Slamdance winner, Venice selection ‘Residue,’ from ARRAY and Ava DuVernay, will hit Netflix in September
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing independent film collective, which amplifies the creative voices of people of color and women of all kinds, will premiere Merawi Gerima’s striking new feature Residue on September 17th on Netflix and in select theaters.
Written, directed and produced by Merawi Gerima, son of celebrated Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima, a legendary figure in the L.A. Rebellion film movement, Residue is an inventive and powerful story about identity, gentrification and the difficulty of returning home. Residue premiered as an official selection at this year’s 77th Venice International Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori. The film is a powerful and poetic reflection on topics that are both deeply personal and undeniably universal. The film’s exploration of the impact of gentrification, underemployment and Black male identity in Washington D.C. conjures the current interrogation of the systemic racism plaguing Black communities nationwide.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS – Residue chronicles aspiring filmmaker Jay (Obinna Nwachukwu) who returns to his native Washington, DC to find his old neighborhood is gentrified beyond recognition. Dealing with alienation from his friends, troubled by the disappearance of a loved one and unsure of his place in this new community, Jay confronts issues of identity, isolation and loss on a tumultuous personal journey.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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