Academy Award-winner and star of The Woman King Viola Davis presented Gina Prince-Bythewood with her second Black Women in Hollywood honor on March 9, praising the director for her perseverance and dedication to her vision while delivering valued Black stories through the multiple difficulties Black women face in Hollywood.
“The artistry is in the process,” Davis told the star-studded room. “The artistry, Mrs. Prince-Bythewood, is in your story.”
“The process in which you create that elixir, that art that you put together and you carve and you go through the sh*t and p*ss – which is Hollywood – to deliver the product to us.”
Prince-Bythewood made headlines during awards season for an open letter she penned calling out the powers that be in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their traditions of cronyism and favoritism when it comes to film promotion and screenings that often leaves creators of color and Black women in particular out of the nomination loop – hence this year’s total shutout of The Woman King.
“I often think that a lot of times people think that the artistry is in the result. And it’s not. Art is supposed to move you.”
See Prince-Bythewood’s moving acceptance speech and the rest of the ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon in its entirety HERE.