In Plain Sight: Hot Docs 2020-Coded Bias

What happens if you want to create a fun project for your MIT class only to find that you don’t exist to your own project? This happened to then graduate student Joy Buolamwini when she wanted to create a facial recognition mirror, the “Aspire Mirror”, that would project fun filters to start your day. Because... Continue Reading →

May 31, 2020

In Plain Sight: She Never Died

As a programmer for The Blood in the Snow Film Festival, I have the privilege of seeing some fantastic films created here in Canada, and I feel even luckier when we acquire them. One such film, She Never Died, screened in 2019 to great acclaim. Directed by Audrey Cummings, it’s not exactly a sequel to... Continue Reading →

May 18, 2020

In Plain Sight: Afrofuturism and Inclusivity Series

On a rare 29th day of February 2020, I gave a lecture for Toronto’s Black Museum: Lurid Lectures for the Morbidly Curious on The Omega Man and the inadvertently Afrofuturist themes called The Omega Man’s Utopian Dystopia. I spoke about how this classic film has an Afrofuturistic bent without seemingly trying. Sure, it was... Continue Reading →

May 8, 2020

In Plain Sight: Fast Color

Filmmaker Julia Hart was inspired to write a film about motherhood and finding your strength in the face of adversity. What she was able to accomplish is her 2018 sci-fi drama Fast Color, a universal story about a woman with extraordinary powers who must protect her daughter while also including a deeper theme of diversity... Continue Reading →

May 8, 2020