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Two boys, one older, one younger, looking at each other and talking while walking down the street
Still from American Promise 2013. Directed by Michèle Stephenson (AWAW 2018) & Joe Brewster (Rada Studio). Documentary film,… Still from American Promise 2013. Directed by Michèle Stephenson (AWAW 2018) & Joe Brewster (Rada Studio). Documentary film, 135 min, DCP. Courtesy Michèle Stephenson
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 7:30PM

Film Screening | "AMERICAN PROMISE" at Anthology Film Archives

Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave, New York, NY 10003   |  $14 General Admission; $10 Students; $7 Seniors & AFA Members Buy tickets

Longform Content

As a cinematic sidebar to Anonymous Was A Woman: The First 25 Years, Anthology Film Archives continues this film series throughout May, showcasing moving-image work by selected AWAW-awarded artists. Like the exhibition at the Grey, these screenings celebrate the transformative impact women artists have made on contemporary art and film since the award’s founding in 1996.

AMERICAN PROMISE
by Michèle Stephenson (AWAW 2018) & Joe Brewster (Rada Studio)
2013, 135 min, DCP

Michèle Stephenson in person!

“When filmmaking couple Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s 5-year-old son Idris and his best friend, Seun, both African-American, are accepted into the highly prestigious and almost exclusively white Dalton School, the proud parents embark on an amazingly ambitious project to document the two boys’ entire educations. Spanning 13 years, the resulting film offers a coming-of-age story rivaled perhaps only by Michael Apted’s UP series in scope. AMERICAN PROMISE is compelling both for its intimate focus on the lives of these middle-class families and in what it has to say about the struggle for identity of even the most talented African-American boys in a society that still often fears and dismisses them.” –Jennifer Dworkin, FILM COMMENT

Visitor Access & Registration

Purchase tickets in advance on Anthology’s website; tickets are also available at Anthology’s box office.

Event Photos

Credits

Co-organized by Anthology Film Archives and NYU’s Grey Art Museum.

Logo for Anthology Film Archives in all caps black text

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