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In addition to Black folks still making history in this current time (especially at a film festival that’s almost 80 years old), both this milestone and the attention the film is getting place an extremely heavy burden on King. During a virtual press conference for the film, King spoke out on the sobering fact that her film could either “open doors or close doors for more Black female directors” based on whether it succeeds or fails.

“Unfortunately, across the world, that’s how things seem to work. One woman gets a shot and if she does not succeed, it shuts things down for years until someone else gets a shot,” she added.

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It certainly is a unique burden to carry for Black or female directors (or both), while white male directors in Hollywood get chance after chance to “fail up.” It’s why we have stories like Gina Prince-Bythewood, who had to over-prove her ability with an extensive resume in order to direct an action film (The Old Guard) while Colin Trevorrow had one modest indie film under his belt (Safety Not Guaranteed) before Steven Spielberg handpicked him to direct the mega-franchise film, Jurassic World.

“I am so grateful for our film to be a part of the festival but I really, really want it to perform well. There’s so much talent out there—so many talented directors—so if One Night in Miami gets it done here, you’ll get to see a lot more of us,” King noted.

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King already has a good chunk of TV director credits, helming episodes of Scandal, Being Mary Jane, This Is Us, Insecure and more. King’s directorial debut at Venice has officially thrown her and her film into the Oscar race, with a possibility that she could become the first Black woman to be nominated under the Best Director category at the Oscars. Yeah...more firsts! With Selma, Ava DuVernay became the first Black woman director to have a film nominated for an Oscar period (under the Best Picture category), but she was infamously snubbed under the Director category.

Though the pandemic-based pushback of the 2021 Academy Awards (it’s not happening until April) means this could be a bit of an unpredictable awards season, the Venice Film Festival has been known to kick off the conversation for serious Oscar contenders.

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Given the early buzz at Venice, here’s hoping One Night in Miami turns into many successful nights during awards season for King and her cast and crew.