For years, artist Okwui Okpokwasili has stunned audiences with her one-woman show, Bronx Gothic, a mix of forms (from dance to drama) engineered to relay the experience of black youths coming of age in the 1980s. It’s only right, then, that a big-screen treatment of said show would find a space between traditional this-is-who-they-are documentary treatment and cinematic adaptation — the tack Andrew Rossi (Page One: Inside the New York Times, The First Monday in May) took with his film, also titled Bronx Gothic.
Ahead of a summer release from Grasshopper Film, the first trailer — showcasing the raw intensity of Okpokwasili’s performance — is now online.
Watch the preview below:
From director Andrew Rossi (Page One: Inside the New York Times, The First Monday in May) comes an electrifying portrait of writer and performer Okwui Okpokwasili and her acclaimed one-woman show, Bronx Gothic. Rooted in memories of her childhood, Okwui – who’s worked with conceptual artists like Ralph Lemon and Julie Taymor – fuses dance, song, drama and comedy to create a mesmerizing space in which audiences can engage with a story about two 12-year-old black girls coming of age in the 1980s. With intimate vérité access to Okwui and her audiences off the stage, Bronx Gothic allows for unparalleled insight into her creative process as well as the complex social issues embodied in it.
Bronx Gothic begins its theatrical on July 12 at New York City’s Film Forum.