Black Nativity (film)
| Black Nativity | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Kasi Lemmons |
| Produced by |
William Horberg T. D. Jakes Galt Niederhoffer Celine Rattray Trudie Styler |
| Screenplay by | Kasi Lemmons |
| Based on |
Black Nativity by Langston Hughes |
| Starring |
Forest Whitaker Angela Bassett Tyrese Gibson Jennifer Hudson Mary J. Blige Vondie Curtis-Hall Nas Jacob Latimore |
| Cinematography | Anastas N. Michos |
| Edited by | Terilyn A. Shropshire |
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Production
company |
Maven Pictures
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| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17.5 million |
| Box office | $7,454,185 |
Black Nativity is a 2013 American musical drama film directed by Kasi Lemmons. The script, written by Lemmons, is based on Langston Hughes' play of the same name and released on November 27, 2013. The film stars an African American ensemble cast featuring Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Tyrese Gibson, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Jacob Latimore, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Nas.
After his mother, Naima, is evicted from their Baltimore apartment, teenage Langston is sent to spend the holidays with his estranged grandparents in New York City. When Langston arrives in the city, he just misses his grandparents and, shortly after, is robbed of his possessions. Entering a hotel to get directions to his grandparents' place, Langston is accused of trying to take a wallet and is quickly taken in by the police. While in the holding cell, he meets a man who makes fun of him for stealing wallets. Shortly after, Langston is reunited with his grandfather, the Reverend Cobbs, who takes him to his home.
Langston is taken aback by the comfortable home his grandparents live in and by the fact that they know nothing about him and his mother Naima. In an attempt to bond with Langston, the Reverend shows him a pocket watch with a personalized inscription from Martin Luther King, Jr.. Langston pockets the watch that night and, in the morning, tries to pawn it off. However, the pawnshop owner is a friend of his grandfather and refuses to buy it, telling Langston to treasure the pocket watch and return it to his grandfather. Outside the pawnbroker's shop, Langston meets the man he met in the holding cell. The man is passing out flyers for the pawnbroker and offers to procure for him whatever he wants. Langston tries to talk to his grandmother, Aretha, about why his mother left. She denies that he was the cause of the rift but says that his father was the reason behind their estrangement. Before leaving for church, Langston finds the man from the jail cell, the same man from the corner of the pawn shop, and asks him for a gun. The man then tells Langston to meet him at the same spot later at night.
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