Ryan Coogler got visibly emotional as he drew attention to the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week.
While accepting the Best Original Screenplay for Sinners at the National Board of Review Awards gala on Tuesday, Coogler admitted his mind was far from the ballroom.
He explained that while he was physically in New York, his heart remained in Minnesota, where tensions have escalated since Good was shot and killed during an immigration protest last Wednesday.
‘It’s tough to be here and not think about Minnesota. My heart is there right now… I can’t be here and not think about Renee,’ Coogler told the audience, as he fought back tears.
The filmmaker went on to reflect on the eerie parallel to his last appearance at the National Board of Review Awards more than a decade ago, when he was honored in 2014 for Fruitvale Station, a film depicting the real-life killing of Oscar Grant by a transit police officer.
‘I was young and naïve and I thought the movie was going to change the world, in making sure that we don’t see people executed by civil servants on camera anymore,’ Coogler said, acknowledging how painfully little progress he feels has been made since then.
Ryan Coogler got visibly emotional as he drew attention to the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week
Good, a 37-year-old prize-winning poet and mother of three, was later identified by her mother, Donna Ganger, who spoke to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune following the shooting.
‘She was probably terrified,’ Ganger said, disputing reports that her daughter was involved in any violent protest activity. ‘That’s so stupid. Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.’
Ganger described her daughter as ‘extremely compassionate,’ adding, ‘She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.’
Good grew up in Colorado Springs and was living in Minneapolis with her partner, whose name has not been publicly released.
She was previously married to comedian Timothy Macklin, who died in 2023.
The couple shared a six-year-old son, who is now orphaned.
‘There’s nobody else in his life,’ Macklin’s father told the newspaper. ‘I’ll drive. I’ll fly. To come and get my grandchild.’
According to authorities, Good was shot three times in the face after ICE agents ordered her to exit her vehicle during a protest.
During his speech, he said his heart remained in Minnesota, where tensions have escalated since Good (pictured) was shot and killed during an immigration protest last Wednesday
‘It’s tough to be here and not think about Minnesota. My heart is there right now… I can’t be here and not think about Renee,’ Coogler told the audience, as he fought back tears
Officials claim she ignored commands, reversed her SUV and attempted to drive away.
The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Good ‘weaponized her vehicle,’ with DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin describing the incident as an ‘act of domestic terrorism’ and saying the agent fired ‘defensive shots’ while fearing for his life.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem echoed that assessment, insisting the officer acted ‘quickly and defensively’ to protect himself and others.
Witnesses, however, dispute the government’s account. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey publicly rejected the DHS narrative, calling it ‘bulls**t’ and accusing federal officials of spinning the incident as self-defense.
‘We do not want you here,’ Frey said at a press conference. ‘Your stated reason for being in this city is safety and you are doing exactly the opposite.’
Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother of three, was later identified by her mother, Donna Ganger, who spoke to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune following the shooting
A man (above) is arrested by Federal Agents outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility last week
Video circulating online appears to show Good’s vehicle turning away from agents as shots rang out.
Her SUV later crashed into parked cars and a light pole, with a visible bullet hole in the driver-side windshield.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz urged calm while criticizing DHS’ public statements as ‘propaganda,’ pledging a ‘full, fair, and expeditious investigation.’
The FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are now investigating the shooting.
The tragedy has sparked outrage far beyond Minnesota, with Hollywood figures also weighing in.
At the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Mark Ruffalo and several other stars wore pins reading ‘Be Good’ and ‘ICE Out’ in honor of Good and others killed by ICE agents.
The protest, supported by advocacy groups including the ACLU and National Domestic Workers Alliance, was meant to highlight what organizers described as a growing pattern of aggressive federal enforcement tactics.
