Behind the scenes of Sinners, Oscar-nominated women are 'carrying the torch' for diverse, young filmmakers
CBC
After about 50 feature films and 40 years in the industry, Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter — nominated again this year for Sinners — has seen a lot of change, but she says it isn’t something that just happened.
"We broke the barriers," Carter told CBC News in a recent interview. "We put ourselves out there because what was being produced by the Hollywood machine was not concerned about authenticity and representation and our kind of storytelling."
Carter says she feels fortunate to have worked with groundbreaking directors like Spike Lee, John Singleton, Keenen Ivory Wayans and others. Doing things differently was what got them attention and allowed them to push for change and diversity, something she continues to practice to this day.
With her fifth Academy Award nomination for costume design for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, Carter is now the most nominated Black woman in Oscar history. She’s also the only Black woman to win two Oscars — one for Black Panther in 2019 and another for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2023.
But whether she’s working on a Marvel blockbuster or an original story like Sinners, Carter says she always has an intern at her side and she treats them like an extension of herself.
"If I'm standing in the middle of the set, they're standing in the middle of the set."
It’s something she says she learned from working with Spike Lee, who was "constantly saying that we need more representation behind the camera."
This approach is driving a significant shift in the film industry, allowing racialized creatives to gain experience and recognition behind the scenes. Those like Carter who've broken through industry barriers feel they're lighting the way for the next generation. And younger filmmakers are doing the same within their own communities, lifting each other up, opening doors and creating opportunities that wouldn’t exist otherwise.
When Carter began her career, she didn't set out to make history. Her goal was to tell authentic stories. However, she recognizes the significance of her success in the way it opened doors for people of colour.
"I became really proud that I was carrying the torch," she said. "That I was lighting a way for all of us to come into an industry that was not created for us."
Thea Loo, a producer and director who recently moved to Toronto from Vancouver, says it's still hard to be a woman of colour in film today. Especially behind the scenes, where she says she doesn't see many people who look like her.
"It hurts to be confronted by this lack of representation."
A 2012 Los Angeles Times investigation found that 94 per cent of Academy members were white and 77 per cent were male. This was followed by the social media campaign #OscarsSoWhite, which criticized the awards in 2015 and 2016 because all 20 acting nominees were white.
Elaine Chang, an associate professor specializing in race and cultural studies, says historically, the film industry has favoured white men with established networks and family connections, which makes it difficult for newcomers who are Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) to break through.
