Rodney Evans
États-Unis 2004 vidéo 90min. english o.v.

Rodney Evans’ powerful first feature presents a compelling picture of hard-won personal dignity. It tells the story of Perry Williams, an African-American art student in New York. Facing promising career opportunities, Perry is ambivalent about "success" that means ascendancy in a white-dominated world of privilege. A gay black man, he chafes under the homophobia of black classmates, the rejection of his family, and the fetishization of his white lover. Then Perry meets his neighbour Bruce Nugent, an elderly painter and poet involved in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. A gay man himself, Bruce shares vivid stories of his collaborations with luminaries Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Wallace Thurman, and provides Perry with an insight into the gay, black history in which he is a participant. A powerful new role model and a longer view of history embolden Perry to confront his demons and claim his unique place in the world. – SK