Billy Woodberry
Several Friends (1969)
From L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema (1971-2006)
In the course of a botched purse-snatching, a boy comes to question the path of his life. Billy Woodberry’s second film, and first completed in 16mm, adapts Langston Hughes’ short story, “Thank You, Ma’am,” and features music by Leadbelly, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. —Ross Lipman