“Dear White People, the amount of black friends required not to seem racist has just been raised to two. Sorry, your weed man, Tyrone, doesn’t count.”

“Dear White People, stop touching my hair.”

“Dear White People, please stop dancing.”

—Samantha White, Dear White People

On stage, while introducing last night’s gala screening of Dear White People at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Stephanie Allain, Festival Director and Executive Producer on the film, whispered in writer/director Justin Simien’s ear. “Stephanie Allain wants me to tell the white people that it’s okay to laugh.”

And they did.

It was a fitting introduction to the provocative comedy by Simien (a Project Involve Fellow), which had its LA premiere at the Festival.  At the heart of the story is biracial student Samantha White (Tessa Thompson), whose college radio show (called Dear White People) stirs controversy by shining a light on the culture clashes among students of color and their predominantly white Ivy League college classmates.

Allain became one of the film’s champions after her daughter encouraged her to check out the concept that had gone viral. “She said it was the shizz.” Allain called producer Lena Waithe and asked if she could be involved. “I was in sweatpants watching The View on mute,” said Waithe, laughing, when she got the call from Allain, who once on board, brought in Effie T. Brown (another Project Involve alum) to help produce the film.

Dear White People employs an innovative blend of humor and drama in its exploration of race and identity. “It makes you want to talk about things,” said Thompson, one of the cast who, along with members of the producing team joined Simien on stage in a post-screening Q&A with Film Independent at LACMA curator Elvis Mitchell. That’s the pleasure of making a film, she said. “It’s not just a reflection of the culture, but it helps create it.”

As Mitchell pointed out, the film deals with themes that transcend race. It’s about the idea of trying to figure out what you are as an adult. Simien also noted the universality of “the conflict between who you are out there in the world and who you really are…” And the question of ”how much do you share about who you really are?” He said, “that’s something everybody can relate to. That’s particularly heightened in college and particularly for people of color.”

This past January, Dear White People was one of the most buzzed about films at Sundance, where Simien won a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent. All U.S. and Canadian rights have been acquired by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, and the film is slated for an October 17, 2014 theatrical release.

As with most independent films by first-time writer/directors, Dear White People has been many, many years in the making. Simien began the first draft in 2006. Early versions—of what he calls now “a messy script”—had as many as 14 main characters. I was going for that Altman Nashville thing,” he said, which presented a distinct challenge for attracting financing. “The first draft was more broad,” he said. “It wasn’t really about anything.” As Simien kept working through the story, a string of race-related news events pervaded the cultural zeitgeist. “People were telling our President to go back to Kenya and the Trayvon Martin thing happened… This post-racial bubble seemed to be bursting,” he said. Thus, one of the questions that found its way into the film’s themes: “Does it mean anything to be black any more?”

Pamela Miller / Website & Grants Manager