Film Details
A thrilling journey in the 1920s, from Marseille to Harlem, via Jamaica, Russia, and Morocco, in the footsteps of the Jamaican-American writer Claude McKay.
McKay was a rebellious figure of the Harlem Renaissance, a prominent literary movement of the 1920s -- an unclassifiable author who wandered for more than 10 years in Europe, frequenting the artistic and political avant-gardes. His work ranged from vernacular verse celebrating peasant life in Jamaica to poems that protested racial and economic inequities.
Matthieu Verdeil, 2021, 80 min. In French and English with English subtitles
Q&A with director Matthieu Verdeil and Brent Edwards
McKay was a rebellious figure of the Harlem Renaissance, a prominent literary movement of the 1920s -- an unclassifiable author who wandered for more than 10 years in Europe, frequenting the artistic and political avant-gardes. His work ranged from vernacular verse celebrating peasant life in Jamaica to poems that protested racial and economic inequities.
Matthieu Verdeil, 2021, 80 min. In French and English with English subtitles
Q&A with director Matthieu Verdeil and Brent Edwards
About the Director
For over 20 years, film director and producer Matthieu Verdeil has pursued a distinctive path at the crossroads of history, memory, and artistic creation. He collaborates with contemporary artists such as Abraham Poincheval while dedicating much of his career to rediscovering overlooked figures and movements in cultural history, including Varian Fry and Claude McKay.
Verdeil first became interested in McKay in the early 2000s, recognizing him as both a pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance and a forerunner of global Black consciousness. He began extensive archival research, working with French publisher Renaud Boukh (Héliotropismes) and U.S. scholars Brent Hayes Edwards and Gary Edward Holcomb. In 2021, Verdeil directed Claude McKay: From Harlem to Marseille, the first documentary devoted to the “vagabond poet.”
Verdeil first became interested in McKay in the early 2000s, recognizing him as both a pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance and a forerunner of global Black consciousness. He began extensive archival research, working with French publisher Renaud Boukh (Héliotropismes) and U.S. scholars Brent Hayes Edwards and Gary Edward Holcomb. In 2021, Verdeil directed Claude McKay: From Harlem to Marseille, the first documentary devoted to the “vagabond poet.”
Location
Buell Hall
Maison Française
515 West 116th St
New York, NY 10027
Image: Courtesy of Maison Française