Directed by Shirley Clarke • 1967 • United States
Starring Jason Holliday
On the night of December 2, 1966, Shirley Clarke and a tiny crew convened in her apartment at the Hotel Chelsea to make a film. For twelve straight hours, they filmed the one-and-only Jason Holliday as he spun tales, sang, donned costumes, and reminisced about good times and bad behavior as a gay hustler and aspiring cabaret performer. The result is a mesmerizing portrait of a remarkable, charming, and tortured man who is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking.
Up Next in Celebrate Black History
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Nationtime
Directed by William Greaves • 1972 • United States
Best known for his avant-garde meta-documentary SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM, William Greaves was also the director of over one hundred documentary films, the majority focused on African American history, politics, and culture. NATIONTIME is a report o...
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Sounder
Directed by Martin Ritt • 1972 • United States
Starring Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin HooksCicely Tyson and Paul Winfield received Academy Award nominations for their powerful performances as the heads of a Black sharecropping family whose fierce love keeps them afloat as they struggle to ...
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A Dream Is What You Wake Up From
Directed by Larry Bullard and Carolyn Johnson • 1978 • United States
Through a bold mix of narrative and documentary techniques, directors Carolyn Johnson and Larry Bullard explore the experiences of Black families in American society. Shuffling between day-to-day scenes of life at home, school,...
