Ben Caldwell
I & I: An African Allegory (1979)
From L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema (1971-2006)
YEAR: 1979
FORMAT: Digital video, transferred from 16mm, color
Director Ben Caldwell designed I & I as a “résumé piece” to showcase his skills in experimental filmmaking, dramatic filmmaking and documentary. Drawing from Ayi Kwei Armah’s novel, "Two Thousand Seasons," Caldwell meditates on reciprocity and on the concept of “I and I” which postulates no division between people, whereas the splitting of “you” from “I” is an invention of the devil designed to brew trouble in the world.
—Allyson Nadia Field