Films with: Sapphire

Precious (base on nol by saf)

In 1987, obese, illiterate, black 16-year-old Claireece 'Precious' Jones lives in Harlem with her dysfunctional family. She has been raped and impregnated twice by her father, Carl. She suffers constant physical, mental and sexual abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary. After getting pregnant for the second time, Precious is suspended from her school. Her principal arranges to have her attend an alternative school where her new teacher, Ms. Rain, helps Precious learn to read and she responds to this glimmer of hope. Precious also meets Mrs. Weiss, a social worker, and discovers the abuse and incest that Precious has had to endure. Her father dies of AIDS and Precious learns that she is now HIV-positive.

DVD 7317

Push, Precious, and black women in literature

Poet, performer and author of the best-selling novel Push - adapted into the Oscar-nominated film Precious -- Sapphire discusses her work and the role of black women in American literature. She focuses on the abuse of African American women by drawing on interviews she conducted with women, and historical depictions of abuse of African American women in literature, specifically slave narratives. Through this lens, Sapphire describes her experience of writing fiction that represents a contemporary experience of abuse of black women.

DVD 8811