Directed by Jessie Maple • 1981 • United States
Starring Obaka Adedunyo, Loretta Devine, Robert Dean
In 1981, Jessie Maple became one of the first African American women to direct an independent film with this raw, unflinching portrait of heroin addiction and recovery. Shot on location in Harlem, WILL stars Obaka Adedunyo as the title character, a former All-American basketball star who has fallen from grace because of his dependence on junk. Soon after Will promises his wife, Jean (Loretta Devine, in her screen debut), that he’ll go straight, he becomes a father figure to Little Brother (Robert Dean), a street-tough teen who appears to be following in Will’s footsteps. By wising Little Brother up to the needle’s harsh realities, and by coaching a girls’ basketball team, Will renews his sense of purpose and begins to come out from under the influence—though dangerous temptations loom for both him and his young charge. A landmark of African American cinema, WILL resonates with Maple’s determination to tell the stories of her community with anger, sadness, and, ultimately, hope.
Up Next in Black Debutantes
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Naked Acts
Directed by Bridgett M. Davis • 1996 • United States
Starring Jake-Ann Jones, Ron Cephas Jones, Patricia DeArcyA long-unseen jewel of 1990s Black independent filmmaking, Bridgett M. Davis’s fearless exploration of Black female agency centers on Cicely (Jake-Ann Jones), the daughter of a former ...
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Drylongso
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 1998 • United States
Starring Toby Smith, April Barnett, Will PowerA rediscovered treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith’s DRYLONGSO embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/romance. Alarmed by the rat...
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Losing Ground
Directed by Kathleen Collins • 1982 • United States
Starring Seret Scott, Bill Gunn, Duane JonesOne of the first feature films directed by an African American woman, Kathleen Collins’s LOSING GROUND tells the story of a marriage between two remarkable people, both at a crossroads in their lives...
