Pixar’s “Luca,” an Italian-set animated fairy tale concerning two young sea monsters exploring an unknown human world, offers the studio’s hallmark visual splendor, yet fails to venture outside of safe waters. After story artist credits on big-time Pixar titles like “Ratatouille” and “Coco,” “Luca” serves as Enrico Casarosa’s first time in the director’s chair. Borrowing…

The following table of contents features all articles published during Black Writers Week 2021 (June 14th through June 20th), arranged in the following categories: features, interviews, panels, reviews, republished features, republished interviews and republished reviews. —The Editors FEATURES Welcome to Black Writers Week by Chaz Ebert The Burden Hollywood Puts on Black Storytellers (And How to Fix…

Dr. Kahil El’Zabar, (PHD Interdisciplinary Arts from Lake Forest College, 2006), has been performing professionally, as a creative musician (multi-percussionist), since the late 60’s. He first went on the road with the legendary Gene Ammons, and later throughout his career with such luminaries as ,Dizzy Gillespie, Pharoah Sanders, Stevie Wonder, Lester Bowie, Nina Simone, Archie…

On Wednesday, June 16th, the first virtual panel for Black Writers Week will be broadcast at 3pm CT/1pm PT on The Official Roger Ebert YouTube page, and will subsequently be posted at RogerEbert.com. The panel is entitled “The Tanning of Hollywood: Reimagining Equity and Inclusion as a Pinnacle Measure of Cinematic and Theatrical Excellence,” and will feature the following…

For decades, human rights activist and attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh has worked to change the status quo in Iran. After the Iranian Revolution, the country greatly changed with regards to women’s rights. Women were purged from government positions, forced to observe Islamic dress code, and lost the right to divorce or to have child custody. To…

“Heroes make the sun rise in the mornin’ Heroes make the moon shine bright at night Heroes make our lives a little stronger If you look you’ll surely see, there’s you and me” – The Commodores, “Heroes” (1980) Films are by far America’s most prolific export. They have transformed the American Dream into a golden…