Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
    Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

    Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

    08/29/2025
    Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

    ‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

    08/28/2025
    Olivia Colman in The Roses

    ‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

    08/27/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Interviews » Sundance 2021: Carolyn Talks ‘Doublespeak’ With Writer-director Hazel McKibbin and Actress Angela Wong Carbone

Sundance 2021: Carolyn Talks ‘Doublespeak’ With Writer-director Hazel McKibbin and Actress Angela Wong Carbone

Carolyn HindsBy Carolyn Hinds01/30/20214 Mins ReadUpdated:01/30/2021
Use this to resize images 2021 01 30T135802.952
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Hazel McKibbin and Actress Angela Wong Carbone

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival began its week of screenings and various online events on January 28th, among those screening, is Doublespeak, an original film entered into Short Films Program. In this episode of Carolyn Talks…, I speak with writer and director Hazel McKibbin, and actress Angela Wong Carbone about their technical and emotional approaches to preparing for and making the film, and finding catharsis through art.

After being sexually harassed by an older male colleague who was in a position of authority over her, Emma (Wong Carbone) bravely reported the incidents. but after reporting them it turns out the company won’t do anything to show her they care, or have consideration for her feelings, safety or that of other women who work for them. Sitting in a conference room with your supervisor, the head of the company you work for, and a strange man is a situation most people don’t want to find themselves in unless they know it will lead to a positive outcome, and for Emma (Wong Carbone) it’s uncomfortable, stressful and ultimately another experience she probably wishes she could erase.

As Emma, Wong Carbone gives a performance that holds your attention as every unsaid thought and barely restrained emotion briefly filters through her facial expressions and small gestures. Emma’s anxiety is visible but constantly ignored, making the situation even more intense and upsetting.

For her first short film writer and director, Hazel McKibbin takes a day in Emma’s life that is a day many others face and scrutinizes the ways the corporate world – or any work environment really – creates an unsafe work environment for employees when the people in charge allow those with seniority to abuse their power by intimidating, harassing and even assaulting their subordinates. She deftly shows the moral and ethical failings that occur when the benefit of the doubt is placed on the antagonizer and places the burden of proof and doubt on the victims.

To read more about Doublespeak, you can read But Why Tho contributor Cait Kennedy’s review here.

Sundance 2021 runs from January 28 – February 3, 2021. For more festival announcements and to stream films online and purchase tickets, visit How To Fest at Sundance.org. Follow Carolyn on social media at @CarrieCnh12 and #SHWHSundance for So Here’s What Happened! at Sundance festival coverage.


About Hazel and Angela

Hazel McKibbin

Hazel McKibbin is a British-American writer and director based in Brooklyn. She is a 2020 BAFTA Newcomer and is currently working on her thesis at Columbia University where she is pursuing an MFA in Screenwriting and Directing. Hazel finds herself drawn towards realism, often through a feminist lens, and the idea that compelling stories can be created from ordinary relationships and interactions.

Her directorial debut Doublespeak is featured on Short of the Week, is a Vimeo Staff Pick Best of the Month: July 2020 and will have its festival premiere at the Sundance 2021 Film Festival

Angela Wong Carbone 

Inexhaustibly curious, native New Yorker, and child of the arts, it is only natural Angela Wong Carbone started her film career when she was discovered in Rome, Italy. Her first feature film, Terra (Winner, experimental film at Pesaro Film festival) was directed by duo Marco De Angelis and Antonio di Trapani and sent her onto the indie circuit. Her latest films, Longing (director Christian Mushenko; best dramatic short Big Apple Film Fest, the award of excellence One Reeler, Winner London Independent Film Fest)  Shield (director Yijie Mei; Korean American Film Fest), Delay (director Tin Tang; NewFest official selection) and feature Sugar Land (director Lorenzo Lanzillotti; Festigious Film Festival (Best Short, Best Actress), Oniros (Best Director Nomination), Feel the Reel (Best Short, Nominated Best Actress, 2nd Best Editing) Premiere on FilmShortage as Film of the Week ) have cemented her as an international film actress and collaborator.

