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A man and a woman in vintage dress sit together. She holds up her hand, the letters 'F-L-O-W-' on screen above them.

Compensation (1999)

  Zeinabu irene Davis

  United States     95 minutes

Synopsis

This bold, original Chicago drama, newly restored for its 25th anniversary, follows two love stories set in the city’s Black community. Although they’re set nearly a century apart, they also echo each other in salient ways. Both star deaf actress Michelle A. Banks and Exhibiting Forgiveness star John Earl Jelks, and each tracks a unique couple as they confront the specter of parallel pandemics—tuberculosis in the first story; AIDS in the second—and a complex set of intersecting challenges involving issues of race, gender, class, education, and ability.

Innovatively crafted and shot in luminous black-and-white, the film blends archival footage of early 20th century Black Chicago with silent movie techniques like ornate title cards and a ragtime score. Inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem of the same title, Zeinabu irene Davis’s debut feature is a time capsule of two eras and a graceful and universal tale of love, tragedy, and Black American life.

 English with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sun, Oct 27 @ 2:15pm CDT

at Chicago History Museum

Scheduled to Attend:
Director Zeinabu irene Davis

Film Credits

  •   Zeinabu irene Davis, Marc Arthur Chéry
  •   Marc Arthur Chéry
  •   Zeinabu irene Davis
  •   Pierre Désir
  •   John Earl Jelks, Michelle A. Banks, Nirvana Cobb, Kevin L. Davis, Christopher Smith
  •   Wimmin with a Mission Productions

Sponsors

Black Perspectives Program Sponsor

Logo: AllState