Three early short works by the filmmaker and photographer famous for his portraits of New Yorkers. Screening as part of the Antonyms of Beauty. Directed by Khalik Allah film programme.
Short Films by Khalik Allah
- Date:
8 Feb 2024
- Age restrictions
- 18+
T
Urban Rashomon
Allah’s first cinematic work. By referring the title to Kurosawa’s classic masterpiece, the director implies the question of the artist’s responsibility before the subjects of his work and the very possibility of detached authorial contemplation in cinema. The answer is overwhelming in its humanism: the more complex the lives of the film characters are, the more complex its form and style should be.
Urban Rashomon
2013, United States
21 minutes
English with Russian subtitles
Shot from Urban Rashomon, 2013
Antonyms of Beauty
The film’s protagonist, the homeless Harlem bawler Frenchie, becomes virtually the director’s collaborator. The expressive, evocative shots are infused with additional metaphysical power thanks to the fact that they are voiced not by the author’s monologue, but by his conversations with Frenchie. Thus, the exploitation of the hero who does not recognise social norms is replaced by a fascinating reflection on the nature of vision as such.
Antonyms of Beauty
2013, United States
27 minutes,
English with Russian subtitles
Shot from Antonyms of Beauty, 2013
Khamaika
Allah’s peculiar overture to his feature film Black Mother, released a few years later. This elegant and minimalist study, shot in Jamaica, where the director’s family is from, demonstrates his creative method in all its glory: we see his characters choosing their own place in the frame, thereby revealing themselves as they would like to be seen.
Khamaika
2014, United States
15 minutes
English with Russian subtitles
Shot from Khamaika, 2014
