Compensation
Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis • 1999 • United States
Starring John Earl Jelks, Michelle A. Banks, Nirvana Cobb
A poignant portrait of Deaf African Americans and the complexities of love at both ends of the twentieth century, Zeinabu irene Davis’s film is a groundbreaking story of inclusion and visibility. In dual performances, Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks play an educated dressmaker and an illiterate migrant in 1910s Chicago, and a resilient graphic artist and an endearing librarian living in the same city eight decades later. Employing archival photography, an original score blending ragtime and African percussion, and lyrical editing, Davis deftly intertwines the two couple’s stories, in ways both tender and tragic. COMPENSATION is a landmark of American independent cinema that confronts the social forces and prejudices that hinder love.
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Compensation
Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis • 1999 • United States
Starring John Earl Jelks, Michelle A. Banks, Nirvana CobbA poignant portrait of Deaf African Americans and the complexities of love at both ends of the twentieth century, Zeinabu irene Davis’s film is a groundbreaking story of inclusion and...
Extras
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COMPENSATION Commentary
This commentary track, recorded in 2023, features director Zeinabu irene Davis, screenwriter Marc Arthur Chéry, and director of photography Pierre H. L. Désir Jr.
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COMPENSATION with Descriptive Audio
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Zeinabu irene Davis Interview
This interview with director Zeinabu irene Davis was recorded in 2020.
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COMPENSATION at New York Film Festival
This conversation with members of the COMPENSATION cast and crew was recorded in 2024 at the New York Film Festival.
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COMPENSATION at Chicago International Film Festival
This conversation with members of the COMPENSATION cast and crew was recorded in 2024 at the Chicago International Film Festival.
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Photographs & Symbols
This short program, about the archival photographs and the adinkra and vèvè symbols featured in COMPENSATION, includes audio commentary by director Zeinabu irene Davis.
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Crocodile Conspiracy
Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis • 1986 • United States
Starring Sandra Sealy, John Earl JelksThis charming tale focuses on Willa Ledbetter, a Black middle-aged schoolteacher in Watts, Los Angeles, and her longing to visit her parents’ homeland of Cuba. In the face of unexpected political and fa...
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Pandemic Bread
Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis • 2023 • United States
Starring Princess Punzalan, Bryan Ross, Becca GodinezPANDEMIC BREAD, about catharsis and collective healing, centers on a Filipina interpreter, working from home, who is translating an end-of-life conversation over the phone between a docto...
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PANDEMIC BREAD Commentary
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PANDEMIC BREAD with Descriptive Audio
