Traveling While Black

{{short description|Canadian-American virtual reality documentary film}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Traveling While Black

| image = Traveling While Black poster.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Roger Ross Williams

| producer = Ayesha Nadarajah
Jihan Robinson
Lina Srivastava

| writer =

| music = Jason Moran

| cinematography =

| editing =

| studio = Felix & Paul Studios

| distributor =

| released = {{film date|2019|01|25|Sundance}}

| runtime = 20 minutes

| country = Canada
United States

| language =

| budget =

}}

Traveling While Black is a Canadian-American coproduced virtual reality documentary film project, directed by Roger Ross Williams and released in 2019.Dream McClinton, [https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/sep/02/traveling-while-black-behind-the-eye-opening-vr-documentary-on-racism-in-america "Traveling While Black: behind the eye-opening VR documentary on racism in America"]. The Guardian, September 3, 2019. An examination of racism in the United States, the film is an immersive experience which places the viewer inside the context of African-American travellers seeking safety and security with the help of the Negro Motorist Green Book; Williams has contrasted it with the 2018 film Green Book, labelling it as "a totally different story because [Traveling While Black] is a story of life or death, and danger, and community, and all of those things. But it’s our story. It’s for us to tell. It’s not for anyone else."Matthew Carey, [https://deadline.com/2019/08/traveling-while-black-director-roger-ross-williams-emmys-vr-interview-1202704524/ "Director Roger Ross Williams On Emmy-Nominated VR Film ‘Traveling While Black’: “It’s A Big Moment”"]. Deadline Hollywood, August 26, 2019. The film is based on a 2010 play called The Green Book.{{Cite web|last=Kite-Powell|first=Jennifer|title=Why You Need To See This VR Documentary 'Traveling While Black'|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2019/02/25/why-you-need-to-see-this-vr-documentary-traveling-while-black/|access-date=2020-07-17|website=Forbes|language=en}}

The film premiered in the New Frontier program at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, before being released later in the year on Oculus VR platforms.Tambay Obenson, [https://www.indiewire.com/2019/08/traveling-while-black-roger-ross-williams-1202168979/ "‘Traveling While Black’: Roger Ross Williams’ VR Doc Reclaims ‘Green Book’ Narrative"]. IndieWire, August 28, 2019. In 2020, the film was selected for inclusion in the online We Are One: A Global Film Festival.Dino-Ray Ramos, [https://deadline.com/2020/05/we-are-one-global-film-festival-lineup-tribeca-ricky-powell-documentary-francis-ford-coppola-bong-joon-ho-1202942823/ "We Are One: Global Film Festival Unveils Lineup Including Ricky Powell docu; Talks With Francis Ford Coppola And Bong Joon-Ho"]. Deadline Hollywood, May 26, 2020.

The film was shot in Ben's Chili Bowl, a famous restaurant in Washington, D.C., founded in 1958.