Artist and filmmaker Cauleen Smith’s feature debut is a landmark of 1990s DIY filmmaking and lovingly-made portrait of Black female creativity. After witnessing the premature deaths of young Black men in her community, art student Pica (Toby Smith) begins to photograph them as an act of preservation. As she works on this artistic and political endeavor, Pica befriends Tobi (April Barnett), a woman in an abusive relationship, and the pair become enmeshed in the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing their community. Derived from the Gullah-language word meaning ordinary, Drylongso is an extraordinary film that has experienced a cultural revival in the decades since its initial release.
This screening will be preceded by a musical performance from Mizzou made rapper and scholar Zeph France.