Coming of age. Films reviewed: Lovely Jackson, Of an Age, Skinamarink
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
It’s been a sad few weeks in the Toronto film scene. Ravi Srinivasan, a recent, young TIFF programmer, and Noah Cowan whom I knew way back in the 1990s, both recently died much too soon. And Harvey Lalonde, possibly the world’s most celebrated film festival volunteer, who had the inside scoop on everything happening at every festival in Toronto, and whom I’ve known and constantly talked with for at least 15 years, also sadly died well before his time.
On a more positive note, the Toronto Black Film Festival is on now through the weekend, showing a huge amount of original content, about being black in Canada from Halifax to Vancouver.
This week, I’m looking at three new indie movies: There are multiple apparitions in Edmonton; mutual attraction in Melbourne; and wrongful incarceration in Cleveland.
Lovely Jackson
Co-Wri, Dir: Matt Waldeck
t’s 1975 in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Rickey Jackson is hanging with a friend when a few blocks away a bill collector is shot down in cold blood. The killer escapes and no weapon is ever found. But based on the testimony of a 12-year-old paperboy who claims he saw Rickey (who has no criminal record) committing the crime, Jackson is tried, convicted and sentenced to death by electric chair. A few years later, on death row, only months away from his execution, a Supreme Court decision stays all capital punishment in the state. But all he has to look forward to is a life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. And therein lies the Innocent Prisoner’s Dilemma: when brought before a prison panel, he can either lie that he feels remorse for a crime he didn’t commit and be eligible for parole, or tell the truth that he is innocent and be sent back to prison. Although his case is eventually taken up by the Ohio Innocence Project he isn’t freed until after spending 39 years — from 18 to his mid 50s — wrongly 
imprisoned.
Lovely Jackson is a stylized, and highly personal look at incarceration, survival in prison, and his fight to win back his freedom. It’s filmed in a series of black and white vignettes as portrayed by a young actor, and co-written and narrated by Jackson himself. Prison bars collapse into fractals, while Escher-esque prisoners march in lock step in endless circles. Jackson is portrayed in a fetal position as the hands of a clock face, slowly ticking around the hours. It isn’t until he is finally released that you can begin to see him in full colour and real life settings.
Lovely Jackson is an extremely moving documentary of how our justice system has failed, and one man’s struggle to fix it.
Of an Age
Wri/Dir: Goran Stolevski
It’s Melbourne Australia, 20 years ago. Kol (Elias Anton) is 18 and bursting with energy. He’s finishing high school and embarking on a new life. And in just a few hours, he’s meeting with Ebony (Hattie Hook), his ballroom dancing partner, for their big audition. Its the culmination of years of practice and hard work. He’s already dressed in his costume and ready to dance, dance, dance. But then a call comes through from a payphone. Ebony has spent the night passed out on a beach, drunk as a skunk, and doesn’t know where she is. Its up to Kol to try get someone to pick her up and take them both to the audition in time. Fortunately Ebony’s older brother, Adam (Thom Green) comes to the rescue. They miss the dance but Kol and Adam both feel there’s something special between them. Could this be love? Perhaps, but Adam is flying off to latin America to start his PhD. Ten years later they meet again in Melbourne’s airport. What has happened to their lives and where will they go from here?
Of an Age is a bittersweet coming-of-age drama about hope, longing and 
desire. It’s also about Kol’s life as an immigrant with his widowed mother who escaped the wars in the former Yugoslavia. (Goran Stolevski also directed the intriguing Macedonian fairy tale You Won’t Be Alone) And about alienation, bullying, cruelty and coming to terms with his sexuality. I have mixed feelings about this film. I like its slice-of-life look at life in Melbourne with its diverse characters and personalities, and the sometimes emotionally-moving plot. But it feels disjointed. Its frantic opening scenes show Kol and Ebony in a never-ending state of panic shouting at each other non-stop. And the bookend scenes — set 10 years later — are too short, too pat. It’s only in the other parts — like where Kol crashes a neighbourhood party, or has to deal with his relatives — that the movie finally hits its stride. Of An Age is not a bad movie, but it’s far from perfect.
