“The film project began in 2013 in collaboration with anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, John L. Jackson, Jr., who is a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. Because of Jackson’s interest in using the medium of film as creative scholarship and social change, he approached Johnson about making a film about Sweet Tea that would showcase how to use art as a scholarly method to engage audiences beyond the academy.
Making Sweet Tea, the film, combines footage from the productions of the play with documentary moments from the lives of both Johnson’s interview subjects from the book and the author’s own life, depicting both his research process and the complexities of his relationships with the men in the study. One experimental component of the film is Johnson’s re-staging the performance of the interviewees’ narrative in their homes, in their churches, or on their jobs, sometimes with them directing him or with them in the scene.
“The film project began in 2013 in collaboration with anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, John L. Jackson, Jr., who is a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. Because of Jackson’s interest in using the medium of film as creative scholarship and social change, he approached Johnson about making a film about Sweet Tea that would showcase how to use art as a scholarly method to engage audiences beyond the academy.
Making Sweet Tea, the film, combines footage from the productions of the play with documentary moments from the lives of both Johnson’s interview subjects from the book and the author’s own life, depicting both his research process and the complexities of his relationships with the men in the study. One experimental component of the film is Johnson’s re-staging the performance of the interviewees’ narrative in their homes, in their churches, or on their jobs, sometimes with them directing him or with them in the scene.
More Events in Greater London Listings MORE
The Music Is Black: A British Story – Exhibition
The Music Is Black: A British Story is a major cultural exhibition opening at V&A East Museum, offering…
The Brent Reggae Album Covers Exhibition 2026
BBM/BMC (BritishBlackMusic.com /Black Music Congress) presents in association with BTWSC/African Histories Revisited and Brent Museum and Archives: The…
The Story
A gripping newsroom drama by Tracey Scott Wilson, The Story makes its UK premiere at the National Theatre,…
Seeing the Potential
Seeing the Potential, an exhibition by artist Matthew Small, explores the importance of looking beyond appearances and present…
Pan Wandsworth – Steel Pan Workshops
Pan Wandsworth invites local residents to discover the history, sound and cultural significance of the steel pan through…
Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life
This major exhibition brings the work of Jamaican-born, West London-based sculptor Ronald Moody back to the city where…
All Our Histories Exhibition
Discover Black history in Camberwell and Southwark through local research, contemporary art and creative work produced by young…
The Frog Princess
Hop into a magical family adventure filled with Bollywood-inspired music, Indian dance, comedy, puppetry and plenty of surprises….