Imelda Sheen
Forbidden Joy (1972)
From L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema (1971-2006)
In Forbidden Joy (1972), director Imelda Sheen utilizes many avant garde techniques to tell the mysterious story of a woman picnicking in a cemetery with a toddler by her side. The films plays with mood as it changes styles of music from African, to funk, to soul, to classical, while black-and-white footage shows us a glimpse of the rough streets in the woman’s past. —Trisha Lendo