One of the most powerful cinematic experiences I’ve had this year is with Khalik Allah’s Black Mother, a poetic, spiritual exploration of Jamaica through the structure of trimesters. The director’s follow-up to his praised film Field Niggas played at True/False and New Directors/New Films, among other festivals, and although it’s still seeking U.S. distribution, it will land in the U.K. in just a few weeks, courtesy of Dogwood. Now, we have the first trailer.
In a rare A-grade review, Jason Ooi said, “Comparisons of Black Mother to cinematic poetry are apt, but it’s harder to pinpoint than that, more aptly described in relation to sound or music–free-flowing jazz, fluidly connecting otherwise inconceivable strands of culture, politics, and history in Jamaica. The faces shown rarely match the soundscape and the audio and visual components of the film seem to operate parallel to each other. Words, in this case, fill in what traditional scoring tries but often fails to accomplish.”
See the trailer below.
Part film, part baptism, in Black Mother director Khalik Allah brings us on a spiritual exploration through Jamaica. Soaking up its bustling metropolises and tranquil countryside, Allah introduces us to a succession of vividly rendered souls who call this island home. Their candid testimonies create a polyphonic symphony, set against a visual prayer of indelible portraiture. Immersed into the sacred, the profane, and everything in-between, Black Mother channels rebellion and reverence into a deeply personal ode informed by Jamaica’s turbulent history but existing in the urgent present.
Black Mother hit theaters and VOD in the UK on November 2 and is awaiting US distribution.