Traveling While Black | |
---|---|
![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Roger Ross Williams |
Produced by | Ayesha Nadarajah Jihan Robinson Lina Srivastava |
Music by | Jason Moran |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 20 minutes |
Countries | Canada United States |
Traveling While Black is a Canadian-American coproduced virtual reality documentary film project, directed by Roger Ross Williams and released in 2019. [1] An examination of racism in the United States, the film is an immersive experience which places the viewer inside the context of African-American travellers seeking safety and security with the help of the Negro Motorist Green Book; [1] Williams has contrasted it with the 2018 film Green Book, labelling it as "a totally different story because [Traveling While Black] is a story of life or death, and danger, and community, and all of those things. But it’s our story. It’s for us to tell. It’s not for anyone else." [2] The film is based on a 2010 play called The Green Book. [3]
The film premiered in the New Frontier program at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, [3] before being released later in the year on Oculus VR platforms. [4] In 2020, the film was selected for inclusion in the online We Are One: A Global Film Festival. [5]
The film was shot in Ben's Chili Bowl, a famous restaurant in Washington, D.C., founded in 1958.
The film received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Interactive Program at the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2019, [6] and won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Immersive Experience at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards in 2020. [7]