In my DVD Hidden Gem segment this week for CBC Radio, I allude to a troubling fact of film distribution in my neck of the woods (that neck being Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)—namely, that films featuring predominantly black casts and dealing with what you might call predominantly black themes rarely get a theatrical release on local screens, the main exception being broad comedies released by major studies. We're a city with one of the highest screens-per-capita ratios in Canada, but there have been occasions where nowhere in Edmonton could you go out and see the number-one box-office attraction in North America—Tyler Perry's first Madea movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, would be an example of this phenomenon, as would How Stella Got Her Groove Back. I've never been sure whether to characterize this distribution policy as racist or simply realistic and practical—after all, if Edmonton audiences (who are mostly white, and by a fairly large margin) have historically shown themselves unwilling to see black-themed films, can you blame exhibitors for not wanting to book them?
Whatever you want to call it, it means that movies like Night Catches Us, Tanya Hamilton's fine debut as writer/director, only get marginalized even further than small-scale, independent dramas normally are. Heather Noel and I will be discussing Night Catches Us in depth during the next episode of the DVD Afternoon podcast, but you can get a preview of my thoughts on the film by clicking here.
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