All Day Long (1974) is Maya Angelou’s first script and film production. It is a short 20-minute film that tacks between documentary realism and melodrama. It leads the viewer through a day in the life of 10-year-old Jimmy B. who recently moved from Mississippi to Los Angeles to live with his aunt Gloria. The story takes place on a Saturday morning, when Jimmy and Gloria enjoy breakfast together and then play basketball outside. Every scene is charged with the suggestion of a deeper background story, and Angelou’s script does not hesitate to lambast the era’s problematic race relations.

Tapestry (1976), written by Alexis DeVeaux and directed by Angelou, tells the story of a law student named Jet, whose career aspirations collide with her environment’s expectations of her. As Jet prepares for her exams, she is plagued by insecurity, delusions and hallucinations. As a studious and ambitious Black character, Jet was a unique appearance on television when the film was made.

Circles (1976) was also written by Alexis DeVeaux and directed by Angelou. And like Tapestry, it presents the story of a girl who tries to get ahead in the world on her own, but is obstructed by her environment - in this case, a religious and over-protective grandmother.

After the films, there will be an opportunity to talk with writer and theatre maker Neske Beks and film journalist Kevin Toma. Neske Beks is a passional expert on Maya Angelou’s work, and has provided several introductions for documentaries about Angelou. Kevin Toma has published about May Angelou’s films on our platform.

The duration of the three films together is around 100 minutes. The films are in English, without subtitles. The discussion afterwards will be in Dutch.