Director Abigail Child herself has called the creation of a documentary on downlow (or DL) an oxymoron by definition. DL men’s desire to keep their private sexual life with men as separate from their friends, families, and external personae, is inherently underground. Something that upon being brought to light on the big screen, can no longer be considered hidden.

But downlow has come to mean much more in the African American community. It has been linked in the mainstream press (many say in an exaggerated manner) to the spread of AIDS in the black community, particularly amongst straight women. Additionally, it has become what Childs calls “an announcement of masculinity and a separation from white gay culture; it is a kind of family to which they can belong. There is the important sense that they don’t risk losing their ties to family, friends, jobs, and black culture. As one young man maintains: ‘We’re black anyway, that’s one strike against us.’”

Child’s experimental style plays with documentary conventions as well as a narrative approach, as she interviews four men about their experiences with other men, women, their children, their parents, prison, and the cultural perceptions that effect their lives.

Also screening:
Reflections (Gina Prince-Bythewood, US), a remarkable short written by Maywood, IL teen Keyana Ray and directed by Love and Basketball writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood.

ADMISSION:  $10 non-member / $8 members