Black Mother

Directed by: Khalik Allah

2018 | USA | 77 minutes

Part film, part baptism, in Black Mother director Khalik Allah brings us on a spiritual journey 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. Thoroughly immersed between the sacred and profane, Black Mother channels rebellion and reverence into a deeply personal ode informed by Jamaica’s turbulent history but existing in the urgent present.

"Gliding from color to black and white, from digital to analog, from grim realism to spiritual ecstasy, the film offers a song of praise to the island of Jamaica and a reckoning with its painful history and hard-pressed present." — A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"Stunning. Transfomative. Black Mother may be the most fearless film I’ve seen in a decade." — Scout Tafoya, Frameland

“Gorgeous. A lush sensory experience. A dreamy portrait of Jamaica, Allah's mother's childhood home." — John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter