Black Lives Matter

Dear Esteemed Alumni & Students of Trinity Film Festival,

Thank you, again, to all the alumni who supported the festival this year in various ways, and to the students for their hard work both on campus and in an unprecedented remote environment. This year's festival was yet another example of the ingenuity, dedication, and resourcefulness of the TFF family. 

In light of the important events and conversations happening around the globe to support Black Lives Matter, we wanted to take a moment to reinforce how much we value the diversity of the students who make up Trinity Film Festival. We have always taken immense pride in talking with other groups on campus and in Hartford about how amazing the TFF team is. We believe TFF students represent the absolute best of Trinity College. As our festival submissions have grown in quality and diversity throughout the years, so has the TFF team. What makes this group great IS the diversity of people lending different voices and different perspectives from throughout campus and around the world. We are proud of the diversity of this group and support continued diversity in the voices that make up the dynamic TFF team each semester. This pride is almost definitely not expressed by us enough to the current students, so we endeavor to be more vocal going forward. This family has been both a refuge and a fostering environment for so many at Trinity College over the last nine years, and we must take active steps to continue that into the future.

With that in mind, there is work Trinity Film Festival can and must do both on campus and globally by using our platform to condemn systemic racism and white supremacy. We have a duty to give voice to those who deserve the right to breathe freely. We will lend our energy and our ears to support our students and further anti-racism action in our community. We believe in our student leaders, and we invite our alumni to join them in these efforts in the coming weeks and months ahead.  

This is a long term value we must keep at the forefront of our consciousness moving forward, and entering our 10th festival year is an important time to proceed with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. Thank you to all members of Trinity Film Festival. Please practice self-care as you grapple with the emotions that you are feeling. We encourage you to have difficult conversations, and we encourage you most of all to listen. We aim to do better every day in these realms as well.

With love,

John Michael Mason & Joe Barber