Director Jennifer Holness Attending

#WhileBlack follows citizen journalists like Diamond Reynolds and Darnella Frazier, whose cell phone videos from Minneapolis changed the conversation around policing and accountability overnight. Millions watched their footage, but almost no one saw what came next.

Once the videos went viral, Diamond, Darnella, and others went into hiding to escape online trolls, media attention, and police surveillance — while Silicon Valley benefited from the explosion in user engagement their videos generated. The film pulls back the curtain on what it actually costs to document the truth in real time, and what happens when everyday people become the record-keepers of history.

As Minneapolis once again finds itself at the center of national debate over footage, surveillance, and state power, #WhileBlack feels especially urgent—asking who really benefits from citizen journalism today, and who is left to carry the burden when a moment meant to inform the public becomes profit-generating content for the internet.