Diddy Celebrates ‘Two Distant Strangers’ Starring Joey Bada$$ Winning An Oscar

Two Distant Strangers may not have gotten the mainstream attention like more high-profile feature films released over the last year, but the 30-minute drama made an impression on the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Directors Travon Free (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Daily Show) and Desmond Roe (Buzkashi Boys, We are the Champions) won the award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 93rd Oscar ceremony on Sunday night.

After accepting the Academy Award, Free called Sean “Diddy” Combs backstage at the event. Diddy is one of the producers for Two Distant Strangers. NBA All-Star Kevin Durant, media personality Van Lathan, and actor/activist Jesse Williams are also credited as producers.

Two Distant Strangers stars Hip Hop recording artist Joey Bada$$ (Mr. Robot, Boomerang, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Grown-ish) as an African-American cartoonist named Carter James. The movie centers around James unsuccessfully trying to get home to his dog because of repeated deadly interactions with a white police officer.

The cast also includes Andrew Howard (Watchmen, Tenet) as the NYPD cop and Zaria Simone (The Super Pops, Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!) as James’s date. Being awarded the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film was seen as a victory for everyone involved in the Netflix-distributed production. Diddy posted an Instagram video of himself celebrating the Oscar win with his friends and family.

“I’m incredibly blessed to WIN MY SECOND OSCAR as a producer for UNDEFEATED and now @2distantstrangers!! Words can’t describe how I feel right now winning alongside my brothers @JoeyBadass @VanLathan @Travon @nicholas_maye @MartinDesmondRoe @LawrenceBender @ijessewilliams @easymoneysniper. WE DID IT!!! #BlackExcellence #TwoDistantStrangers #OSCARS2021,” posted the Revolt network founder.

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Other people involved in the creation of Two Distant Strangers shared their reactions on social media too. When the winner of the category was announced, Van Lathan tweeted, “OMG. What the f###?” He later added, “Covered in Champagne.”

The Best Live Action Short Film win for Two Distant Strangers also led to Kevin Durant tweeting, “Big time!! Congrats @TwoDistantFilm.” Earlier in the day, before the winners were announced, Jesse Williams posted a message on his Instagram page about the movie being nominated for an Academy Award this year.

“It goes down this evening! Thank you to each and every one of you for the sincere, consistent, and growing support for our one of many expressions of art, discipline, and healing,” wrote Williams. “There is no one way through trauma or story, but there is effort and execution. And we’re proud of both today. Whether we win or we win, we’re winning. Keep going.”

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