After months of preparation, #BlackatSMU premiered on Dallas Hall Lawn at 8pm on April 21.

#BlackatSMU is a student made film that follows the experience of five Black students at SMU and the struggles and challenges they face. Students from all over campus came to watch the movie premiere on Dallas Hall Lawn.

“I am really excited about this film, because I think it will open the door to a lot of important conversations that really need to happen. As a white student, I feel like I don’t personally know about all these other students’ experiences and I want to be able to support them,” said senior Ashly Gibbons. “So, I think. I think this is very pivotal in SMU’s growth as an organization and every student being able to have compassion and empathy for the people around them is really important.”

The event started with the film and ended with a Q&A and discussion about the film and the process involved in making the film with Aysia Lane, Crislyn Fayson, Shara Jeyarajah, and Jillian Taylor.

“What inspired me and Crislyn most for this film was the tweets, and the people who wrote them and how brave they were and how honest they were about their experiences,” said Aysia Lane, a co-director of the film. “It helped us put any reservations we had about it on the side because they were so brave and we’re just kind of following suit with that.”

With the premiere done, the film will be available for a one-time virtual viewing in May. It will also be available for professors to use as an educational purpose and to continue this discussion beyond the film.