Skinamarink
Wri/Dir: Kyle Edward Ball
It’s late one night in a suburban home in Edmonton, Alberta, and four-year-old Kevin can’t sleep. So he starts wandering around. But things look weird. In the washroom, the toilet appears then disappears. And the doors and windows in the hall aren’t where they’re supposed to be. Mommy, my chatterphone is talking, and my Lego pieces are moving by themselves. Put them back! Turn the lights back on. Uh-oh, the floor is on the ceiling. Toys are on the wall, it’s very bad. Daddy, I don’t like what the TV is saying. Make it stop. Kaylee — will you play with me. Kaylee? What’s wrong with your mouth. Kaylee has no eyes. Mommy? Why won’t you look at me? Daddy? Where are you? Help me. Why is everything so weird. I don’t like it at all. Daddy, there’s a stranger in our house…
Skinamarink is an avant-garde, experimental horror movie about all the nightmares a little kid fears coming true one night. He can’t navigate the familiar routes around his home. All the things that bring him comfort — playing with his toys, watching cartoons — aren’t working right. His Mom and Dad — the ultimate refuge he can always turn to when things go wrong — aren’t helping him this time. They’re only half there. It’s the ultimate child’s horror, filled with confusion and abandonment.
The title comes from the Canadian kids’ song made famous by 
Sharon, Lois and Bram. The film is shot in dim light with grainy, staticky video images. Most of the dialogue is barely audible. The special effects are like what a 6-year-old with no editing skills might attempt: show something, pause, move it off camera and start filming again — hey, look: it disappeared! It’s filled with creepy old TV cartoon music and sinister but indistinct voices that twist familiar toys into scary monsters, with satanic and zombie-like faces appearing for just a split second. Although Skinamarink borrows certain horror cliches, it is not a normal mainstream movie. If you approach it as an arthouse or experimental film, you might like it. But if you’re expecting a regular horror 
movie, you’ll be disappointed and bored. Skinamarink makes Blair Witch Project look conventional. It’s extremely slow moving, and made on a tiny budget, but has generated an avid cult audience. What can I say? I liked this spooky, scary and weird look at childhood trauma.
Of an Age opens this weekend in Toronto; check your local listings. Lovely Jackson was the opening night film at Toronto Black Film Festival, which continues through the weekend; and Skinamarink is now streaming on Shudder.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
Daniel Garber talks with Enuka Okuma about Woman Meets Girl at #TBFF!
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
It’s present-day Toronto. Annabelle is a bookkeeper in her forties who lives alone and keeps a neat and tidy home. She is single, reserved and has never has been in love. Tessie is an 18-year-old sex worker who has lived on the streets for many years. She exudes sexuality from every pore. So what are they doing together? Annabelle rescued Tessie from an abusive boyfriend and invited her into her home, and now they’re sharing alcohol in a drinking game. But as they get to know each other, and their secrets are revealed, it’s hard to tell who is rescuing whom.
Woman Meets Girl is a sizzling short film about two black 
women during one night in Toronto. The film was written, directed and produced by Murry Peeters, and co-stars Chelsea Russell as Tessie and Enuka Okuma as Annabelle. Enuka is an award-winning actress, known for her extensive work on TV shows like Rookie Blue, Working Moms, Madison and Sue Thomas, FBEye, as well as guest roles on 24, Grey’s Anatomy, and NCIS: Los Angeles.
I spoke with Enuka Okuma in L.A. via Zoom from Toronto.
Woman Meets Girl has its world premiere on February 18th, 2023 at the Toronto Black Film Festival and at Queer Screen’s 30th Mardi Gras Film Festival in Sydney, Australia.
Daniel Garber talks with writer and lawyer Jay Paul Deratany about Foster Boy at the Toronto Black Film Festival
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Jamal is an angry 19-year-old who finds himself back in a Chicago courtroom once again. He’s a product of the deeply- flawed foster care industry, a privatized system which left him physically and mentally scarred, and in and out of prison. But this time he’s before a judge voluntarily; he’s suing the corporation that put him through hell. His lawyer? An unsympathetic corporate shill assigned to his case, pro bono, by a sympathetic judge. Jamal sees a “three-piece” 
supporter of the system he’s fighting, and the lawyer sees Jamal as a “thug” he’s ordered to represent. Can the two of them fight the power of an abusive system that made him a foster boy?
Foster Boy is the name a new courtroom drama and legal thriller inspired by true events, that was the opening night feature at the Toronto Black Film Festival. It’s produced by Shaquille O’Neal directed by Youssef Delara and stars Shane Paul McGhie, Matthew Modine, and Louis Gosset, Jr.
The script is by Jay Paul Deratany, a screenwriter who is also an accomplished Chicago lawyer and a foster youth advocate.
I spoke with Jay Paul Deratany in Chicago, via ZOOM, on February 17, 2021.