Angela trained at NYU’s Stonestreet Studios for screen acting, with Anthony Abeson, and at Cornell University for theater, where she also holds a degree in Architecture. Angela is a designer, welder, and writer for film and media.

She is an award-winning screenwriter. Her latest film, Postmarked, was executive produced by Lena Waithe after her script won her a spot in AT&T Hello Lab’s Mentorship Program in 2019. She is a contributing writer for activist Eileen Kelly’s Killerandasweetthang. Her stories and recipes appear in Lulu Gioiello’s Far Near, a continuing book project on East Asian identity, and Alex Chester’s Hapa Mag.

She is currently developing several projects, including the series The Labors of Lulu, with E! star Camrus Johnson and former Sundance TV, IFC, and NBC executive Evan Shapiro.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous’ Season 2 Ups The Stakes And The Spectacle
Next Article SUNDANCE 2021: ‘Censor’ Doesn’t Quite Succeed in its Search for Catharsis
Carolyn Hinds
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

I am a Freelance Film Critic, Journalist and Podcaster - and avid live tweeter. Member of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), my published work can be found on ButWhyThoPodcast, The Beat, Observer, and many other sites. As a critic, I believe my personal experiences and outlook on life, give readers and listeners a different perspective they can appreciate, and help them to see things in a new light. I am the proud host of Beyond The Romance Drama Podcast - a podcast dedicated to discussing Korean and other Asian dramas, the co-host of So Here's What Happened! Podcast (@SHWH_Pod), and the weekly science fiction film and TV live tweet event #SaturdayNightSciFi.

Related Posts

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

Final Fantasy’s Naoki Yoshida Looks Back To Look Forward

09/03/2025
The Comic Shop

Cheyenne Ewulu’s ‘The Comic Shop’ Is The Sitcom Fandom Deserves

08/30/2025
Star Wars Visions Volume 3 BLACK Directed by Shinya Ohira

Shinya Ohira Explores Pain, Sacrifice, And Storytelling In ‘Black’ For ‘Visions Volume 3’

08/29/2025
Star Wars Visions Volume 3 James Waugh But Why Tho

James Waugh Believes Unique Expression Is The Heart Of ‘Star Wars: Visions Volume 3’

08/28/2025
Chip 'n Claws vs Brainioids promotional game still from Snapshot Games

Snapshot Games Devs Talk About How They Found Joy Developing Chip ‘N Claws

08/28/2025
Daniel Marin as Namor in Marvel Rivals

Namor’s Latinidad Is Personal For ‘Marvel Rivals’ Voice Actor Daniel Marín

08/23/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Cosmic Spider-Man card details Features

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

By Kate Sánchez09/02/2025Updated:09/02/2025

An exclusive look at a new 5-Color Spider entering Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, and Cosmic Spider-Man is going to be a tough one to take on.

Hololive EN at Radio City Music Hall Events

Hololive EN At Radio City Music Hall Was A Pure Expression Of Fandom

By Adrian Ruiz08/31/2025Updated:09/03/2025

Hololive EN turned Radio City in New York City into the pure expression of fandom: chants, penlights, and community in perfect sync.

Karl Anthony Towns in NBA 2k26 But Why Tho
8.5
PS5

REVIEW: ‘NBA 2K26’ Brings Basketball To Life

By Kyle Foley09/03/2025

NBA 2K26 combines improved visuals with some important tweaks to keep the series feeling fresh in the latest yearly release.

Cronos: The New Dawn Nest
8.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Cronos: The New Dawn’ Does Post-Apocalyptic Psychological Horror Right

By Mick Abrahamson09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

While not particularly sacry, Cronos: The New Dawn is a lot of fun as a survival horror that puts you in the futuristic armor of the Traveler.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here