VINTAGE – Families of Value is an impressionistic documentary film which intimately explores three African-American families through the eyes of lesbian and gay male siblings — two or more in the same family.
The film is a thoughtful and sometimes painful examination of three black families through the eyes of gay and lesbian siblings including Harris and his brother Lyle Ashton Harris. The director confronts the issue by asking his mother to talk about her two sons being gay. This documentary weaves together stories from all three families with impressionistic scenes that express what some are unwilling to say.
Awarded Best Documentary by the 1996 Atlanta International Film Festival and a Golden Gate by the 1996 San Francisco International Film Festival, this lyrical and impressionistic film blends intimate and sometimes painful conversations between family members, with dramatic re-creations, verit* footage, performance, audio visual collage and archival photos and films to sketch a provocative tableau of three modern black families negotiating sexuality and identity.
PRESS
“[Thomas Allen Harris] concentrates primarily on the ebb and flow of sibling relationships in his lyrical film, punctuated by fantasies and performance sequences. “Vintage” is a beautiful, heartfelt film with a tonic effect.” – Los Angeles Times 1996
“Vintage is a video family album of queer children, their parents and friends, and its full of the idenity dissection Harris is so good at.” – Time Out New York, 1995
“In a fluid mix of homey video interviews and gorgeous Super 8 images, Harris knits his complex relationship with [his brother] into the broader context of deep loyalty.” – Planet AFRICA 1995
AWARDS
-Best Documentary Video, 20th Annual Atlanta Film and Video Festival,1996
-Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, 1996