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Screen/Society--Nasher Film Series--"Pariah"

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Thursday, July 06, 2017
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
In conjunction with the exhibition, Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush, at the Nasher Museum of Art!
Nasher Film Series

Film Screening: "Pariah" (Dee Rees, 2011, 86 min, USA, in English, Color, Digital) / Adepero Oduye, who had earlier starred in the short film, portrays Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school.
Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents' marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike's development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague's daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with.
Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity - sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward. /" The gay coming-of-age story's been done, but "Pariah" has something fresh to say, largely about the knotty complexities of love, and how they might keep someone in the closet: How badly do you need to be free, to hurt the people you love? " - John Anderson, Newsday / Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNRdxsTmV1U

Contact: Hank Okazaki