Directors: Aysia Lane, Crislyn Fayson
#BlackAtSMU is an experimental documentary that uses an amalgamation of dramatic retellings, experimental explorations, and investigative interviews to explore a critical question: what is it like to be a Black student at a Predominantly White Institution? The film depicts five Black students’ encounters with racism at Southern Methodist University, a private college in Dallas, Texas. The stories explored originate from the hashtag “BlackatSMU” which trended on Twitter in the summer of 2020 following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. They range from a student-athlete navigating the lonely confines of becoming an activist in a suppressive system to Black students evacuating campus after fraternity brothers shouted racial slurs following Trump’s election.
