Pariah
The path to living as one’s authentic self is paved with trials and tribulations in this revelatory, assured feature debut by Dee Rees—the all-too-rare coming-of-age tale to honestly represent the experiences of queer Black women. Grounded in the fine-grained specificity and deft characterizations of Rees’s script and built around a beautifully layered performance from Adepero Oduye, Pariah follows Brooklyn teenager Alike, who is navigating the emotional minefields of first love and heartache and the disapproval of her family as she expresses her gender and sexual identities within a system that does not make space for them. Achieving an aching intimacy with its subject through the expressive cinematography of Bradford Young, this deeply felt portrait finds strength in vulnerability and liberation in letting go.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 2K digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- New conversation between director Dee Rees and filmmaker and professor Michelle Parkerson
- New cast reunion featuring Rees and actors Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, and Aasha Davis, moderated by film scholar Jacqueline Stewart
- New program on the making of the film, featuring Rees, cinematographer Bradford Young, production designer Inbal Weinberg, producer Nekisa Cooper, and editor Mako Kamitsuna, moderated by Stewart
- New interview with film scholar Kara Keeling, author of Queer Times, Black Futures
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Cassie da Costa
New cover illustration by Xia Gordon
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 2K digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- New conversation between director Dee Rees and filmmaker and professor Michelle Parkerson
- New cast reunion featuring Rees and actors Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, and Aasha Davis, moderated by film scholar Jacqueline Stewart
- New program on the making of the film, featuring Rees, cinematographer Bradford Young, production designer Inbal Weinberg, producer Nekisa Cooper, and editor Mako Kamitsuna, moderated by Stewart
- New interview with film scholar Kara Keeling, author of Queer Times, Black Futures
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Cassie da Costa
New cover illustration by Xia Gordon
Cast
- Adepero Oduye
- Alike
- Pernell Walker
- Laura
- Aasha Davis
- Bina
- Charles Parnell
- Arthur
- Sahra Mellesse
- Sharonda
- Kim Wayans
- Audrey
- Rob Morgan
- Sock
Credits
- Director
- Dee Rees
- Written by
- Dee Rees
- Produced by
- Nekisa Cooper
- Executive producers
- Spike Lee
- Jeff Robinson
- Sam Martin
- Susan Lewis
- Ann Bradley
- Joey Carey
- Stefan Nowicki
- Douglas Eisenberg
- Matthew J. Simon
- Mary Jane Skalski
- Cinematography
- Bradford Young
- Production design
- Inbal Weinberg
- Editor
- Mako Kamitsuna
- Casting by
- Eyde Belasco
- Costume design by
- Eniola Dawodu
A scene from Pariah
