1998 | United States | Fiction

Drylongso

  • English English 81 mins
  • Director | Cauleen Smith
  • Writer | Salim Akil, Cauleen Smith
  • Producer | Salim Akil

STATUS: Released

This film is currently not available.   

A rediscovered treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/romance. Alarmed by the rate at which the young Black men around her are dying, brash Oakland, California, art student Pica (Toby Smith) attempts to preserve their existence in Polaroid snapshots, along the way forging a friendship with a woman in an abusive relationship (April Barnett) and experiencing love, heartbreak, and the everyday threat of violence. Capturing the vibrant community spirit of Oakland in the nineties, Smith crafts both a rare cinematic celebration of Black female creativity and a moving elegy for a generation of lost African American men.

Identity Surveillance Survival Friendship Marginality
Film Organizations
The Criterion Collection
DISTRIBUTION