Foster Boy is available across North America at the Toronto Black Film Festival through Sunday, and online VOD.
Whence America? Films reviewed: Paterson, Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
The recent executive order known as the Muslim Ban has made the lives of hundreds of thousands of American citizens and residents uncertain. So uncertain that some refugee claimants are fleeing the Land of the Free, seeking sanctuary across the frozen border in Canada.
Whence America? Where is that country heading?
This week, I’m looking at two movies that give a more optimistic look at life in the United States. There’s a new documentary about Historically Black Colleges, and a quirky drama about the state of life in a post-industrial town.
Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
Dir: Stanley Nelson
Did you know that under slavery, it was actually illegal for African Americans to learn to read and write? And that even slave owners – who could beat, sexually assault or even murder their slaves with impunity — were legally forbidden from educating them? It was in the best interest of the Government and slave owner to keep black Americans ignorant, docile, and illiterate.
To counter this, after emancipation and the civil war, African Americans realized education was the most important way to rise up from slavery. The first colleges were opened based on the writings of scholars like Frederick 
Douglas. And like Douglas, the first students were born into slavery. Early education efforts were aimed at skilled trades or religion, but as the movement grew it shifted to academic subjects.
Two schools of thought emerged. Southerner Booker T. Washington believed in a business-oriented outlook, centred on entrepreneurship but was opposed to any protests or political action confronting the status quo. W.E.B. Du Bois took the opposite stance, and led the movement toward equal rights.
Many of the early colleges were run by whites, who imposed harsher disciplinary policies on black students students.
Fisk University harshly segregated the students by sex and forbade social interaction. This led to a protest and an organized walkout until the school President resigned.
By the 1930s and 40s, the teachers and administration positions were increasingly filled by blacks, many of whom had been educated at these same colleges and universities. The US was still strictly segregated under so-called separate but equal laws. So all the best and the brightest students flocked to these schools, becoming the new black middle class. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, preachers and judges all passed through these schools, including renowned Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (Howard University Law School).
By the the 1950s and ’60s these schools also became a hotbed of black-led political movements. Civil rights 
actions — like sit-ins at segregated lunch counters — were spearheaded by students at black universities..
100 years after it was a crime for blacks to read or write, the Brown v Board of Education decision promised to end segregation in schools. But this had an unexpected negative impact on black colleges. With white universities now open to black students, there was a brain drain of top applicants to ivy league schools.
Today there are still over 100 black colleges and universities, some thriving, but others crumbling for lack of funds.
Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities is the first documentary to tell the full history of this important but not-widely-known institution. It’s narrated by voiceovers and talking heads: historians and former students and professors from these schools. It’s beautifully illustrated with period photos and film clips touching all aspects of black college life, including educational, political movements and social: fraternities, and sororities, sports and music.
It’s by director Stanley Nelson who also made the excellent The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.
Paterson
Dir: Jim Jarmusch
Paterson (Adam Driver) is a bus driver who lives with his girlfriend, Laura, in a small house in Paterson, NJ. He lives a routine life. He carries a lunchpail to work each morning, and a notebook to write down any poems that might occur to him. He eats lunch in a tiny national park. After work he talks with Laura over dinner. And each night he walks his dog to a neighbourhood bar and stays 
for a drink or two, chewing the fat.
Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) is an artist who remembers her dreams. She covers everything around her in rough swaths of black and white. Clothes, chairs, curtains, cupcakes… their home is her canvas. Except for his basement where he goes to tinker with things and think. The two of them have a symbiotic relationship. he is the observer, passively 
taking in what he sees and hears around him. She is the dynamic one, planning their future, and launching business projects that may or may not succeed.
The town of Paterson serves as the third character in the movie. It’s the first city in North America designed as an industrial centre powered by a series of 18th century canals and mills. It has become an artistic hub for New Yorkers who can’t afford the high rents of that city. Jarmusch includes these brick factories and waterfalls in all his outdoor shots. What he doesn’t show is the parts of town with a large and vibrant middle eastern community there. Instead they’re represented by Laura, played by a Persian American actor. (Paterson is also the place where Trump falsely claimed Muslims were dancing on their rooftops during 9-11.) Maybe it’s because I’ve visited Paterson the town, but I was really tickled by this movie.
Paterson is a richly minimalist film that leaves you feeling good about the state of the world.
Paterson opens today in Toronto; check your local listings. And Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities is playing on February 15th at the opening night of the Toronto Black Film Festival. Go to torontoblackfilm.com for more information.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Friday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com
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