Strange Fruit is a 2004

2004 in film

The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 written and directed by Kyle Schickner

Kyle Schickner

Kyle Schickner is an American film producer, writer, director, actor and a bisexual rights activist. He is the founder of FenceSitter Films, a Production company devoted to entertainment for women, and sexual and ethnic minorities...

 and produced by FenceSitter Films

FenceSitter Films

FenceSitter Films is a film production and television production company founded by Kyle Schickner an American film producer, writer, director, actor and a bisexual rights activist, devoted to creating entertainment for women, and sexual and ethnic minorities....

. It stars Kent Faulcon

Kent Faulcon

Kent Faulcon is an American actor, director, and writer. He has made several contributions to Black independent film festivals.-Filmography:- Awards and nominations :Arizona Black Filmmakers Showcase* Nominated, "Best Film"...

 as William Boyals and Berlinda Tolbert

Berlinda Tolbert

Berlinda Tolbert is an American actress best known for her role as Jenny Willis Jefferson on The Jeffersons. She also appeared in the film Harlem Nights. She was born one day after actor Mike Evans, the man who played her boyfriend/husband Lionel Jefferson in The Jeffersons. They were both born...

 as Emma Ayers. The title comes from the 1939

1939 in music

-Events:*March 23 – Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2 is premiered by Zoltán Székely and the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg...

 Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...

 song

Strange Fruit

"Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday, who released her first recording of it in 1939, the year she first sang it. Written by the teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem, it exposed American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans. Such lynchings had occurred...

.

Plot

New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 attorney

Attorney at law

An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...

 William Boyals has escaped the Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 bayou

Bayou

A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...

 of his childhood, but he must return to investigate the death of a childhood friend who, like Boyals himself, was both black and gay.

Production

When told by producers, who had offered the film a $6 million budget, that the lead character could not be both black and gay, Kyle Schickner left the studio to produce the film for only $250,000.

Cast

• Kent Faulcon
  Kent Faulcon
  Kent Faulcon is an American actor, director, and writer. He has made several contributions to Black independent film festivals.-Filmography:- Awards and nominations :Arizona Black Filmmakers Showcase* Nominated, "Best Film"...
  
   as William Boyals
• Berlinda Tolbert
  Berlinda Tolbert
  Berlinda Tolbert is an American actress best known for her role as Jenny Willis Jefferson on The Jeffersons. She also appeared in the film Harlem Nights. She was born one day after actor Mike Evans, the man who played her boyfriend/husband Lionel Jefferson in The Jeffersons. They were both born...
  
  as Emma Ayers
• David Raibon as Duane Ayers
• Christopher Warren as Cedric
• Sam Jones as Sheriff Jensey
• Vergil J. Smith as Jo-Jo
• Shane Woodson as Jordan Walker
• Ed Brigadier as Arnold West
• Charlie Schroeder as Tommy
• Jared Day as Deputy Conover
• Jon Finck as Deputy Adams
• Ron Bottitta as Dep. Curtis Butler
• Christopher May as Deputy Mathers
• Cecile M. Johnson as Martha Boyals
• Alex Boling as Paulie (voice)
• Emily Gorgen as Tanya
• Earl Thompson as Manny
• Harace Carpenter as Buddy Bleu
• Leon Morenzie as Walter Durant
• Ron Allen as Kelvin Ayers
• Walt Turner as Jerry West
• Wilbert Lewis as Preacher
• Gavin Lewis as André
• Carlo Daquin as Derrik
• Tommy Cole as Diesel
• Tory Andrews as Angry Gaytor Patron
• Arthur LeBlanc as Cyril
• Randy Maggiore as Lowell
• Lakesha Lenoir as Ruby
• Ted Duhon as Deputy Guidry
• Agnes DeRouen as Reporter
• Richard Pushkin as Doctor
• David L. Corrigan as Deputy Blaine

External links

• FenceSitterFilms official site