BLACK MOTHER

Synopsis

Khalik Allah focuses on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, the homeland of his mother, and a place he’s visited regularly since his youth. He knows it intimately and embraces its complexity. There isn’t much formal documentary structure, but startling nude images of a pregnant woman delineate the three sections of the film. Using a variety of film formats, and matching sound and image in a hallucinatory manner, Allah digs deep into the Jamaica he knows. The overhang from its horrific colonial past, powerful and sometimes misogynistic sexuality, intense afro-nationalism, and deep-seated communal spirituality, are all part of this island, and in fact feed each other.

Director Biography

Khalik Allah is a self-taught filmmaker and photographer. His profoundly personal work has been described as visceral, hauntingly beautiful, penetrative and honest. Khalik’s first book of photographs, Souls Against the Concrete, was published by University of Texas Press in 2017. His eye for daring portraiture and bold aesthetics have distinguished him as a new visionary in the field. With his award-winning film Field Niggas, Khalik garnered the attention of The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vice, and The Guardian.