Movies: Ayoka Chenzira

A gay man living through the HIV/AIDS crisis reflects upon his recent history of loss with the help of his grandmother, who tells him a story of her own trauma and loss during the Jim Crow-era South....

A father struggles to fully embrace the life and death of his gay son....

The teenage daughter of a Brooklyn beauty-parlor owner blossoms under the influence of her recently-returned show-biz aunt....

An animated satire on the question of self-image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Lively tunes and witty narration accompany a quick-paced inventory of ...

A woman struggles to free herself from the "Keeper of Memory" in this surreal odyssey....

A coming-of-age story that features a reluctant young woman who accidentally falls to Earth and ends up a superhero. Originally conceived as a project which combined live action filmmaking with interaction through video game mechanics....

A collaboration between filmmaker Ayoka Chenzira and performance artist Thomas Pinnock, who performs his "immigrant folktales" using traditional lore of his native Jamaica to dramatize his migration to New York in the 60's....

Chenzira's 1979 tribute to dancer-choreographer Syvilla Fort....

An experimental short film with themes of machinery, modernization and the human form. Produced as part of a program sponsored by Austrian machinery corporation EMCO....

Openly addressing sensitive issues of slavery and the African diaspora, this animated short traces the origins of funk, soul, and rhythm from the "boogie spirit's" original home in Africa, to its worldwide influence in today's popular culture....

A love story between a Jamaican immigrant and his wife that turns bittersweet when the search for the American dream goes awry....

Through interviews with survivors of sexual abuse, parents, social workers, community activists, and abusers thmselves, this piece explores the feelings and experiences of sexually abused children and their families....