Khalik Allah

At night, the streets of Harlem are haunted by lost souls. Bodies that drift around in the darkness and bear the weight of the past on their shoulders. The Haitian man Frenchie is one of them, and his accentuated stutter bears witness to exile and years of abuse. But he is more than just that in Khalik Allah's new, hypnotic film opus, which turns the American tradition of social realist street photography into its own art form.

Part film, part baptism, in BLACK MOTHER director Khalik Allah brings us on a spiritual journey through Jamaica. Soaking up its bustling metropolises and tranquil countryside, Allah introduces us to a succession of vividly rendered souls who call this island home. Their candid testimonies create a polyphonic symphony, set against a visual prayer of indelible portraiture. Thoroughly immersed between the sacred and profane, BLACK MOTHER channels rebellion and reverence into a deeply personal ode informed by Jamaica’s turbulent history but existing in the urgent present.

Set entirely at night, Field Niggas takes us to the corner of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in Harlem and introduces us to its faces. The non-synch audio track consists of conversations with and among those faces: dreams, regrets, arguments, affection, observations, opinions.

NYC based photographer, Khalik Allah, travels to Jamaica to connect with family and document the streets. This is his synopsis.

Khalik Allah’s unflinching follow-up to his short URBAN RASHOMON breaks down the barriers between photography and cinema to create a free-associative portrait of a mentally ill homeless man named Frenchie. 9Filmed May 4th, 9th, 17th 2013. Harlem, NYC0

With raw, harrowing honesty, photographer-filmmaker Khalik Allah explores the complex relationship between artist and subject as he reflects on his friendship with a homeless addict living on the streets of Harlem.

An adventure into the mind of Popa Wu, the patriarch of the world renown rap group Wu Tang Clan. Popa Wu is also a prominent member of the 5% Nation; a nation of people who teach that man is God. The 5% Nation is hardly known throughout the world, yet it has greatly affected the world by injecting supreme knowledge into the lyrics of Hip Hop and contributing to the lexicon of today's urban youth culture.

Short film profiling Azreal, the first white member of the Five-Percent Nation.

A young man is indoctrinated into the Five-Percent Nation.