Larry Clark is a film director, scriptwriter and producer. His 1977 feature Passing Through had its world premiere at Los Angeles' Filmex and went on to win the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival. Clark, who has received grants from the American Film Institute, the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, the N.E.A. and the N.E.H., teaches film at the California College of Arts and Crafts and has lectured widely.
“The episodic story of Ashes and Embers follows black Vietnam veteran Ned Charles--still angry and psychologically scarred after eight years home from the war--through his own personal hell. The film's structure is one of dialectical contrasts, both in its visual and dramatic content. It is set in a shifting milieu: predominantly black Washington, D.C., a ghetto situated among marble monuments and political power; the rural countryside of Charles' heritage; and Los Angeles, ‘where dreams are created and black reality is a nightmare.' Ned Charles similarly moves against a constantly changing tableau of people. There is Liza Jane, his activist girlfriend; Grandma, who symbolizes the strength of his rural roots; Jim, his mentor; and Randolph, an aspiring actor. Gerima has orchestrated a lyrical, almost surrealistic tale which dances back and forth between past and present, rural and urban, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Yet, Ashes and Embers is punctuated by the gritty realism of black alienation in America. And so Ned Charles' character unfolds as he becomes ripe for transformation, thus symbolizing the continuity and resilience of a whole people.” Renee Tajima
Ethiopian-born writer-director Haile Gerima was educated at UCLA and teaches at Howard University. His films include Bush Mama and Harvest: 3,000 Years.