Drylongso
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 1998 • United States
Starring Toby Smith, April Barnett, Will Power
A rediscovered 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, brash Oakland, California, 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) and experiencing love, heartbreak, and the everyday threat of violence. 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.
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Drylongso
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 1998 • United States
Starring Toby Smith, April Barnett, Will PowerA rediscovered 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 rat...
Extras
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Cauleen Smith and Michael B. Gillespie on DRYLONGSO
The following conversation, produced in 2023, features DRYLONGSO director Cauleen Smith and film scholar Michael B. Gillespie.
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Cauleen Smith Short Films Introduction
The following program featuring director Cauleen Smith was produced in 2023.
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Chronicles of a Lying Spirit (by Kelly Gabron)
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 1992 • United States
In this short, shot on 16 mm film in 1992, Cauleen Smith employs her alter ego Kelly Gabron and a collage of images, text, and voices in order to fabricate a history in which the presence of Black women is reinserted into histories that often rend...
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Songs for Earth & Folk
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 2013 • United States
Made in 2013, this short by Cauleen Smith is composed entirely of 16 mm and Super 8 found footage and is structured like a blues song, with a live-improvised electro-organic soundtrack created by Chicago-based band the Eternals.
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Egungun (Ancestor Can’t Find Me)
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 2017 • United States
In Cauleen Smith’s EGUNGUN (ANCESTOR CAN’T FIND ME), made in 2017 using 16 mm film, a masked, warriorlike figure shrouded in shells, feathers, and coral wanders across a lush landscape.
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Lessons in Semaphore
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 2015 • United States
In this 16 mm silent film by Cauleen Smith, shot on the South Side of Chicago in 2016, choreographer taisha paggett dances with two flags in an attempt to communicate in semaphore. She meets a young boy, Malik, who appears to speak her language.
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Remote Viewing
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 2011 • United States
Connecting sites and incidents to create a concrete and recuperative Land art, Cauleen Smith’s REMOTE VIEWING, made in 2011 on digital video, is a reenactment of a deeply impactful event as remembered by a man looking back on his childhood.
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Suffolk
Directed by Cauleen Smith • 2021 • United States
This music video was commissioned in 2021 by musician Jeff Parker for his solo guitar composition “Suffolk.” The video complements director Cauleen Smith’s short film SOJOURNER (2018)—which was partially shot at Noah Purifoy’s outdoor museum in Jo...
