Queer family, chosen and otherwise, constitute the connection between the films that fall in the Apples & Trees program. Parents and their children navigate the complexities of coming out, staying out, and living out in this collection of shorts desiccated to the space between generations.
Four boys, ages 6-12, take a journey through a fantastical meta world of Black boyhood somewhere between the worlds of Peter Pan’s Neverland and Golding’s Lord Of The Flies. The boys summon the “Ujamba,” a Makonde term meaning "The Tree of Life,” along with the demons, angels, and ancestors that come with it. Confronted with shadows of their older selves, they must forge an escape into manhood.
Beautifully weaving an imaginative fairytale, an incisive description of queer Black childhood, an address of contemporary politics, and the shared experience of childhood secrets that haunt our adulthoods, this collage is as cerebral as it is gorgeous.
How To Raise A Black Boy has been presented at Outfest Fusion as well as the Atlanta Film Festival.
– Cat Palmer, Damn These Heels programming committee member
- Year2020
- Runtime11 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUS
- RatingNot Rated
- DirectorJustice Jamal Jones
Queer family, chosen and otherwise, constitute the connection between the films that fall in the Apples & Trees program. Parents and their children navigate the complexities of coming out, staying out, and living out in this collection of shorts desiccated to the space between generations.
Four boys, ages 6-12, take a journey through a fantastical meta world of Black boyhood somewhere between the worlds of Peter Pan’s Neverland and Golding’s Lord Of The Flies. The boys summon the “Ujamba,” a Makonde term meaning "The Tree of Life,” along with the demons, angels, and ancestors that come with it. Confronted with shadows of their older selves, they must forge an escape into manhood.
Beautifully weaving an imaginative fairytale, an incisive description of queer Black childhood, an address of contemporary politics, and the shared experience of childhood secrets that haunt our adulthoods, this collage is as cerebral as it is gorgeous.
How To Raise A Black Boy has been presented at Outfest Fusion as well as the Atlanta Film Festival.
– Cat Palmer, Damn These Heels programming committee member
- Year2020
- Runtime11 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUS
- RatingNot Rated
- DirectorJustice Jamal Jones
