Dir: Nana Mensah | USA | 2021 | 79 mins
Cast | Nana Mensah, Meeko Gattuso, Oberon K. A. Adjepong
The screening on Thursday 29 September will be captioned.
Writer-director-actor Nana Mensah delivers a warm, witty and compassionate comedy in Queen of Glory, her acclaimed feature debut. PhD student Sarah’s (Mensah) life is thrown into disarray by an unexpected death in the family and an ensuing surprise inheritance in the Bronx. Tasked with funeral planning, Sarah must navigate both the cultural expectations of her Ghanaian-American family and the reappearance of her estranged father (Oberon K.A. Adjepong) whilst deciding what to do about her future. Written, performed and shot on a tiny budget by Mensah, Queen of Glory feels indisputably authentic, vividly evoking the energy of New York, the weight of cultural and familial expectations and the microaggressions faced by people of colour on a daily basis, while delineating the immigrant experience in a way that’s both specific and recognisable. It’s a remarkable debut and a great showcase for Mensah’s talents.
“A winning indie about immigrant identity” Variety