African-American
Moonlight
Moonlight is probably the most exquisite and understated LGBT coming of age story to hit our screens for years. Light on plot and even sparse on dialogue, it nevertheless packs a powerful punch showing the inner turmoil of an African/American youth coming to terms with his own sexuality as he grows up in one of…
Kiki
To us non-residents of Harlem the fact that 25 years after Jenni Livingston’s seminal documentary Paris Is Burning, ‘voguing’ is very much alive in the dance clubs and community spaces in this corner of New York is quite a shock. In fact it’s been re-shaped and re-invented to bring it more in line with the needs and…
Portrait of Jason
In 1967 Oscar nominated filmmaker Shirley Clarke ensconced herself in an apartment in N.Y.’s Chelsea Hotel on the evening of Dec. 3, 1966 and let her camera roll for the next 12 hours. Her subject was a much-larger-than-life articulate African/American man who, drink and cigarette always in hand, seems to never stop laughing. The very…
Chocolate City
‘Y’all seen Magic Mike right? Now we gonna add a little chocolate’ intones Michael Jai White before the opening credits of the movie. What he fails to mention is that they have also added a lot more cheese and a great deal of soap too in this all-black take off of the 2012 smash hit…
