Field Niggas

Khalik Allah's 2015 documentary was shot entirely at night on one Harlem corner. The camera holds a long time on the faces of those who pass. Sound and image do not match. The conversations were recorded separately and laid over other faces; the narrative thereby leaves it unclear who is speaking and turns individual portraits into a shared voice. The director is also a photographer and the images are built accordingly. Those speaking talk about addiction, prison and the police. The documentary adds no commentary. Who it's for: viewers of experimental documentary and portrait cinema. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a structured narrative; the film is observation alone.