Queen Latifah has advised Black British filmmakers to “stand strong in your spot” and “keep pushing”, in comparison to their American counterparts.
Latifah was speaking in the first In Conversation session at the 2025 Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah.
In the final audience question of the 45-minute session, the American rapper, actor and producer was asked by a British filmmaker - who identified themselves as an executive producer on Netflix series Supacell – about what Black British creatives can learn from Black Americans.
“Being an African American woman, we have a long history, that is being challenged right now,” said Latifah. “It’s hurting us as a nation by not facing reality and how we came to be.”
“Nevertheless, we are resilient, amazing people, to still be standing. So I would say just keep pushing and tell your stories the way you see them. Stand strong in your spot. You have to, because you’re going to get pushed. So you have to push back. How you push and how you are creative enough to do that is up to you.”
Latifah referenced the creativity of Black people throughout history as inspiration for creatives today. “We created the stop light, the wrench, videogames, GPS… there are so many things we have created that history may not tell,” said Latifah. “You can always create something new, and you can always tell another story. It’s all in you, so be proud of that.
“Whether a book tells you that you can do it or not, you know it inside your bones. Our spirit [as Black people] is going to be stronger than anything that’s written down.”
Healthy ecosystem
Earlier in the session Latifah was asked by the festival moderator if there was a group that is “underutilised” and “hasn’t taken its full space in the creative world”.
“Women,” replied Latifah simply to applause from the room. The festival host then noted that women in the workforce in Saudi Arabia are now at 38%, up from just 7% five years ago.
“To me, that’s a healthy ecosystem,” responded Latifah. “You can be missing too much [without a balanced workforce]. There’s way too many things you’ll miss if we’re not there.
Latifah then noted her organsation Queen Collective, which offers mentorship to women and non-binary people of colour looking to work in the film industry. “We specifically want to find directors who can tell diverse stories,” said Latifah, adding that it currently trains directors of ages from 20s through to 50s. “There’s no ageism..”
“People in this business are always looking for the next something that we’ve already seen. But it took someone to find the first something,” said Latifah. “So how about you make that person instead of looking for the next one. Sometimes it is right in front of your face, if you just listen and see what they have to offer, what they have to create, and give them some support.
“So we support people’s visions and let them tell the stories that we could not tell,” said Latifah.
Latifah was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar and Bafta in 2003 for her role as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton, the corrupt but caring matron of Cook County Jail in Rob Marshall’s Chicago.
She won a Golden Globe for best actress in a miniseries or television film in 2008 for Life Support; and received recognition from the Screen Actors Guild for both performances.
A powerhouse Red Sea In Conversation lineup continues with talks from Kirsten Dunst, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Nina Dobrev today (Thursday, December 4); before Ana de Armas, Dakota Johnson and Jessica Alba are among those to speak tomorrow.
Red Sea International Film Festival opens this evening with the MENA premiere of Rowan Athale’s Giant starring Amir El-Masry and Pierce Brosnan. The festival runs until Saturday, December 13.
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