Tagline: Who do you become when you can’t be yourself?
Adepero Oduye, who had earlier starred in the short film, portrays Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school. Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend.
At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague’s daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.
Pariah
Directed by: Dee Rees
Starring: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Aasha Davis, Sahra Mellesse, Chanté Lewis, Natalie Carter, Stephanie Andujar
Screenplay by: Dee Rees
Production Design by: Inbal Weinberg
Cinematography by: Bradford Young
Film Editing by: Mako Kamitsuna
Art Direction by: Sara K. White
Costume Design by: Eniola Dawodu
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content and language.
Studio: Focus Features
Release Date: December 28, 2011
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