Freedom of Expression Award: Daveed Diggs
“Magic Hour”
SFJFF 45
Piedmont Theatre
4186 Piedmont Ave, Oakland
July 31, 2025
In celebration of “unfettered imagination, which is the cornerstone of a just, free and open society," SFJFF has presented artists embodying these values a Freedom of Expression Award since 2005. This year saw hometown theatrical and musical powerhouse Daveed Diggs handed that honor by new Mayor Barbara Lee at Piedmont Theatre in advance of a screening of the latest indie flick he stars in, “Magic Hour”.
The two — Diggs and Lee— have been in one another’s orbit for around 20 years, and this was not her first time introducing Diggs. Granted the award for his “artistic achievement and accomplishments [as a] cultural bridge builder,” Diggs relayed the story of a very different intro before a very different event all those years ago: While working at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, he’d read a bunch of King’s speeches to a crowd. “But like, not the polite ones.” Seeing that sentiment of resistance is still seen in his projects, Lee urged Diggs, and everyone, to continue to “resist, restore, and reimagine” the arts.
Diggs and Ilana Kaufman of the Jews of Color Initiative then took a seat on the stage “like a stoop in New York, very 'Do the Right Thing' of us," for a brief conversation, where Diggs explored the inextricable link between his Jewish and Bay Area identities, and of the essential impact of fun and play and lightheartedness in the arts. For a town without a nationally recognized film or arts industry, Oakland sure produces a whole lot of culture, and Diggs sees this as borne of a need and true love of creation. The DIY spirit has also led Diggs and co-creator Rafael Casal to establish The Bay List to help budding filmmakers realize their projects.
A far cry from the scrappy street-shot scenes of local creatives, but equally a stretch to compare to big-budget Hollywood flicks, “Magic Hour” delivered a brief, if strained, love story in rich desert hues and tender touches. Directed and co-written by Katie Aselton (with husband Mark Duplass — a little less indie now, right?), the film harnesses that titular golden glow and infuses the couple’s pain and heartache with the depth of their love for each other.
Set in the desolate and stagnated reality of Joshua Tree and employing just a handful of actors and crew, the scrappy production was Diggs’ dream way of working — a short stint at a beautiful location, alongside fellow talented folks. Unfortunately, the story does not live up to the strength of the actors or cinematographer Sarah Whelden’s visions. With the exception of two prolonged and frankly tortuous scenes (an orgasmic massage that prompted a “this sucks” from my neighbors, and a final roadside moment of acceptance of loss), Whelden’s view is rich and gentle, with sweeping and lingering shots in equal measure, a good mix of hand-held selfie-style videos interspersed with highly artistic obfuscations and light.
The simplicity of the plot could have been a driving factor—but instead left me wanting an additional bit of conflict, a secondary piece of tension to cut the obviousness of Erin (Aselton) and Charlie’s (Diggs) struggle. Coupled with a handful of disturbances during the screening, I left nonplussed but glad to have watched the film and for its creation— if only wishing it had been a short.
