Summary A black and white, fantasy-like recreation of high-society gay men during the Harlem Renaissance, with archival footage and photographs intercut with a story. A wake is going on, with mourners gathered around a coffin. Downstairs is an elegant bar where tuxedoed men dance and talk. One of them has a dream in which he comes upon Beauty, who seems to reject him, although when he awakes, Beauty is sleeping beside him. His story and his visits to the jazz and dance club are framed by voices reading from the poetry and essays of Hughes and others. The text is rarely explicit, but the freedom of gay Black men in the 1920s in Harlem is suggested and celebrated visually. View more details
Directed : Isaac Julien
Written : Isaac Julien
Stars : John Wilson Ben Ellison Matthew Baidoo Akim Mogaji
Genres : Drama Biography
Release date : Jan 31, 1989
Countries of origin : United Kingdom
Language : English
Filming locations : London, Greater London, England, UK
Production companies : British Film Institute (BFI) Sankofa Film & Video
Summary A black and white, fantasy-like recreation of high-society gay men during the Harlem Renaissance, with archival footage and photographs intercut with a story. A wake is going on, with mourners gathered around a coffin. Downstairs is an elegant bar where tuxedoed men dance and talk. One of them has a dream in which he comes upon Beauty, who seems to reject him, although when he awakes, Beauty is sleeping beside him. His story and his visits to the jazz and dance club are framed by voices reading from the poetry and essays of Hughes and others. The text is rarely explicit, but the freedom of gay Black men in the 1920s in Harlem is suggested and celebrated visually. View more details
Genres : Drama Biography
Release date : Jan 31, 1989
Countries of origin : United Kingdom
Language : English
Filming locations : London, Greater London, England, UK
Production companies : British Film Institute (BFI) Sankofa Film & Video