“‘The African Desperate’ Is a Composed, Critical Examination of Race”

I don’t often make comments like this, so don’t take it lightly: The African Desperate is one of the best indie debuts of 2022. I think Martine Syms has a real, distinguishable voice, and style, and point of view, and her capacity as a filmmaker-cum-mixed-media artist makes for refreshing, new cinema.

Oh, also, The African Desperate dramatizes the way white people act performatively put on expert hats in matters of race, a) perfectly, and b) to hilarious, tragic effect. White folks are great at talking about racism, except when there are Black people in the room.

There’s more to the film than that, like Diamond Stingily’s awesome performance, but you will have to watch it for yourself and also check out my Paste Magazine review.