Black and Brown Actors in Indie Movies are on the Come Up

By: Rafeeat Bishi

         Only a few people know this about me but I'm a huge cinephile. Movies and tv are probably my biggest hobby, but it's discouraging to not see myself represented in them. A lot of my favorite movies don't even have majority Black casts or leads, but that's starting to change.

         Someone recently tweeted a video compiling Black coming of age films, because they tend to be ignored. I was extremely happy when I watched the video ("https://twitter.com/manisupremacist/status/1212102128648503297?s=09")

         I recently watched the indie movie Waves with my sister over break, and it's probably going to go down as one of my favorites because of the leads. Two Black teens living Miami. Their storyline wasn't based around poverty, or struggling with systemic racism, but more-so the struggles of just being a teen. And their race was not completely ignored either, which I appreciated. I decided to mention the actors from the movie and more who I think can give great representation for Black and brown youth who are not as interested in Indie movies.

• Kelvin Harrison Jr. - Lead in Waves, Luce, supporting roles in Jinn and It Comes At Night
• I loved him in Waves and in Jinn. He's probably one of my favorite actors this year and there's more in store for him!
• Taylor Russell Sanders - Waves, Lost in Space
• She was also great in Waves, and I'm excited for her cause her performance was so subtle. She's also on Lost in Space in Netflix! (go watch)
• Ashton Sanders - Moonlight, Native Son, Captive State,  Wu-Tang: An American Saga
• Gave the best performance in Moonlight (on Netflix, go watch). But is being paid dust. However he's booked and busy so I'm happy. Extremely underrated
• Jharrel Jerome - Moonlight, When They See Us
• We all know him and if you don't he got his start in Moonlight playing a queer black teen (on Netflix, go watch) and now is winning Emmys!
• Shameik Moore - The Get Down, Dope, Spider-Verse, Wu-Tang: An American Saga

• He's gotten a lot more publicity after Spider-Verse and I'm excited for him!
• Justice Smith - The Get Down, Every Day, Detective Pikachu (yokes), All the Bright Places
• I think he's adorable and he's about to be in a Netflix rom-com, which should do wonders for his publicity
• Kiki Layne - If Beale Street Could Talk, Native Son
• She was a queen in this movie (If Beale Street Could Talk) and it's on Hulu now. Go watch. 
• Zoe Renee - Jinn
• I don't know her future plans, but she will be getting her own post because I loved the movie she was in.