#We Grown Now

[icedsodapop]

Where was Marianne Jean-Baptiste in the best-actress race, she who has given what is, unquestionably, the performance of the year in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, and has so far collected no fewer than 14 film festival and critics’ prizes, as well as BAFTA and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for her efforts?

(...)

Where was her formidable co-star, Michele Austin, who has also been recognized by the British Independent Film Awards and various critics’ voting bodies? Couldn’t she have secured a spot in the best-supporting-actress line-up instead of, say, Conclave’s Isabella Rossellini, who is a never-previously-nominated industry legend, to be sure, but only had seven minutes of screen time in Edward Berger’s papal thriller?

Where, too, was The Piano Lesson’s extraordinary Danielle Deadwyler, who would have been my personal pick to win that category, with her impassioned, scene-stealing tour de force in Malcolm Washington’s haunting August Wilson adaptation? She’s received eight critics’ prizes for it to date, alongside Critics’ Choice, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards nods, but is notably absent here.

In fact, The Piano Lesson and Hard Truths were both blanked entirely. That was not, thankfully, the case for the aforementioned Nickel Boys, which is nominated for both the Academy’s top prize and best adapted screenplay, but, with that in mind, I was disappointed not to see the sublime work of its anchor, the luminous Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, acknowledged in best supporting actress. She got a Critics’ Choice Award nod and, despite stepping back for certain sections of the film, remains its warm, unfailingly hopeful heart and soul.

The same can be said of Sing Sing’s Clarence Maclin—he’s a deeply moving, endlessly charismatic presence in Greg Kwedar’s gentle prison drama and, in my view, deserved to take home the best-supporting-actor Oscar. He scooped the Gotham Award for outstanding supporting performance and has BAFTA, Critics’ Choice, and Independent Spirit Award nods, too, and given that his film got three nominations in total—for Colman Domingo’s lead turn, best adapted screenplay, and best original song—this snub is rather baffling.

Shout out to other really great films starring people of colour and other marginalised identities that got unrecognised from this year's Oscars So White: Electric Boogaloo

Exhibiting Forgiveness

We Grown Now

Didi

I Saw The TV Glow

All We Imagine As Light

[moviemosaics]

Miles' Top 15 Favorite Films of 2024 (so far)

River (dir. Junta Yamaguchi)

I Saw the TV Glow (dir. Jane Schoenbrun)

Hundreds of Beavers (dir. Mike Cheslik)

The Last Stop in Yuma County (dir. Francis Galluppi)

Robot Dreams (dir. Pablo Berger)

The Settlers (dir. Felipe Gálvez Haberle)

Cobweb (dir. Kim Jee-woon)

Evil Does Not Exist (dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

We Grown Now (dir. Minhal Baig)

Hit Man (dir. Richard Linklater)

Civil War (dir. Alex Garland)

Yannick (dir. Quentin Dupieux)

Tiger Stripes (dir. Amanda Nell Eu)

The Book of Clarence (dir. Jeymes Samuel)

Arcadian (dir. Benjamin Brewer)

[lunaristars]

We Grown Now (2023)

[fuckyeahwomenfilmdirectors]

We Grown Now dir. Minhal Baig (2023)

The coming-of-age story follows Malik and Eric, best friends facing changes to their community in Chicago’s misunderstood Cabrini-Green housing complex.

[cinelestial]

Happy May! Here are all the top theatrical movie releases coming out this month.

[yarrystyleeza]

Decided to play one direction's take me home and now I'm sent back to when I was a 10 year old girl and nothing can fix how damaged I am now.

[samuraipapi]

-to the one that got away.

[reggieponder]

Christina Lane talks about Black Perspectives slate of movies at the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF)

I got a chance to speak with Christina Lane who programmed the Black Perspectives slate of films for this year’s Chicago International film Festival. Movies like We Grown Now, Rustin, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Bike Vessel, Banal & Adama, American Fiction, and Stamped From The Beginning just to name a few. Reggie Ponder speaks with Christina Lane about Black Perspectives @ CIFF

[oldfilmsflicker]

new-to-me #659 - We Grown Now

[moviemosaics]

We Grown Now

directed by Minhal Baig, 2023

[beemochi-art]

Did you hear Elon wants to buy Hasbro?

[awardswatcherik]

2024 Black Reel Awards (BRA): 'Nickel Boys' Wins Six Including Outstanding Film

Nickel Boys was the big winner of the 2024 Black Reel Awards (BRA), taking six prizes including Outstanding Film, Outstanding Director (RaMell Ross, Outstanding Screenplay (Ross and Joslyn Barnes) and Outstanding Cinematography. The Best Picture Oscar-nominated film also earned wins for Ross as Outstanding Emerging Director for the Ross and Barnes again for Outstanding First Screenplay. Malcolm…

[ciegeinc]

Movie Review...We Grown Now

(4/5) This film unexpectedly stirred up emotions, resonating deeply with my younger self. The main character, Malik—a dreamer from the projects with a best friend who’s a little rough around the edges—mirrored my own childhood experiences. Although I'm not from Chicago’s Cabrini-Green, my upbringing in public housing provided a nostalgic lens through which I viewed the film's first act.

The opening scenes brought a smile to my face, as they vividly captured the carefree nature of childhood: jumping on old mattresses and running through the neighborhood without a care. These moments not only rekindled fond memories but also depicted black boys simply being kids—free from the burdens of hyper-masculinity, sexualization, or violence.

This initial setup lulled me into a sense of warmth, making the subsequent harsh realities even more impactful. As innocence began to slip away, the boys faced their first shock: a shooting. This was followed by police violence and a significant move. While I've thankfully been spared first-hand police brutality, the raids, surveillance, shootings, and constant relocations I witnessed allowed me to connect deeply with the film on an emotional level.

The film's concluding scene was a gut-wrenching culmination of these themes. The poignant line about not being afraid to fly, coupled with the emotional score, left me in tears. Despite the neighborhood's violence shaping the characters' paths, the film didn’t let these elements overshadow the core narrative of two young boys' perspectives. Even though the single black mother struggle trope appeared, it never dominated the heartfelt story.

In 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing, their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.