*A small group of protesters in Los Angeles gathered Thursday for a silent candlelight sit-in at the first screenings of Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation.”
As previously reported, the protest at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood was organized by the group F**k Rape Culture — made up of artists, filmmakers and women in Hollywood — and began at 7 p.m., when the drama was scheduled to first hit theaters in previews.
Around 30 to 40 people joined in the protest, planning to quietly sit for the two-hour duration of the film. The group, honoring victims of rape and sexual assault, was mostly women, but a few men also joined in, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A few security guards kept watch over the group as they sat, surrounded by small tea lights and a few larger candles. Two police officers stood nearby, and some people passing by on their way into the theater paused to watch the group.
“We were approached by women in Hollywood who felt this case was so complicated, and the conversation came up about how to respond in a way that respected how important this film was for people of color,” said Remy Holwick, the founder of F**k Rape Culture at the sit-in. “We came up with a silent vigil that does nothing to condemn the makers of the film or Fox Searchlight, but does work to show that there is space for this film to both hopefully do very well and show that people of color can do very well in Hollywood — and also honor those victims of rape and sexual assault who may have been buried in this conversation a little bit.”
An hour into the protest, the event’s organizer Elyse Cizek, spoke briefly to the group, thanking them for attending. “This will not go unnoticed,” she said.
“I think that with the release of this movie there was an opportunity to be intersectional, and they missed that mark,” said Stephanie Filojones, a volunteer at the event. “I think that it was a real chance for Nate Parker to recognize that the definition of consent was something that he didn’t know at the time. I think that there was a chance for him to say sorry for what he did and he could have elevated the voices of survivors that don’t have voices.”
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