https://vimeo.com/521803571/0ba5e6f688
Jonathan is in a seemingly open and encouraging acting space at an English school. When his classmates try to coax him into an extremely racist typecasting for a showpiece, he is clearly hurt and confused. He’s show his talents, and while the skills of others are clearly encouraged, he find himself having to determine whether to go along with the role and make things easy or turn it down and be true to himself. During an acting exercise pretending to be animals, he draws and ape from the hat. Seeing his teacher’s shocked face, he instead puts his all into the role to drive out the stereotypes that plague him.
The short film Play it Safe brilliantly looks at implicit bias and racism that plagues even spaces that appear to be safe. Jonathan Ajayi is incredible in the role of the same name. You can see him thinking through every interaction, every step of existing. The film recently screened at 2021 SXSW and won the Jury Prize for Narrative Short.
