Cast of "Black Girl Missing" Comes to Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College held a free screening of the new Lifetime film "Black Girl Missing." The film promotes the Black and Missing Foundation.
On Thursday, Feb. 23, a screening of Lifetime’s latest movie, “Black Girl Missing” was held at the Santa Monica College (SMC) Center of Media and Design. This showing went from 6 to 8 p.m. and was free to SMC students.
Following the show was a Q&A with the executive producer and actress Garcelle Beauvais, as well as actress Iyana Halley, director Delmar Washington, and writer Kale Futterman. The audience had a chance to ask the cast and crew their questions, and many offered praise for the film.
Inspired by true events, "Black Girl Missing" was created to draw awareness to missing persons of color and is part of Lifetime’s Stop Violence Against Women Campaign. It tells the story of Cheryl, a mother of two, as she fights to find her missing daughter, Lauren.
After an argument with her mother Cheryl, played by Beauvais, 18-year-old Lauren (Iyana Halley) heads back to college and stops communicating. As more time passes and Cheryl does not hear from her daughter, she becomes concerned and decides to alert the police.
The authorities and media refuse to look into her case, label Lauren as a runaway, and focus their attention on a missing white girl. Refusing to wait for help that won’t come, Cheryl and her younger daughter Marley (Taylor Mosby) decide to take matters into their own hands.
“I was most profoundly impacted by the journeys of mothers fighting to find their children, and I felt that the heartbreak of losing a child was so universal that it would resonate with audiences from all walks of life,” said Futterman.
While searching for Lauren, Cheryl discovers the Black and Missing Foundation, a real-life organization, and is horrified to find out that the missing persons of color cases are treated with a significant lack of media attention and law interference.
The foundation is a non-profit that strives "to bring awareness to missing persons of color" and "provide resources for their friends and family." The Black and Missing Foundation acted as a consultant on the film.
"They immediately had great suggestions,” said Futterman. “Especially with regards to making sure our missing girl, Lauren, was not characterized in a way that perpetuated harmful stereotypes.”
Desiree Campbell, a film student at SMC, attended the event for an extra credit assignment but left feeling impressed by what she watched from the theater seats.
“Phenomenal story,” Campbell said. “Being able to be one of the first people to see this was just a great thing that as a Santa Monica College student I was able to experience.”
The film has been proven effective at its goal, to spread awareness of the Black and Missing Foundation, as Campbell explained that she had never heard of the foundation before viewing the film.
“I definitely want to keep up on that because I didn’t know much about this and I am a black woman, you should know more about what’s happening in your community,” she added.
Futterman encouraged everyone to take time out of their day to get involved in any way they can, even if it is on social media.
“A big thing for us is wanting to leave people with this sense of hope and feeling like every single person in this room has the power to make this situation better,” she said.
The Black and Missing Foundation can be found on Instagram @blackandmissingfdn. The film "Black Girl Missing" premieres Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.