Subjects of Desire (2021)

Directed by

Jennifer Holness

Genre

documentary, history

Country

Canada

Runtime

1h 43m

Rated

MA 15+

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 1 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary looks at how beauty standards affect Black women in North America. It starts with the Miss Black America pageant and talks to people about race, identity, and what society calls beautiful.

thoughtfuleducationalreflectiveconversationalsoberanalyticaleye-opening

What happens

Subjects of Desire is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Jennifer Holness and released in 2021. Nominally jumping off from the 50th anniversary of the Miss Black America pageant in 2018, the film is an exploration of the relationship between African-American and Black Canadian society with the broader cultural concept of beauty standards. Figures appearing in the film include India Arie, Jully Black, Rachel Dolezal, Alexandra Germain, Brittany Lee Lewis, Seraiah Nicole, Ryann Richardson, Cheryl Thompson, Carolyn West and Heather Widdows. The film premiered on the online platform of the SXSW festival on March 12, 2021, and had its Canadian premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in April. The film was nominated for the Directors Guild of Canada's DGC Discovery Award in 2021, and was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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• The North Star: Finding Black Mecca
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