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.
Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter talks about the intimate environment on the set of Sinners.
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.”
Relationships can lead to recognition
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.
However, she says, “BIPOC women, they look out for each other, and they really point out that it’s about relationships.”
And sometimes, those relationships lead to recognition and further breakthroughs.
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s journey to become part of Coogler’s Sinners crew began with a recommendation from her friend, Rachel Morrison, the cinematographer on Coogler’s Black Panther.
When Morrison was unavailable for the sequel, she suggested Durald Arkapaw, who got the job. She then returned to work on Sinners and became the first woman of colour nominated for best cinematography.
There have only been three other women nominated in this category (Morrison was the first in 2018) and none have won.
In a recent interview with Vogue, Durald Arkapaw said she and Coogler understand the significance of this representation and the responsibility that comes with it.
“We know there will be Black and brown girls and boys who see themselves in us, looking for inspiration. If we approach our work with care, it can help light the way for someone else’s journey, and to me, that’s truly beautiful.”
Networking at all levels
Younger filmmakers say this kind of networking is being practiced at all levels in the industry.
Loo, for one, says she’s optimistic about the next generation of diverse filmmakers because they understand the importance of holding doors open.
“We sort of need to barge our way in and then hold it for everybody else.”
Rachel Chen, a cinematographer and camera assistant in Vancouver praised the way her mentor, Ryukyuan and Métis cinematographer Kaayla Whachell, shares her knowledge and skills and makes a point of hiring BIPOC women.
Because Chen benefitted from this advice, she’s now eager to help other emerging female filmmakers.
“We’re happy to do it because someone did it for us.”
Lauren Yim, a camera assistant and self-described “camera nerd” based in Vancouver who was also hired by Whachell, says that often, in order for BIPOC women to get jobs, they have to hope those in leadership positions intentionally seek out people to hire from their communities.
But now, she says she and other female technicians also rely on Instagram group chats where they share job opportunities and personal experiences and create their own connections that make work feel effortless and enjoyable.
“When I first started working in film in 2021, I didn’t see, really, a lot of other BIPOC female camera assistants like me, and now, I see a lot in the younger generation and that makes me really happy,” she said.
“You just want to be like, ‘Yes! Keep going!’ “
Visibility means access
Production designer Hannah Beachler also came back for Sinners after winning an Oscar for her work on Black Panther. She was the first Black person to be nominated and win in that category, and this year, she was nominated again.
Beachler told CBC News via email that when she first started out, she didn’t have a lot of role models or mentors that reflected who she was as a Black woman and an artist.
She says success for her means “visibility” — a chance for people to see themselves represented in the industry and to know that there are opportunities to collaborate.
“It’s important, in an effort to find equity and equality in fine arts, music, film and other creative fields, that young people can see and feel that they have access to their dreams,” Beachler said.
Vancouver-based production designer Cheryl Marion says she found it “amazing” that this year, four of the five nominees in Beachler’s category are women.
“It was hard for me to break through as an art director,” she said. “Because all the big features seemed to go to men.”
That’s why Marion, who is Red River Métis, actively promotes Indigenous and women creatives when she’s hiring art directors, prop people and set decorators.
“Everybody is standing on the shoulders of somebody,” she said. “It’s important, when you have that position of power, to be a hero.”
