In 2017, Micheal Rice’s debut documentary, parTy boi, black diamonds in ice castles proved both controversial and illuminating. The prescient portrait sparked necessary debate and discourse among LGBTQ+ communities of color regarding matters of isolation, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Now, the filmmaker’s latest, BLACK AS U R centers trans and nonbinary youth in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. The film examines transphobia and homophobia within already marginalized communities, as well as the myriad frameworks Black queer people have designed for the collective liberation of Black people throughout history. BLACK AS U R has screened in five countries and received 13 awards including the inaugural "Out in the Silence Award" at Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, whose mission, like Rice’s, is “to change the world through the power of queer cinema.” —T.T.