This screening will have a 15 min in-person intro by Rōgan Graham.

A lost treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/ romance. Alarmed by the rate at which the young Black men around her are dying—indeed, “becoming extinct,” as she sees it—brash Oakland art student Pica (Toby Smith) attempts to preserve their existence in Polaroid snapshots, along the way forging a friendship with a woman in an abusive relationship (April Barnett), experiencing love and loss, and being drawn into the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing the city. Capturing the vibrant community spirit of Oakland in the nineties, Smith crafts both a rare cinematic celebration of Black female creativity and a moving elegy for a generation of lost African American men.

4K Restoration & copy supplied by Janus Films.

About Rōgan Graham

Rōgan Graham is a writer and programmer from South London. Working broadly in film exhibition, her areas of interest are works by Women and Black filmmakers. When she isn’t writing or hosting events, she can be found on a soapbox talking about Mariah Carey.