Boxoffice Pro Q1 2021

characters in comics history. “We created
this raw, immersive moment within the
BFI Southbank. That was a moment
where people really saw themselves
represented—not only in the film, but also
in the way we put the experience together.”
In the U.K., as in the U.S., the
exhibition landscape is largely white—
though “it’s definitely getting better,”
says Andrews. “Distributors are starting
to realize that, yes, they are acquiring
these [Black] films, but actually, do they
have the knowledge and the tools and the
resources to be able to reach the audiences
that these films need to be seen by? I think,
on their own, no.” Andrews encourages
distributors to reach out to organizations
and exhibitors like We Are Parable that do
the work to showcase Black films to Black
audiences. The challenge there, he admits,
is in “making sure that you’re paying for
and you’re valuing the service that these
exhibitors bring.”
Since the Black Panther event, We
Are Parable went for “bigger pieces of
funding” and began to schedule events
outside the London area. If landing Spike
Lee and Black Panther (with director Ryan
Coogler in attendance for a Q&A) were
key moments in We Are Parable’s story,
Covid-19 is another—one that shifted We
Are Parable from more events to none at
all, at least for a few months.
During that time, however, We Are
Parable did not stay silent, shifting their
resources to conduct a survey on how
customer confidence about a return to
cinemas varied across different ethnic
groups. Missing in wider conversations
about attracting moviegoers back to
cinemas, Andrews believed, was an
awareness that members of minority
ethnic communities were more likely
to die of Covid-19 than their white
counterparts. Suspecting that this fact
would impact willingness to return to
cinemas among moviegoers of color, and
dissatisfied about the level of attention
paid to this “specific and vulnerable
audience”—which, per statistics
published by the BFI, sees movies more
frequently than the overall population—
We Are Parable surveyed 1,100 moviegoers,
40 percent of them Black, Asian, or from
other non-white ethnic groups, on their
feelings about getting back to the movies.
The results, released in July, found
that Black respondents on the whole were
significantly less likely to be confident
about returning to cinemas than white
respondents. “Almost a fifth of them
said that they wouldn’t be going back to
cinemas till 2021. Another third of that
audience said that they’re not sure about
when they’re going to go back to cinemas.
If you think about that, that’s almost 50
percent of an audience who are some of
the most frequent visitors.” On a dollarsand-cents
level, “it doesn’t make sense
to ignore this cohort of people” and their
comparative hesitancy about returning to
cinemas. “From a moralistic view, in some
ways, it’s unforgivable in my eyes.”
The data We Are Parable has released,
Andrews says, has pushed industry bodies
in the U.K. to think about how they can
better communicate the safety measures
they’re taking to prevent the spread of
Covid-19. Andrews himself integrated the
insight gained from the survey into We
Are Parable’s first event post-shutdown:
a sold-out screening of Sarah Gavron’s
Rocks, held at the Rio Cinema in London
on September 8.
We Are Parable was careful to
communicate the Rio’s “very stringent”
safety measures to their audience in
advance of the event. “What we wanted
to do is be responsible and not contradict
our research by saying, ‘Oh, just come to
the cinema! It’s going to be fine!’” Multiple
posts on social media reiterated, in a “very
succinct” way, the guidelines all attendees
would have to follow. Temperatures would
be taken. Masks would be worn. Tickets
should be purchased in advance. Social
distancing would be in effect. Attendees
would have to wait outside before the film
started. The goal was “reminding people
of the key, fundamental things that you’ll
need to do and [explaining] why, perhaps,
“Do they have the
knowledge and the tools
and the resources to be able
to reach the audiences that
these films need to be seen
by? I think, on their own, no.”
Left: Lupita Nyong’o
and Chadwick
Boseman in Marvel
Studios’ Black Panther
Right: Sarah Gavron’s
Rocks marked We
Are Parable’s first
screening since the
start of the Covid-19
pandemic
Q1 2021
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