A Day in Black and White (film)

A Day in Black and White is a 1999 American comedy film written and directed by Desmond Hall.
Synopsis.
A young black writer (Harold Perrineau), asked to write and present a speech on race relations, reaches out to a white friend (Anthony DeSando) for his input. As the two discuss the speech and the racial issues being addressed within it, their differences in views transform a friendly conversation into a heated debate. The pair continue their argument on and off throughout the day, as they discuss a variety of racially-charged topics, from the OJ Simpson trial to disco and interracial dating, with each other and a number of other characters.
Release.
"A Day in Black and White" premiered at the SXSW FIlm Festival on March 14, 1999. The film was purchased by HBO and scheduled for a February 2001 broadcast premiere.
Reception.
"A Day in Black and White" received generally mixed to positive reviews. Jerry Renshaw of "The Austin Chronicle" wrote in his review that the film "manages to find fresh approaches to a very serious subject", calling it "a rare film that can take such an overheated subject and treat it in a witty, entertaining way, thought-provoking without being inflammatory". Godfrey Cheshire of "Variety" wrote "A Day in Black and White" was "(s)incere, insightful and sometimes flat-out hilarious", but stated "the pic suffers only from being a string of clever, topical dialogues rather than a fully fleshed narrative". Elvis Mitchell wrote in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the film "erred a bit on the side of didacticism, not trusting the acuity of the humor to get its points across"", but still referred to the film as "good stuff".
The film was a finalist for the Gordon Parks Award for Desmond Hall's direction in 1999.