A psychedelic odyssey through Jamaica and the cycle of black life. Russian premiere as part of the film programme Antonyms of Beauty. Directed by Khalik Allah.
Black Mother
- Date:
10 Feb 2024
- Age restrictions
- 18+
Black Mother
2018, Khalik Allah
United States
77 minutes, English with Russian subtitles
Documentary
T
A Jamaican woman prepares to become a mother: first, second, third trimester. The island around her, meanwhile, is heavily pregnant with the troubles of the post-colonial world. Sex workers and street thugs, Rastafarians and disbelievers replace each other in the frame, creating a polyphonic portrait of the country and the nation. Their personal stories take on an almost metaphysical depth in the film.
Shot from Black Mother, 2018
The many histories of Jamaica, both personal and national, become embedded within the film’s textural fluctuations, so as there is never only one way of seeing and perceiving the images and narratives that unfold throughout.
— Naomi Keenan O’Shea, Mubi Notebook
Allah conveys the multifaceted nature of Jamaica through the versatility of his direction: he juggles shooting formats, makes bold juxtapositions, and experiments with sound, time after time revealing the transcendental in the ethnographical.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film director Khalik Allah.
