" PARIAH " A Dee Rees Film pariah (puh-rahy-uh) – noun; a person without status. a rejected member of society. an outcast. Wherever the bird with no feet flew, she found trees with no limbs. -- Audre Lorde Synopsis A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama Pariah is the feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ awardwinning 2007 short film Pariah. Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. At Sundance, cinematographer Bradford Young was honored with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award. 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. A Focus Features, Northstar Pictures, and Sundial Pictures presentation in association with aid+abet, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and MBK Entertainment. A Dee Rees Film. Pariah. Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse, and Kim Wayans. Casting, Eyde Belasco, CSA. Edited by Mako Kamitsuna. Production Design by Inbal Weinberg. Cinematography by Bradford Young. Produced by Nekisa Cooper. Written and Directed by Dee Rees. A Focus Features Release.
- PARIAH - - ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS - SYNOPSIS & MUSIC -
PARIAH (U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION): TRAILER #1 (VO) - FILM CLIPS (VO): " Not Going To Church In That" - " Want To Spend The Night?" - " Wanna Come Up?" - " At Least You Look Cute" - " I´m Not Running, I´m Choosing" - " Something Different" - INTERVIEWS (VO): Adepero Oduye " Alike" - Kim Wayans " Audrey" - Charles Parnell " Arthur" - Pernell Walker " Laura" - Aasha Davis " Bina" - Dee Rees ( Writer/Director) - Nekissa Cooper ( Producer) -
Pernell Walker stars as “Laura” in Focus Features release, PARIAH, directed by Dee Rees. Photo: ©2011 Focus Features. Music (in order of appearance) “Cocky”/Performed by Reema Major/Courtesy of G7 Records, Inc. “My Swagg”/Performed by Reema Major “Gucci Bag”/Performed by Reema Major/Courtesy of G7 Records, Inc. “My Neck, My Back”/Performed by Khia/Courtesy of Artemis Records “Give Me Room”/Performed by Kandi Cole/Courtesy of BMI Publishing “Doin My Thing”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Sparlha Swa “That’s Hot”/Performed by Reema Major/Courtesy of G7 Records, Inc. “Krunksta”/Performed by Trevor Lawrence, Jr./Courtesy of Songs of Sofab Music “Do You”/Performed by Kandi Cole/Courtesy of BMI Publishing “Someday, Someway”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Sparlha Swa “I’m So Major”/Performed by Reema Major/Courtesy of G7 Records, Inc. “Zydeco”/Performed by Dan Radlauer/Courtesy of AudioSparx “Drone2”/Written & Performed by Jahmal Tonge/Neil White (The Carps) “Echelon”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Honeychild Coleman “Damn Good Friends”/Written and Performed by Elle Varner/ Courtesy of MBK Entertainment, Inc./J Records “Arabic Princess”/Performed by Reema Major/Courtesy of G7 Records, Inc. “Top Blow”/Performed by Daisha/Courtesy of Daisha Graf, Kelly Lumpkin, and Cecilio Joseph “Boot”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Tamar-kali/ Courtesy of Flaming Yoni Productions LLC/OyaWarrior Records “Pearl”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Tamar-kali/ Courtesy of Flaming Yoni Productions LLC/OyaWarrior Records “Your Girl”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Tamar-kali/ Courtesy of Flaming Yoni Productions LLC/OyaWarrior Records “Parallel”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Audio Dyslexia “Migromelodi”/Written by Elias Diaz/Performed by Chewing Pics “Song of the Morning”/Written, Arranged, Performed by Sparlha Swa “Fire with Fire”/Written by Mary Beth Patterson, Nathan Howdeshell, and Hannah Blilie/ Performed by Tamar-kali Copyright © 2010, Pariah Feature LLC Running Time: 86 minutes Aspect Ratio: 1:85/1 [Flat] MPAA Rating: R (for sexual content and language) Dolby Stereo SR/SRD/DTS, in selected theaters