95 mins |
Rated
Not Rated
Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis
Starring Christopher Smith, John Earl Jelks, Michelle A. Banks, Nirvana Cobb, Kevin L. Davis, K. Lynne Stephens, Lisë M. Tillman-Wilson, L.C. Satterfield, Crystal Barnes
CHELSEA CLASSICS: L.A. REBELLION - 4K RESTORATIONS/RESISSUES
COMPENSATION (Zeinabu Irene Davis, 1999, 95min)
A landmark of independent cinema by Zeinabu irene Davis, Compensation is an ambitious portrait of the struggles of deaf African Americans and the complexities of love. In extraordinary dual performances, Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks play two Chicago couples: Malindy and Arthur, living at the dawn of the twentieth century, and Malaika and Nico, living at its close.
Their stories are deftly interwoven across time through the creative use of archival photography,
an original score featuring ragtime and African percussion, and an editing style at once lyrical
and tender. Malindy, an industrious dressmaker, falls for Arthur, an illiterate migrant from Mississippi, along the shore of Lake Michigan. On the same beach several decades later, Malaika,
a resilient graphic artist, softens before Nico, a brash yet endearing children’s librarian. The two
pairs face the obstacles of their respective eras, not least structural antiblackness and emerging
pandemics. Still groundbreaking in its approach to inclusion and visibility, Compensation movingly bears witness to the social forces that stand in the way of human connection.
Guided and approved by director Zeinabu irene Davis, this 4K digital restoration was undertaken by the Criterion Collection, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and Wimmin with a Mission Productions—in conjunction with the Sundance Institute—from a scan of the 16 mm original camera negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was mastered from digital audio tapes by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The new open captions were designed by Alison O’Daniel, in collaboration with the Compensation caption creative team.
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CHELSEA CLASSICS: L.A. REBELLION - 4K RESTORATIONS/RESISSUES
COMPENSATION (Zeinabu Irene Davis, 1999, 95min)
A landmark of independent cinema by Zeinabu irene Davis, Compensation is an ambitious portrait of the struggles of deaf African Americans and the complexities of love. In extraordinary dual performances, Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks play two Chicago couples: Malindy and Arthur, living at the dawn of the twentieth century, and Malaika and Nico, living at its close.
Their stories are deftly interwoven across time through the creative use of archival photography,
an original score featuring ragtime and African percussion, and an editing style at once lyrical
and tender. Malindy, an industrious dressmaker, falls for Arthur, an illiterate migrant from Mississippi, along the shore of Lake Michigan. On the same beach several decades later, Malaika,
a resilient graphic artist, softens before Nico, a brash yet endearing children’s librarian. The two
pairs face the obstacles of their respective eras, not least structural antiblackness and emerging
pandemics. Still groundbreaking in its approach to inclusion and visibility, Compensation movingly bears witness to the social forces that stand in the way of human connection.
Guided and approved by director Zeinabu irene Davis, this 4K digital restoration was undertaken by the Criterion Collection, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and Wimmin with a Mission Productions—in conjunction with the Sundance Institute—from a scan of the 16 mm original camera negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was mastered from digital audio tapes by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The new open captions were designed by Alison O’Daniel, in collaboration with the Compensation caption creative team.
