way; even more wonderful, she also spoke on behalf of those Black women filmmakers who have yet to step on a set. This is me — when it comes to feature film. I have directed short films but my first feature film is now in development and it is becoming very clear to me what the landscape is and is not willing to offer. Racism in the film industry plays out systemically, culturally and individually. Nevertheless, I am very clear on why I do what I do — it is for my audience, of which I am a member. There are so many Black women, Black people, women of color, POC, who want and expect to see themselves centered onscreen, particularly in stories of the future; as well, there are white film goers who love good stories and who embrace inclusive storytelling because it is *reality*. I believe that a desperate commitment to patriarchy is the reason we continue to see an overrepresentation of white-male centric stories and perspectives (which includes simultaneously elevating yet objectifying white women at the expense of Black, Latina, Indigenous and Asian women). I want nothing to do with any of that. The toxic ubiquity of racist and misogynist dynamics in the 21st century disturbs me greatly, but it also makes me that much more determined to do what I do, the way I do it… with my eyes on the art.