African Film Archive

Compensation

1999 — Zeinabu irene Davis — United States

feature · drama · video-wave

Based on Paul Laurence Dunbar's 1906 poem of the same name, Zeinabu irene Davis's feature interweaves two Black Deaf love stories set eight decades apart in Chicago, blending archival photography with an original ragtime and African percussion score.

Fun fact: The film was selected for the dramatic competition at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, an unusually rare Sundance slot at the time for a film centering Black Deaf culture.

Notes: Written by Marc Arthur Chery; stars Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks.

Verification: verified · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Criterion Collection