Canadian Women Film Directors Database
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Subjects of Desire -- Film Description:
"Since 1968, the Miss Black America beauty pageant has been celebrating and upholding the philosophy 'Black is Beautiful.' Capturing the 50th anniversary edition of this once-revolutionary event, the film dives deeper and deconstructs the contemporary meaning of the phrase. It looks at how shifting global beauty standards are moving towards embracing Black aesthetics, but, as one of the contestants points out, on the backs of Black women. Why is it that the same Black features are more desirable when they're on the body of a white woman? In the face of this contradiction, today's Miss Black America contestants embrace all the different variations of what it means to be a Black woman in North America. Featuring interviews with India Arie, Amanda Parris and Rachel Dolezal, Subjects of Desire offers a much-needed deconstruction of the intersection of race and the power of beauty."
-- Aisha Jamal


Source:
"Hot Docs" Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. http://www.hotdocs.ca/.