Silenced (2018)

The new biopic 'Elvis' highlights the beginning and end of the career of this rock and roll legend. The audience is taken on this journey knowing the tragic ending but not so much about what led him there. A large topic of discussion is the influences on Elvis that made him who he was as a singer, musician, and performer, which were blues, gospel, and country. Many of the songs that rose him to fame were songs by Black artists he heard growing up in primarily Black settings.

Disney/Pixar may see a bit of a turning point with Pixar’s new Disney+ Sparkshorts short film: OUT.

The 92nd Academy Awards had many strong contenders for best animated short. But which Oscar nominated short wins for diversity and inclusion?

Stand and Deliver is an inspirational classic from 1988 starring Edward James Olmos as Jaime Escalante, and his class of rag tag students in East Los Angeles. It’s the story of how a new teacher shows a motley group of students in the inner city with backgrounds as gang members, dishwashers, and mechanics — the power of self-determination. He teaches the teenagers to believe in themselves through algebra and calculus.

This list was made with the intention of celebrating comedic craft and a love of seeing more women of colour and newcomers on the scene.