Before CITIZEN KANE, leading Broadway actress Rose McClendon and producer John Houseman convince an untested 20-year-old Orson Welles to direct Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all-Black cast in Harlem. Reimagined in a Haitian setting, this revolutionary 1936 production, which came to be known as “Voodoo Macbeth,” would change the world forever, but the road to opening night proves to be a difficult one. Orson and Rose clash over everything from scene blocking to crew hires, while Houseman contends with a congressman hell-bent on shutting down what he deems “communist propaganda.” The cast and crew must overcome political pressures, protests, and clashing personalities to realize their groundbreaking vision. Preceded by REDBIRD.
REDBIRD
2021, dir. Dagmawi Abebe
USA, 15 min.
In English / Format: Digital
A young, emerging African American rodeo rider living in a small town in Oklahoma must choose between his personal life or chasing after his dream of becoming a full-time rider.
- Year2021
- Runtime108 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- DirectorSabina Vajrača, Roy Arwas, Victor Alonso-Berbel, Dagmawi Abebe, Agazi Desta, Hannah Bang, Tiffany Kontoyiannis-Guillen, Zoë Alyce Salnave, Ernesto M. Sandoval, Christopher Beaton
- ScreenwriterJoel David Santner, Jennifer Frazin, Agazi Desta, Erica Sutherlin, Amri Rigby, Morgan Milender, Molly Miller, Chris Tarricone
- ProducerXiaoyuan Xiao, Miles Alva, Jason Phillips
- Executive ProducerJenna Cavelle, Tracy 'Twinkie' Byrd
- CastInger Tudor, Jewell Wilson Bridges, Jeremy Tardy
- EditorTakashi Uchida
- Sound DesignAudrey Gu
Before CITIZEN KANE, leading Broadway actress Rose McClendon and producer John Houseman convince an untested 20-year-old Orson Welles to direct Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all-Black cast in Harlem. Reimagined in a Haitian setting, this revolutionary 1936 production, which came to be known as “Voodoo Macbeth,” would change the world forever, but the road to opening night proves to be a difficult one. Orson and Rose clash over everything from scene blocking to crew hires, while Houseman contends with a congressman hell-bent on shutting down what he deems “communist propaganda.” The cast and crew must overcome political pressures, protests, and clashing personalities to realize their groundbreaking vision. Preceded by REDBIRD.
REDBIRD
2021, dir. Dagmawi Abebe
USA, 15 min.
In English / Format: Digital
A young, emerging African American rodeo rider living in a small town in Oklahoma must choose between his personal life or chasing after his dream of becoming a full-time rider.
- Year2021
- Runtime108 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- DirectorSabina Vajrača, Roy Arwas, Victor Alonso-Berbel, Dagmawi Abebe, Agazi Desta, Hannah Bang, Tiffany Kontoyiannis-Guillen, Zoë Alyce Salnave, Ernesto M. Sandoval, Christopher Beaton
- ScreenwriterJoel David Santner, Jennifer Frazin, Agazi Desta, Erica Sutherlin, Amri Rigby, Morgan Milender, Molly Miller, Chris Tarricone
- ProducerXiaoyuan Xiao, Miles Alva, Jason Phillips
- Executive ProducerJenna Cavelle, Tracy 'Twinkie' Byrd
- CastInger Tudor, Jewell Wilson Bridges, Jeremy Tardy
- EditorTakashi Uchida
- Sound DesignAudrey Gu
