21605C PlayItSafe 015

PLAY IT SAFE

Runtime 13 mins
Language English
Canadian Premiere
Availability
  • Online & In-Cinema

This short film is included in the following package(s): SHORTS: IT HURTS TO BE ALONE


Pigeonholed for a role as a Black hoodlum in a classmate’s play and coaxed by his teacher to take the typecast part, Jonathan decides to demonstrate to his peers their prejudices during a class role-play exercise.

PLAY IT SAFE is a story about implicit bias: unconscious racism by those who think of themselves as above prejudice but whose conditioned racism is just as impactful as those who wear their intolerance proudly. Jonathan’s realization that he is not in a liberal safe-space, but that his seemingly well-intentioned classmates hold entrenched stereotypes, reflects the real stories of countless drama students across the UK.

Countries

United Kingdom
Awards
Winner, SXSW Grand Jury Award Best Narrative Short, SXSW Film Festival 2021, Winner, Audience Award Narrative Shorts Competition, SXSW Film Festival 2021
Festivals
SXSW 2021
Director
Mitch Kalisa
Executive Producer
Kadri Mahmoud
Producer
Chris Toumazou
Screenwriter
Mitch Kalisa
Cinematographer
Jaime Ackroyd
Editor
Mitch Kalisa
Cast
Jonathan Ajayi, Heather Alexander, Kate Ovenden, Charlie O’Connor
Sound
Focal Rhythm Productions