Indie Spotlight: ‘Brown Girls’ Is An Elegant Portrait Of Diverse Characters

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. Read previous installments here.

---

Many independent web series tackle the subject of representation in media, and in doing so, it is important to strike the proper balance between pointed social commentary and skillful filmmaking. In that regard, Brown Girls is right on the money. Fatimah Asghar‘s intimate series about the friendship between a Muslim-American woman and her African-American bestie is a sweet and sensitive portrait that engages viewers while also showing them a world they don’t often see in Hollywood.

The titular Brown Girls are Leila (Nabila Hossain) and Patricia (Sonia Denis), and Asghar uses the diverse nature of her two leads to explore topics related to race, gender, love, and sexuality in modern society. As Asghar told The Huffington Post, Brown Girls is based on her own life and her friendship with musician Jamila Woods, and she sees her web series as a chance to highlight underserved voices. “I wrote a story that was loosely based on the life of me and my best friend, because I don’t often see women of color from different racial backgrounds being friends in TV or film,” she said

. “When they are portrayed I feel like they are often in competition with each other, and I don’t like that. That’s not true to my life.”

[Editor’s note: The first episode of Brown Girls is NSFW.]

Brown Girls — Episode 1 from Open TV (beta) on Vimeo.

When she’s not making web series, Asghar is a poet, and Brown Girls is filled with beautiful imagery. Its underdog story is an important part of its appeal, but the beauty of its cinematography are on par with any series we’ve reviewed in this space. Watching it, I’m reminded of the Emmy-nominated series Her Story; in both cases, the nuanced portrayal of diverse characters is the hook, but the elegant shot composition keeps viewers engaged even if they can’t fully identify with the central protagonists.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Bobby & Bogey. A nerdy kid receives mentorship from an animated booger lodged within his nose.
• The Open Mic. Unfunny wannabe comedians wander on stage with predictable results in this satirical comedy.
• Feminist Babysitter. Don’t worry – the titular character is an over-the-top parody.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.