A UK-produced short parable about race just won big at the SXSW Film Festival.
On Friday, the fest announced that the short film “Play It Safe”, directed by Mitch Kalisa, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Short.
Set in a London, England drama school, the film stars Jonathan Ajayi as a student pigeonholed to play a “Black hoodlum” in a classmate’s play.
After being coaxed by his teacher to take the role, Jonathan must make the choice of challenging prejudice or playing it safe.
Accepting the prize, Kalisa said, “A big thank you to SXSW and to the amazing cast and crew I was lucky enough to work with to bring this story to life. It’s been incredible to see how a personal story has touched so many. Hopefully the film has and will inspire some important conversations around the issues raised. Thank you all once again. So much love .”
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Ajayi added, “Thank you to SXSW for championing this film in the way it deserves to be! It was a gift of a film as an actor and a deep responsibility as a Black man. I’m honoured to have been a part of this.”
