Oakland in Their Bones, and in Their Films

Our gritty Oakland is enjoying the national spotlight as an artistic hotbed, particularly for black culture. Major film artists surfacing in rapid succession as Oakland has seen "reflects an overdue shift in Hollywood regarding what kind of stories and storytellers receive support." First, Ryan Coogler told the story of Oscar Grant in FruitVale Station, going on to later direct "Black Panther." Next came Boots Riley with "Sorry to Bother You" and then Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal with "Blindspotting." And Oakland is not done. Keep your eye out for still emerging Oakland-roster filmmakers and in the meantime, go see these films... it's worth it, I promise.