Jan 28, 2005  |  By: RHONDA SMITH  | COMMENTS     

IT TOOK FILMMAKER Rodney Evans six years to make “Brother to Brother,” an award-winning feature about the evolution of a friendship between two black gay men in New York City — one just beginning to discover who he is, the other reaching the end of his journey.

Evans, a native of New York City, touches on everything in the film from black gay life during the Harlem Renaissance to interracial dating, which today can still be thorny terrain to traverse. At the film’s core is the universal quest to be understood and, perhaps, accepted.

Evans is scheduled to be in Washington, D.C., Jan. 28-29 for the opening of “Brother to Brother” at the E Street Cinema, 11th and E streets, NW. Though the film was screened here last October at Reel Affirmations, D.C.’s annual gay and lesbian film festival, the latest presentation is part of the film’s national release in cities across the country.

During a recent chat with the Blade, Evans cited several influences on his work.

The first is Jim McKay, a producer and director whose credits include “Room,” a film scheduled to be released in 2005, and “Brother to Brother.” Another inspiration is Mike Nichols, who directed “Closer,” “The Graduate,” as well as the television version of “Angels in America.”

Evans also said he is inspired by Marlon Riggs,the late director of “Black Is … Black Ain’t” and “Tongues Untied,” both of which are films that explore aspects of black gay life. Riggs, who was gay, died in 1994.

Documentary filmmaker Isaac Julien, the gay director of “Baltimore” in 2003 and “Baadasssss Cinema” in 2002, also influences Evans’ work, in addition to gay director Todd Haynes, whose hits include “Far From Heaven” and “Poison.”

The gay filmmaker also cited Oscar Micheaux, the first African American to produce a feature film — “The Homesteader,” in 1919 — as a role model.
“He definitely influenced the visual aesthetic of the period scenes in ‘Brother to Brother,’” Evans said.

Washington Blade: What were you trying to accomplish with “Brother to Brother,” and did you meet your objective?
Rodney Evans: The central focus of the film is really this relationship between Bruce Nugent [a gay writer during the Harlem Renaissance] in his elderly years and this young black painter thrown out of his house for being gay, and how they connect and transform each other. The heart of the film is the evolution of their friendship. I hope the audience is incredibly moved by the transformative power of that relationship and the ways they affect each other.

Blade: How much do you and Perry, the lead character in the film, have in common?
Evans: People tend to believe the film is a bit more autobiographical than it actually is. I did have a harsh and difficult time coming out in my own family. Some of the experiences led me to think about what it was like if that experience had been more extreme — if I had really been put out of the house, how I would survive and learn the ability to connect with other individuals. Although that was not my experience, it led me to thinking about what that experience would be like and to talk to people who actually had that experience. Also, I’m an artist. So I can empathize with that struggle between maintaining your personal vision and having to survive financially. Those are things Perry’s struggling with. But a lot of the aspects of Perry’s life are fiction. A lot had to do with the collaboration between me and [actor] Anthony Mackie, who had a strong take on who the character was and how he wanted to embody that character.

Blade: Are you biracial?
Evans: I define myself as African American. Both of my parents are from Jamaica. My father’s African American and my mom is half Chinese and half German and grew up in Jamaica.

Blade: Why did you decide to focus on the life of Bruce Nugent in the film?
Evans: The film was inspired, partially, by an earlier short film I did called ‘Close to Home.’ It deals with me coming out to my family and the disintegration of a relationship that was falling apart. ...