Diversity Programming At The Austin Film Festival
Coverage from the Austin Film Festival, highlighting some panels and films that emphasized the importance of diverse and inclusive storytelling.

This documentary examines the plight of Korean veterans who were conscripted into the Japanese imperial army during World War II and later left destitute in postwar Japan. Many, disabled by their service, are denied compensation because of their Korean nationality. Filmed for Japanese television, the work confronts public apathy and exposes the unresolved moral responsibility Japan bears toward those who fought in its name.
Coverage from the Austin Film Festival, highlighting some panels and films that emphasized the importance of diverse and inclusive storytelling.
Neon Gravity is an assassin who realizes that her target, as well as her current reality, are not what they seem. This short film is a futuristic story that takes place in Downtown Miami.
'Wolf Like Me' works if you want a show to shut off your brain while watching. If you think too much, you'll hurt yourself.
Curry Barker’s film, Obsession, soars in success this past May leaving everyone who has watched it in extreme chills and disturbance. And taking it to new levels of why men are always the root of horror films even when they try not to be.
This groundbreaking summer blockbuster proves that diversity enhances the action genre.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.