In the Wake TV Producers Shayna and Julia get real about one of the film industry's biggest divides: the tension between entertaining films that sell tickets and artistic films that push boundaries—and why the industry forces creators to choose between commercial success and creative integrity.

The False Binary: Shayna and Julia break down how the film industry has constructed a false choice: make something "entertaining" that appeals to mass audiences and secures funding, or create "artistic" work that gets festival acclaim but struggles to find distribution. The truth? This binary serves studios and investors, not artists or audiences. It's a system that undervalues both entertainment (dismissed as lowbrow) and art (labeled as inaccessible), when the best films often blend both—telling compelling stories while taking creative risks.

Why This Matters: For Black filmmakers and creators of color, this divide is especially damaging. Our stories are often pigeonholed: either make "urban entertainment" that conforms to stereotypes and gets wide release, or create "important art films" about trauma that win awards but never reach our communities. The industry rarely makes space for Black films that are entertaining and artistic, commercially viable and culturally specific—forcing creators into boxes that limit both their creative freedom and their economic sustainability.

Watch the full conversation as Shayna and Julia expose how the industry manufactures this divide, why audiences deserve better, and how independent cinema can challenge these limiting categories.

Ready for honest industry analysis that centers artists and audiences over profit? Subscribe to In the Wake TV for commentary that refuses to accept false choices. 🎬🏾✊🏾

👉🏾 Join the Wake community today at www.inthewake.tv and demand cinema that does both.