OIFF20 – Feature film: “Promise Through Lifetime “ and short films “White Jesus Black Problems” and “The Soldier”

“Promise Through Lifetime”

In a mountain village primary school in China, three generations of teachers worked with one shoulder pole to support the poor students. In order to help the children get out of the mountain, the teachers kept their promise and kept themselves in the mountain for the lifetime.

Directed by  Jianhua Yang

“White Jesus Black Problems”

The story of White Jesus Black Problems begins roughly 270 years ago, when a white indentured servant from Scotland named Elizabeth Gallamore fell in love with an enslaved Black man whose name, like so much else, had been stripped away from him by his captors. The pair lived in the colony of Virginia, where interracial relationships were not only taboo, but legally forbidden, and their romance put their very lives in danger. The same laws that prevented the two from ever marrying, however, also affixed their offspring’s legal status to that of their mother, meaning that after seven years of their own indentured servitude, Gallamore’s children would be granted their freedom, as well. And so the unlikely couple begot a generation of free African-American children, who in turn begot another generation of free African-American children, who in turn begot another generation of free African-American children, on and on down the line until the birth of their great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson, Xavier Amin Dephrepaulezz. Or, as you most likely know him, three-time Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito.

Directed by Aerick Neal

“The Soldier”

A homeless veteran sits in his tent having just received news that his estranged wife has died. He reminisces about his daughter as a child and packs up his belongings before cleaning himself up. He experiences auditory and visual hallucinations that slow him down but is ultimately brought back to earth by the memory of his daughter, who accepts him back into her life.

Directed by Devin O’Guinn

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“Promise Through Lifetime“ will screen first at 6:00 p.m. The Running time is 1: 35 min followed by “White Jesus Black Problems” at 7:45 p.m.