Stay Updated

Read our Weekly Gayzette for the latest (and gayest) movie screenings, community events, and industry news from the Bay Area and beyond!

You're viewing the Frameline44 (2020) archive held in 2020. Explore this years festival

The Obituary of Tunde Johnson

Directed by Ali LeRoi2019USA104 mins

A gay Black teenager is killed by cops on his way to a party…or at the beach, hanging with his boyfriend…or in front of a convenience store, waiting for a friend…or all of the above, as 18-year-old Tunde wakes up again—and again—on the last day of his tragically short life. Timely and urgent, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson updates the Groundhog Day structure for a riveting tale at the intersection of anti-Black police violence and the resurgence of homophobia in the Trump era.

Hauntingly played by Steven Silver (13 Reasons Why) in a mesmerizing performance that shifts with each twist of fate, Tunde lives with suicidal thoughts, a Xanax addiction, and a hot-but-closeted jock boyfriend who can’t find the courage to come out. Infused with emotion and sexuality by director Ali LeRoi (Everybody Hates Chris) and subtly written by 19-year-old, Nigerian-born discovery Stanley Kalu, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson is an uncommonly empowering and unique motion picture that offers a vivid, inventive portrait of growing up Black and gay in America today.

This film contains scenes of homophobic violence and police violence.

A recording of the Q&A is available on Frameline's YouTube.

Quick links
Sponsor
Director
Ali LeRoi
Year
2019
Country
USA
Running Time
104 mins
Language
English
Section
Centerpiece, Live Q&A’s, US Feature
Program Note Writer
K.M. Soehnlein