“CODA” and “Marvelous and the Black Hole” Are Stand-Out Coming-of-Age Features

“CODA” marks an important step in the right direction for diversity and inclusion in film: a crowd-pleaser that faithfully and respectfully represents a marginalized community often lacking in representation.

“Marvelous and the Black Hole” manages to be both playful and meditative by turns, navigating Sammy’s deep and real grief while recognizing that sometimes the ways teenagers express themselves is simultaneously unproductive and wholly outside their control.

“Passing”: Rebecca Hall’s Adaptation of Nella Larsen Novel Questions How We Understand and Embody Race

As with the book her film adapts, Rebecca Hall’s “Passing” chronicles a series of encounters between childhood friends Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga) who reunite after a chance encounter. Both women are light-skinned Black women. Clare has elected to pass as white, having married a white man who openly states how much he “hates Negros.” Irene can pass, but only does so occasionally, “for convenience,” she explains.

Three Documentaries—featuring Cultural Icons Rita Moreno, Alvin Ailey and Valerie Taylor—to Inspire You

The first in a series of reviews from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival focused on films directed by women.

This year, I was lucky to watch three biographical documentaries directed by women—Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It; Ailey; and Playing with Sharks that focus on the lives of cultural icons Rita Moreno, Alvin Ailey and Valerie Taylor, respectively.