Here at the beacon we met up with film director Johannes Roberts, to gain a directors opinion on the ongoing #OscarsSoWhite row that is taking Hollywood by storm. 

 

The Storage 24 director greeted us with an essence of cool. Roberts walked in with a swagger and surely left his mark on the beacon HQ. When asked questions on the Oscars and their lack of diversity, he answered with a degree of intelligence and professionalism. As he pointed out, many black actors fail to get recognition from The Academy because they are not given roles that show their true talent.

 

Black people are often left with second class roles, as slaves or antagonists, and Roberts argues that this isn't fair. He argues that so many screen writers base their stories on the male hegemonic model, and challenge this with a black antagonist.

 

Roberts believes that the real change needs not to be from The Academy, but from the Directors, producers and screenwriters themselves. 

 

An exciting year of film lies ahead in 2016, and after the #OscarsSoWhite row, we can hope to see more black actors in protagonist roles this year.