Twelve months in the city of dreams that has become a ghost town.
Founded in 1908, Allensworth was the first self-administered and self-financed African American municipality in California. Today it is a museum town lost in the desert, forming part of a national park and a no-man’s land to which Benning has dedicated twelve shots (one for each month of the year).
The camera has captured silent houses, hotels, churches. In «July, ” «Black Bird» by Nina Simone is quietly playing in the background. In «August, ” a schoolgirl is reading poetry by Lucile Clifton. James Benning’s latest film is a sweet and tragic tribute not only to African American culture but to cultural mirages and fleeting memories in general. To a certain extent, we all live in Allensworth.
ALLENSWORTH
Director: James Benning
USA, 2022. 65 min. 18+