The Concept For Blindspotting Came From Daveed Diggs’ Poetry Collaborations With Rafael Casal
In Blindspotting, Daveed Diggs plays a man whose nearly ended parole is threatened by tragic circumstances and the problematic actions of his best friend (Rafael Casal). The 2018 comedy-drama is rich in themes of racial tension, gentrification, and other deeply pressing topics for its time, which makes the realization that Diggs and Casal, known best for his spoken word performances, had been working on the screenplay for the better part of a decade all the more surprising.
The real-life friends, pals since they met at Berkeley High School, spoke to Rolling Stone about how the development came from an idea to translate their poetic collaborations into a feature film offering an honest depiction of their hometown of Oakland, only to see their vision become all the more relevant by the time the critically acclaimed story was realized.