Dear White People

"A satire about being a Black face in a white place."

2014 1h 48m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 493

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A campus culture war between Blacks and whites at a predominantly white Ivy League college comes to a head when the staff of a satirical magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.

“A satire about being a Black face in a white place.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Tyler James Williams
Lionel Higgins
Tessa Thompson
Samantha White
Kyle Gallner
Kurt Fletcher
Teyonah Parris
Colandrea 'Coco' Conners
Brandon P Bell
Troy Fairbanks
Brittany Curran
Sophie Fletcher
Justin Dobies
Gabe
Marque Richardson
Reggie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Justin Simien
Writers: Justin Simien
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Justin Simien, shot by Topher Osborn. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kathryn Bostic. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Phillip J. Bartell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tyler James Williams and Tessa Thompson and Kyle Gallner carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A satire about being a Black face in a white place.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Justin Simien directs. Topher Osborn behind the camera. Kathryn Bostic scores. Phillip J. Bartell cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 4.2× over at the box office.
3Released 12 years ago.
4Directed by Justin Simien, shot by Topher Osborn. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Kathryn Bostic. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Phillip J. Bartell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Tyler James Williams and Tessa Thompson and Kyle Gallner carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A satire about being a Black face in a white place.".
9IMDB entry: tt2235108 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "controversy", "satire", "lgbt", "political correctness".

The technical file

Cinematography: Topher Osborn
Original score: Kathryn Bostic
Editing: Phillip J. Bartell
Production design: Bruton Jones
Costume design: Toye Adedipe
Makeup / hair: Robb Kelly
Sound: Vee Washington
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,300,000
Box office: $5,403,771
Return: 416% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Dear White People (2014)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Prize Dramatic

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Justin Simien

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-09-29
★ 3/10
Is it about the student politics or racism? Actually, I don't understand this film, I mean the story, what it intended to tell us. Maybe it's for Americans only. I thought it could be some underrated cool comedy, but what I just saw was definitely not expected. I kind of felt it was a student politics and if it stayed like that way I would have had no problem. But they said it is a comedy and I did not get any, in between it became a racism thing. I never understood this American racism, why they're making it so complicated. Especially the condition of the US is not looking good right now and this film pours a more oil to it. I'm neither white nor black or an American, and sorry I did not find it a good film. Even more, I don't get, how a television series is getting ready to follow-up it. So no offense for those who liked it, seems I'm in a wrong place. I just rated and reviewed what I felt it deserves, other than that I'm not against the film. I'm out of here! 3/10
sexxyadventure2017-12-31
★ 1/10
I really wonder what's going on with Black communities. This movie is completely racist. Most of the things that happen on the movie would never happen in real life. Maybe not in this century. But I guess if we want to live together, they must stop making these anti-white movies.